This article has been re-written as I don´t think some people got the point as to why I don´t want to have to pay this. Some have labeled this as BBC bashing!

I think that the TV Licence is a rip off and here is my argument why.

The TV Licence was created to fund the programs created by the BBC. This was started over 50 years ago, when the BBC was the only broadcaster and in my opinion this is now out dated.

If you have a television in your home The Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1949 states that you must buy a licence. This act is well out of date and should either be scrapped or at the very least amended.

The BBC receives over 2.4 billion pounds (http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/report2001/review/value.shtml) from the Licence fee and the quality of programming provided is perhaps only a tiny bit better than the independent satellite channels.

The BBC may have lots to "offer" and I use this word very lightly, and the services it produces are available to all, but are they? Not Unless you have a TV license, you are not supposed to be watching TV with out the blessed TV License. Full stop. Turn it off!

My arguement why the TV license is un-necessary is that I HAVE to pay it, its a tax on having a TV regardless of whether or not I watch the BBC or not. I could have a TV which is only tuned into the Sky One but i´d still have to pay for a TV license even though all of the funds go directly to a channel I don´t watch.

If I don´t have a TV I get detector vans knocking on my door wanting to know where my TV is and make me buy a TV license. If somebody told you "I don´t have a TV" would you believe them? You are even supposed to have a TV License if your TV is used for watching Videos or DVD´s as it is capable of receiving TV transmissions!

Now I have satelite and I watch it quite regular and I choose to pay for it. Its my choice, I have put thought into paying for this, but IF I don´t want it any more then I can just ring up and cancel my subscription and I don´t have to pay it any more. However with the TV license I have to pay it, I have NO choice but pay I cannot cancel my subscription as its law that I if I have a TV I have to have to pay for a TV license.

The word I am looking for here is choice!

Now if the BBC was a subscription channel then I might pay for it. However if there was nothing I wanted to watch on the BBC I could cancel my subscription. However I can´t because its law that I have a TV license.

Now the BBC may do some wonderful things with the TV but I´m not bashing the BBC just that I have to have a TV license. It is a tax on having a TV.

Some of the stuff on the BBC is good, the latest series of Top Gear was excellent as is Taken and The Life of Mammals. But if I didn´t want to watch these then I still have to pay for them!

As the money which is collected for this TAX, is given to the BBC then they effectively have a monopoly on the money collected from this TAX, and your tax goes to make programs for the BBC which they then sell to the other TV companies. If I hadn´t watched Top Gear on BBC 2 then I would have had to wait less then a month before the Beeb sold the program to UK Horizons, making the money back, if not more, which they originally spent making the program. They probably also have a contract with UK Horizons where they will get a fee every time each program is shown. Again more money in the bank.

The BBC has already evolved into other ways of making money for itself but the TV license still keeps going up.

I think its time for this to be revised or for the BBC to find some other way of making a living.

I know £108 is not a vast sum of money but if I don´t want to watch BBC why should I pay for the BBC. Other channels don´t recieve this amount of money each year and they do fine. If the BBC thinks they offer a real world class service then perhaps they might want to step into real world.

fin.!

Update: 25/03/2006

Bloody hell its gone up again!

Campaign to Abolish the TV Licence (CAL)
» http://www.spiderbomb.com/tv/
» http://www.tvlicensing.biz

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed below are strictly those of the individual author/poster. The views and opinions shown below are not necessarily those of Mike Porter, his associates and/or sponsors. We do not endorse any view below or necessarily agree/disagree with these views. Views posted below are entirely those of the poster, not me!

Here we go again
Hi

Just paid another £145.50 for another year of rubbish BBC TV. If Jomafan Woss, The Top Gear monkeys et all could take a little less money, could we have a discount on this fee? I get by on my miserable salary, so do they pay more for their licenses? Of cause not!!

The BBC ""you make it was it is"", thats the tagline.

Yes we pay you produce garbage.

The BBC s footage of Glastonbury thus far is worse than last years.

Posted by: Paul Watson on 26 June 2010

BBC licience fee
Now analogue TV is being turned off, I have to pay some kind of fee to be able to watch it in the first place, so why do I have to pay extra just for BBC channels. I would be prepared to have BBC taken off my channels altogether and not pay.

Posted by: Toni Salmon on 09 February 2010

facistgovernment
i wholeheartedly agree with the other posts.we are treated like second class citizens by the bbc and our ""government"".we are ""taxed"" simply for owning a tv,regardless of what we may or may not watch.if we truly live in a democratic society then we should have a say on whether we pay for a bbc licence!!for the simple fact of not showing us adverts(commercials)they feel we should grace there coffers with an astronomical £140 odd well hard earned pounds!i for one(and i know of many many others)am fed up with ""rip off britain""/bbc.how they think they can pay some of there ""stars"" millions,when were subjected to re-runs and other garbage.now and again they do produce good shows,but there few and far between.what if everyone stopped paying there licence,what they gonna do,fine everybody?jail every ""evader""?no hope,no chance,no way!!!come on britain,wake up!stop watching reality tv,lay off the junk food and fizzy pop and start taking back control!its only got to this situation because we have let them.i wish everyone peace love and happiness x.down with taxes!!x

Posted by: bigbro on 17 January 2010

rubbish
hi yes why do we have to pay for rubbish tv adverts n repeat films tv is for men im cancelling mine

Posted by: linda on 11 January 2010

RIPOFF!
Why is it that these programs made by the BBC with our TV license money are allowed to be show on advertising channels such as DAVE: BLIGHTY: GOLD: and many others.

I seen a new episode of Top Gear that s not even been show on the BBC ... on DAVE!! and they always talk about DAVE in the show ? advertising !!!!

If i want to see a show from the BBC on UK Gold i have to subscribe pay them more money.. even though we payed to make the damn programs . RIPOFF!

mykp says:
the bbc sells the shows, therefore making more revenue.

Posted by: Robert Stewart on 16 September 2009

TV license fee
I agree wholeheartedly with the article in question and as he says we do not have a choice and as a lot of the money is spent on overpaying some of the so called artistes and instead of making the same old "" silly reality programmes"" they spent the money on decent programmes we would get more value for our money and there would be less complaints.

Posted by: Maureen Charters on 29 November 2008

Mr
On the other hand the commercial channels have IdiotVision Logos to spoil the programs but the BBC did not-until BBC HD. When I get an HD capable set or if the BBC extend this practice to mainstream channels I will stop paying my licence, since I am paying for television not Logovision.

Posted by: Trevor Loughlin on 16 September 2008

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