Not before time!
 

Re: Not before time!
 

Not a very helpful title.

To be clear this isn't the axing of the BBC TV licence, atleast I don't think it is.

Re: Not before time!
 

In Ireland. The news is being reported in an Irish news website. It’s a blatant clue, innit, you twonk!

Re: Not before time!
 

Hopefully if Ireland does it then ours will get looked at again.

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I suspect in the long run we will end up with a public service fund that broadcasters can bid for cash from in order to make programmes that fulfil their remit. Probably still tilted towards the BBC but not exclusively. They have crossed the rubicon already by funding S4C out of the licence fee (it has always been publicly owned but was originally envisaged as operating on commercial terms like Channel 4).

I suspect they will also move away from the concept of a licence fee which is increasingly hard to justify along the original lines, which was as a permit to operate radio receiving equipment. The semantic gymnastics in the present TV licence, allowing them to cover broadcast, and anything streamed live, but only catch-up if it’s on the iPlayer, is a bit silly.

My guess is that ultimately it is going to start coming direct from the general tax take, with an arms-length regulator like Ofcom handed the funds and empowered to distribute them.

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Not to mentioned the amount of people already refusing to pay it or those that only use D+ and Netflix etc.

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Re: Not before time!
 

Even in Ireland that looks to me like they are just replacing it with something named differently, not really getting rid of the charge.

Wow it would be grande if it is!!

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Ah a fellow smeghead :D

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I really can't see a problem, the fee is pretty small and if it funds stuff that wouldn't normally sell it's worth it. We pay monthly and don't even notice it, it is tiny compared to our other expenses.

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The fee may not be small to you but £14.12 a month is money people may feel better spent in other areas.

Personally I don't watch BBC and hardly any live TV broadcast now so it's a ridiculous fee(tax) and I really should pluck up the courage and cancel it.

Ultimately the licence fee shouldn't be forced on everyone.

Re: Not before time!
 

I love NCIS and it was on Fox which I got through VM.

But Di$ney in it's wisdom hid it behind a premium subscription paywall. now they are wondering why viewing figures have dropped.

I once worked out how much it would cost per month if you subscribed to them all (I did include Sky or Virgin etc) it worked out to about £100 a month.

I took out Amazon Prime when The Grand Tour came out, but use it mainly for free next day delivery on Amazon, last year I got Netflix free with my TV package.