What is Digg?446 Comments
- breadfred, on 05/06/2008, -2/+79The price we have to pay for not watching adverts.
- ChrisWalkr, on 05/06/2008, -4/+79It's not the BBC it's the TV Licensing Board.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/ - TheCatsPants, on 05/06/2008, -2/+66It's a real advert. They're not veiled threats, they're real. You'll get a fine if they catch you with receiving equipment in your premises with no TV licence. TV detector vans go out to try to find people watching TV without a licence. Haven't seen one of those vans for years though. Maybe they focus on those addresses that don't have TV licences.
- meatmcguffin, on 05/06/2008, -4/+48You're a ***** moron. One look at a British tabloid will tell you that you're full of *****.
The license fee pays for all the BBC TV and radio stations, all commercial free, and in return Britain gets the finest non-biased news source in the World and the rest of the planet gets the BBC World service for free which is listened to by millions, bias-free and trusted in those countries where government propaganda is rife. Sounds like the license fee propagates free speech, not diminishes it. - duk0r, on 05/06/2008, -1/+41It's all in the database, slave.
- groovechamp30, on 05/06/2008, -4/+40I cant believe people still fall for the "TV detector vans". The reason they don't have them anymore is because after the 80s people became technologically aware enough to realise that no technology exists to "detect TVs" from a van parked on the street.
Its just a guy with a list of names that haven't registered their TV, he knocks on the door, then uses a variety of tactics to get you to pay your TV license/fine you. - powatom, on 05/06/2008, -0/+36Doesn't make a blind bit of difference whether you have a TV or not. The tv licensing board automatically assumes that every residence in the UK has a tv. If they're not receiving payments from you, they send you letters warning you to pay up. If you complain, and tell them that you don't have a tv anyway, then they send some-one round to investigate. I know this as when I was living in a rented house, we didn't have a TV initially.
Nowadays, I don't mind having a tv licence. The BBC generally has good programming (although they mess it up now and again). I have digital too now, and BBC still has most of the programs I'm interesed in watching. What I really hate is the threatening adverts and bill-boards. It makes me NOT want to pay, just to spite them. That, and there's no choice. Any tv requires a licence. We should be able to buy TVs that are incapable of picking up BBC signals (which should technically be possible, once they switch off the analogue signal and go all-digital), for those people who have no interest in watching BBC programs. All of the other channels have adverts, so there is no real reason to continue paying the licence.
Of course, nowadays they try to hide that the tv licence essentially means 'BBC Funding', so I'm not holding my breath for it to change any time soon. - inactive, on 05/06/2008, -0/+34worth it.
- ChrisWalkr, on 05/06/2008, -3/+33Of course, because having a TV License restritcts free-speech.
- PaulOwen, on 05/06/2008, -0/+28I'll let everyone into a secret:
TV DETECTOR VANS ARE FAKE!
In the 1970s the BBC investigated ways of detecting whether a TV was being used in a household, and what they came up with was the TV Detector Van, whose technology was "secret". In fact, there still isn't a reliable way of detecting if even a CRT monitor is switched on let alone an LCD TV. If you don't want a shop to pass on your address details to TV Licensing, buy online because they can't submit your details without your permission under the UK's Data Protection Act 1998 (the same legislation that prevents ISPs from turning over your details to the MPAA, RIAA whoever).
Therefore, the BBC retains access to the electoral register to pursue addresses which don't have TV licenses, and under threat of imprisonment (imagine if SkyTV was able to throw you in prison if you didn't get a subscription to their service!) they pursue the registered householders.
If you don't want to be caught out by TV Licensing here are a few tips:
1. Buy a TV license. It's not actually all that much money anyway.
2. Never give your name or address to the person from Capita who comes knocking on your door asking for your details.
3. Buy your TV online. - xaeon, on 05/06/2008, -0/+28Whilst the majority of what you say is true, I have to just mention the bit about the detector vans. These are purely a marketing strategy, as there is no way they can tell whether or not you have a TV in your house via a van parked outside (unless they are spying on you with binoculars, or something). The majority of people, however, are not aware of this.
- powatom, on 05/06/2008, -1/+27The BBC ALWAYS reports it. They even criticise various departments within the BBC.
It's weird if you're listening to BBC news on the radio and a story comes on about some 'bad news' within the BBC - they report it as if it's some completely different company. - daveyt, on 05/06/2008, -9/+34"What kind of a communist state are you brits living in over there? If they tried to implement a 150 pound yearly TV watching fee in the US people would revolt. If I can hook up an antenna to my television and receive a signal, then its your own damn fault for not encrypting it."
Sigh.
Right. Yes its enforced, boo hoo. Is it worth £150? Probably. The a vast majority of Brits (and johnny foreigner) get tremendous value from the BBC - the TV stations, the radio stations, the internet site (the most visited site in Europe).
No its not perfect. yes it caters to a wide variety of people (and is legally obliged to)
Yes we would be poorer if it didnt exist.
No, there are no adverts for anything other than BBC programming or services.
My opinion, it probably counts for 50% of my TV viewing, radio, or internet. Its the channel it tune in to first, the website I visit first.
Yes the adverts are daft. Yes we are sleepwalking into Orwellian oblivion. I am the only person I know that understands even a fraction of that. The vast majority of people dont give a *****. Yes its probably bad.
Enjoy your US programming. I'm sure its just wonderful. I for one, would blow my ***** head off if I had to watch it. - Cornea, on 05/06/2008, -2/+24Yes - I wish I could get Fox instead of the BBC. Then I too would be able to talk like an eight year old.
- PaulOwen, on 05/06/2008, -5/+26The BBC has a lot of media executives who need to be kept in whores and cocaine, all of which need to be paid for from somewhere.
- inactive, on 05/06/2008, -1/+21You wouldn't revolt. You couldn't even deal with Bush.
- ajmuir, on 05/06/2008, -1/+21Ad-free tv/radio/internet. Granted you guys can access the internet and radio part of that equation! The fee also supports distribution of the signal, antenna infrastructure etc..as well as freeview and freesat.
- meatmcguffin, on 05/06/2008, -1/+20The Hutton report was a classic example of this. *Everybody* knew that the findings of that report were total crap and yet the BBC still used its own news programs to rip itself apart.
It was that day that i learnt just how important that BBC is for this country and I haven't complained about the licence fee since. - MalkyMalc, on 05/06/2008, -1/+20Get a dentist? Going with national stereotypes are we? Ok then, go on a diet and stop bombing me.
- meatmcguffin, on 05/06/2008, -3/+20The UK government has been doing the same for the digital switch. The licence fee pays for the BBC which is commercial free and ***** awesome.
- PhQnix, on 05/06/2008, -3/+19What? You obviously do not get the concept of a TV license. As far as I am aware TV licenses have never affected free speech.
- xaeon, on 05/06/2008, -0/+15This is a real advert, and the threats they make are entirely real. When you purchase a TV, or any kind of AV receiving equipment, you are asked for your house number and postcode. This is then sent to the TV Licensing company, who run that address through their databases. If you don't have a TV licence, they will send out a reminder, which could then possibly be followed up by a house visit. I know, as I myself have had a house visit; though we did spend half an hour arguing with the guy that we didn't need a TV licence for our TV as it was purely for video games and DVDs, not for watching terrestrial television.
But yes, this is real, and the fine is pretty hefty if you get caught. - coopa, on 05/06/2008, -0/+15I'd just like to point out that you are /not/ automatically fined for not having a licence. I was caught without one when i was a student and so were the other 4 guys in my hall. None of us were prosecuted, we just had to buy a licence on the spot and back date it to when we moved in.
At my brother's university the licencing team were not allowed on campus grounds without giving 30days notice. The uni would warn everyone in the halls that they had 30days to go out and buy a licence. - sexybobo, on 05/06/2008, -4/+19Not if you go 10 years with out getting caught.
- HeroicLife, on 05/06/2008, -0/+15The TV Licensing Board is legally a "brand" of the BBC meant to disguise their relationship.
- meatmcguffin, on 05/06/2008, -0/+15I thought that TV detector vans could only detect CRT TVs and that's why they are now less common and also why shops now ask for your house number and postcode when you buy a TV
- ChrisWalkr, on 05/06/2008, -1/+15Or maybe i just like the BBC News Site, BBC News Channel, or the BBC Radio Stations. Or the BBC Music Events like One big weekend.
- TheCatsPants, on 05/06/2008, -1/+15Do you pay for any tv services? Well, so do we, except we can get it without 33% advert content per hour.
- johnnysaucepn, on 05/06/2008, -2/+16The UK. I think you mean the UK is really gay.
On the other hand, we can actually have hour-long shows without getting 15 minutes of ads shoved down our throats, so you have your gayness too. - nandasunu, on 05/06/2008, -0/+13or just don't let them in, they have no right to enter a house without a warrant.
- DarkwingDuck, on 05/06/2008, -5/+18Doctor Who and Top Gear... worth the License Fee on their own!
BBC FTW! - SSUK, on 05/06/2008, -1/+14I'm not quite sure myself when I see BBC made DVDs selling for outrageous prices. £60 for a Doctor Who boxset, £18 for 3 episodes of Doctor Who on a singular DVD. *****. I already paid for you to make your half-baked drama, I want to support you make more, but not when you're taking me for a ride in the process. Especially with all the money they must get from licensing the show all over the world. Bollocks to them.
P.s: Yes, I know the BBC only gets a share of the TV licensing money, but still... - ChrisWalkr, on 05/06/2008, -4/+17The BBC is awesome.
- flappysocks, on 05/06/2008, -1/+14Yeah, but TV is the US is a lot different than it is on the UK. We are not bombarded with commercials anything like you do in the US. Those channels which do have commercials dont overdo it, in fear people will switch over to the BBC instead. TV companies in the US are always worried about upsetting their advertisers. In the UK, TV companies (well the BBC at least) dont care, and serve the viewers instead.
- rebotfc, on 05/06/2008, -3/+15However the ad does run on the BBC.
- CamoChris, on 05/06/2008, -1/+13"You do not need a TV Licence if you only use your TV to watch videos and DVDs or as a monitor for your games console."
http://tvlicensing.metafaq.com/templates/tvlicensi ... - jamesdew, on 05/06/2008, -0/+12haha ye "spend several trillion dollars of our money on a war we dont want" thats ok that is
"charge me £150 for a high quality service" thats it i'm revolting - Cirieno, on 05/06/2008, -2/+14Gosh, what an angry person you are. Did that little outburst help?
- cr3ative, on 05/06/2008, -0/+12You need a license to run or drive anywhere in the UK. Sorry!
- matx, on 05/06/2008, -0/+11This is why I have closed my curtains and bought a dog!
- powatom, on 05/06/2008, -1/+11One licence per residence. A normal family only needs 1 TV licence. If your house is divided into individual residences (say, flats or whatever), then each flat with a TV requires a licence. Students living in shared accomodation only have to pay for one licence if they all sign a joint tenancy agreement (ie - the building counts as a single residence).
Colour TV: £139.50
B&W: £47 - powatom, on 05/06/2008, -2/+12Different point of view.
We're not all machiavellian, you know. Most people generally really like the BBC, and don't mind paying for it. It works out cheaper than digital, and we get radio, and freeview on top of it. Consider it an English quirk. We're very friendly you know :) - MrPineapples, on 05/06/2008, -1/+11You are very silly boy. The tv license means you don't have ad on the bbc, which is really good... I barely watch the other channels as I hate adverts and all the good shows are available free & ad free online.
- neocr0n, on 05/06/2008, -0/+10Do you have any proof of that or are you just jumping on the hype provided by CCTV cameras?
- EnderMB, on 05/06/2008, -1/+11I still get those vans driving down my street looking for tax/tv license evaders. The adverts are terrible and just make me not want to pay my tv license.
- yogiincork, on 05/06/2008, -3/+12I for one welcome our new BBC overlords
- powatom, on 05/06/2008, -2/+11What's a tv licence got to do with free speech?
- keonnerod, on 05/06/2008, -10/+19I've never had a TV license and never will have a TV license. I've had inspectors knock on my door and I've told them to f-themselves. When I moved into a top floor flat there was no way for them to come and check.
Surveillance state FTW - JackHererUK, on 05/06/2008, -2/+11The threats are somewhat overblown, you really would have to be some kind of moron to get prosecuted for not having a TV licence. I have been "caught" a few times and while they do read you your rights police style, all they then do is take your credit card details and make you pay for a licence from then on, they don't even try backdating it, let alone fine you.
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