TV Licence Super Thread

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exactly, why should Eastenders (for example) be subsidised by the license fee? it is directly comparable to content from commercial broadcasters and could just as easily be commercially funded through advertising

they could stick some TV stations and radio stations into an existing or new BBC commercial entity and have the massively reduced license fee or better still general taxation just concentrated on things like the news, world service and content that isn't provided by commercial rivals
 
When the older generation pops their clogs then the TV license will become less needed. We all will get our entertainment elsewhere so let the BBC enjoy their few more years of easy income. They know their days are numbered.
 
malachi said:
They know their days are numbered.
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Since they started introducing the sign in thing on iplayer for some reason I've just not bothered watching any BBC TV or iplayer (not that I watched a great deal anyhow other than a few select shows and a bit of the political stuff and the news now and again) and just reading the last few posts in this thread realised I've absolutely not missed it one bit.
 
doofski said:
Next they will argue you need a TV Licence to play video games, since your doing it "live".
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No they want, it's just you guys don't understand what a TV broadcast is legally defined as and got your knickers in a twist over nothingm

edscdk said:
How can anyone argue we need to give a company £4,000,000,000 a year... Its a TAX call it a TV TAX... They should reduce the TV tax down so the BBC have say £400 mil for news and stuff then let them show adverts to get the rest of their revenue
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It is a tax.
 
I always thought the TV license was a strange thing to exist, it's a way of funding the state and its activities, so why not just have it done through the tax we normally pay?
 
HungryHippos said:
The wording is really confusing, but I think in summary:

1. You need the licence to watch or record live TV on any platform.
2. To watch the BBC iPlayer on anything.

Game streaming isn't really live TV in my opinion.
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Technically it's not being broadcast. It's being sent to a website which you have to connect to first. In computer networking, broadcasted data is data which is SENT to everyone on a network. So really nothing on the internet is broadcast :)

The law goes on about live TV as it's being broadcast.
 
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To anyone who suggests that it would be a great idea to abolish the TV Licence I can heartily recommend a visit to the Good Ole United States of Amerika - home of repetitive, low quality advertising.
 
Glaucus said:
No they want, it's just you guys don't understand what a TV broadcast is legally defined as and got your knickers in a twist over nothingm
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I've gotta say I'm not too sure about this - I mean obviously there is now legislation that specifically makes anything on iplayer require a license but there does seem to be a blurred line between live 'TV' on the web

I mean aside from the superficial (individuals vs large companies) what is it that differentiates in law say a live 'broadcast' on the internet by say a company like NowTV or BTSport vs a twitch/youtube/facebook live stream from an individual or company

obviously NowTV is simultaneously broadcast by other means(sky), I'm not sure about BT sport per say, they could have exclusives... and in that case I'm really unsure where they are separated legally from the twitch streamers - I know there are obvious crude differences to us in that twitch/youtube/facebook streamers are individuals/small companies and BTSport is a big company but aside from that where does the legal aspect change?

stockhausen said:
To anyone who suggests that it would be a great idea to abolish the TV Licence I can heartily recommend a visit to the Good Ole United States of Amerika - home of repetitive, low quality advertising.
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I don't quite understand why people pick the extreme/unrealistic argument as an 'alternative' - same silliness happens re: healthcare... re: anyone wanting to change the NHS - the counter is that somehow that equates to wanting to be like the US system... which is unrealistic ignores all the other healthcare systems in Western democracies and the fact that pretty much no one wants the US system. Likewise we already have commercial broadcasters here - the more realistic post would be:

"To anyone who suggests that it would be a great idea to abolish the TV Licence I can heartily recommend watching Channel 4"

since we've already got that as a working example of a state owned public service broadcaster reliant on commercial funding
 
dowie said:
I've gotta say I'm not too sure about this - I mean obviously there is now legislation that specifically makes anything on iplayer require a license but there does seem to be a blurred line between live 'TV' on the web

I mean aside from the superficial (individuals vs large companies) what is it that differentiates in law say a live 'broadcast' on the internet by say a company like NowTV or BTSport vs a twitch/youtube/facebook live stream from an individual or company
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You can't just make stuff up, under law TV broadcast is well defined and does not include YouTube gaming channels etc, you are just scaremongering for no reason at all. Go read the communications act if you want more.
 
Glaucus said:
You can't just make stuff up, under law TV broadcast is well defined and does not include YouTube gaming channels etc, you are just scaremongering for no reason at all. Go read the communications act if you want more.
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I'm not scaremongering I'm asking a question... rather than answer it you've given a non answer that doesn't clarify anything - so according to you 'TV broadcast is well defined' if you understand the definition then would you mind answering my question?
 
dowie said:
I'm not scaremongering I'm asking a question... rather than answer it you've given a non answer that doesn't clarify anything - so according to you 'TV broadcast is well defined' if you understand the definition then would you mind answering my question?
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I told you what to read, it's a long ass document.
Main one being as being showed on TV.
But it includes things like being subject to ofcom, having a program guide and other such things that make it a TV programme, and that's all that is covered by the license.

More info here http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-legal-framework-AB16
Or you can see the full act here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga.../4/crossheading/broadcasting-act-licence-fees
 
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Glaucus said:
I told you what to read, it's a long ass document.
But it includes things like being subject to ofcom, having a program guide and other such things that make it a TV programme, and that's all that is covered by the license.
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if you knew then surely it would be simpler if you could just answer my question, you're telling me to go off and read a big document to clarify something that might not actually be clarified by that document - essentially wasting my time

you said earlier don't make stuff up, well you seem to be doing that yourself - if you know for sure that there is a clear distinction then please do explain it or cite something... if you don't know for sure then telling people to go away and read something that may not actually clear it up is dubious

suppose I assume that you're correct and a 'program guide' is a requirement - if a twitch channel puts out a schedule for their broadcast of a local e-gaming event then do they become 'TV'?
 
Read the act, being clear defined does not make it easy to describe in a sentence. It is law after all.
However what we do know is you are utterly wrong and I'm not making anything up. I've even included links for more reading.
Since when was twitch broadcasted on TV or subject to things like ofcom.
 
Glaucus said:
Read the act, being clear defined does not make it easy to describe in a sentence. It is law after all.
However what we do know is you are utterly wrong and I'm not making anything up. I've even included links for more reading.
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what am I utterly wrong about exactly - I'm asking a question and you don't seem to be able to answer it?

your second link is talking about licensing broadcasters... just dumping a link to some legislation then telling someone else to go away and read the whole lot is very dubious especially as I'm quite skeptical re: whether it actually clears up my question - which is something that could be answered/clarified if you knew what you're talking about


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/Live-TV-and-how-you-watch-it
Do I need a TV Licence to watch live TV online?

Yes, you need a licence to watch or record any live TV programme, on any channel. It doesn’t matter if you receive it over the internet, from a cable or satellite provider or through an aerial.

This applies to any provider you use, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, Sky Go, Virgin Media, BT TV, Apple TV, Now TV, YouTube, Roku and Amazon Instant Video. You need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch live TV on a television, laptop, mobile phone or any other device.

You also need a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.


Do I need a TV Licence to watch live TV programmes on an online-only TV channel?

Yes. Online-only TV channels still count as live TV, so you need a TV Licence if you’re watching or recording their programmes.
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the TV licence website specifically cites youtube and says that online only TV channels still counts as live TV

this is where the grey area comes in for me and what I'd be quite keen (for someone who understands this) to clarify - as ostensibly the above would seem to be applicable to twitch too
 
dowie said:
the TV licence website specifically cites youtube and says that online only TV channels still counts as live TV

this is where the grey area comes in for me and what I'd be quite keen (for someone who understands this) to clarify - as ostensibly the above would seem to be applicable to twitch too
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Stretching it to twitch streamers and other content creators would really pee a lot of people off. A lot of those guys are funded by donations already and it would seem very wrong for a corporation to cash in off the back of the hard work of individuals.
 
When don’t I need a TV Licence?

You don’t need a TV Licence if you:

  • never watch or record live TV programmes on any channel and
  • never download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.
This could be on any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.

If you only do the following, you don’t need a licence:

  • Watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer (and you also never watch live TV programmes on any channel, including on iPlayer)
  • Watch S4C TV on demand or listen to radio on iPlayer
  • Stream, rent or buy movies from providers like Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV, Netflix or Amazon
  • Watch DVDs, Blu-rays or videos,
  • Play internet video clips through services like YouTube or to play video games.
Note: if you are a landlord and you provide a TV to allow your tenants to watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, that address needs to be covered by a TV Licence.
 
Narj said:
Stretching it to twitch streamers and other content creators would really pee a lot of people off. A lot of those guys are funded by donations already and it would seem very wrong for a corporation to cash in off the back of the hard work of individuals.
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They are already doing that :/
 
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