QOTW: Do you pay the TV licence fee?

by Parm Mann on 5 April 2019, 16:31

Tags: BBC

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It has been a few years since we pondered whether or not the TV licence fee ought to be abolished, and now seems a good time to revisit this controversial subject.

Earlier this week, the cost of an annual colour licence rose to £154.50, an increase of £4 on the previous fee. A small price to pay if you've been addicted to The Great British Sewing Bee in recent weeks, but the additional cost could prove decisive for those who have shifted away from live TV in favour of popular streaming services such as Netflix.

A full explanation of who needs a TV licence is available at tvlicensing.co.uk, but in a nutshell, you need one if you "watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service." That includes downloading or watching programmes on BBC iPlayer, and the requirement is valid irrespective of consumption device, be it TV, smartphone or tablet.

It is always interesting to hear the public's thoughts on the matter, so let's reopen the topic by asking: do you pay the TV licence fee? Let us know using the comments facility below, and feel free to share your reasons for or against.



HEXUS Forums :: 70 Comments

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Good value is so subjective. Do I get good value from it? Probably not. I probably watch about 3 hours of bbc a week on average, so that works out about a pound an hour.

I know that I COULD watch it for more but choose not to, so I'm going to say yes - good value based on potential usage, but not on actual usage.

I'd like to see iplayer mandate the tv license number to access it rather than just trusting you to answer truthfully.

Nor do I think pensioners be exempt.
Yes I do pay it, and yes I believe it's worth it.

The BBC provides so much content that can benefit a lot of people and it does so in various ways, without ad breaks as it always has.

Whether there is a better way for them to go about it, I don't know, but it is certainly crucial that it continues to be funded.
No, don't watch TV and i think the BBC is rubbish
Nope, exempt anyway, but also a cord cutter who doesn't see any value what-so-ever in the TV License or the programs it produces.
The BBC does provide a lot of good content, especially BBC2 & BBC4 but at the same time it's news reporting is clearly biased and I think a publicly funded broadcasting body should be completely impartial. It's not blatant bias but the reporting is “presented” in such a way as to subtley influence the less critical viewer.