But is it worth it?

[Paul K]

Source BBC

TV licence to increase to £126.50
The price of a colour TV licence will increase by £5.50 from April 2005, the government announced on Thursday"

Why am I not laughing then?

[STONEISLAND]

Biggest RIP off is the TV licence. Waste of mony and i never watch BBC!!

[SOSAGES]

i think its worth it cant stand the rubbish on the other channels

[Bifta]

I'm almost tempted not to bother paying it next year, afterall, TV detector vans are too scared to visit homes in the area I live in.

[skyblueheroes]

It is steep - but isn't Little Britain worth it alone ?

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by skyblueheroes

It is steep - but isn't Little Britain worth it alone ?

shouldnt that be rip off britain

[Stuart]

I have to admit, I don't think an extra fiver a year will break the bank.

[bopdude]

What would / could they do if for arguements sake you didn't have a tv, but had a pc with tuner card that just happened to pick up channels, would it be a case of, you have the capabilities so pay up


And yep, for the crap they show most of the time, it is IMO way to high

Originally Posted by scastle

I have to admit, I don't think an extra fiver a year will break the bank.

Its not the extra fiver, its where will it stop with no real program improvements in years IMO

[Stuart]

I find it amazing that the government is able to add all sorts of money to various taxes (VAT being charged at a different rate on online purchases for example) and people say nothing, then suddenly they add £5 (which is, after all, the cost of a packet and a half of cigarettes) to the licence fee and people start crying "rip off britain"..

Yet, those same people are paying up to £100 a month to recieve satellite and/or cable and get a load of channels that 90% of the time they probably won't watch. Yes, I do count myself in this group. I have about 120 channels and I watch maybe five or six regularly..

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by bopdude

What would / could they do if for arguements sake you didn't have a tv, but had a pc with tuner card that just happened to pick up channels, would it be a case of, you have the capabilities so pay up

As I understand it, when sky first started, they changed the law so that it covered any device capable of recieving a colour television signal (otherwise STBs & Videos would be exempt)

Its not the extra fiver, its where will it stop with no real program improvements in years IMO

I understand that, but I think the real problem is that the BBC is chasing viewers too enthusiastically. Now, obviously I don't want the BBC showing a load of elitist programs that nobody wants to watch, but it would be nice if they didn't just put on endless soaps, Reality TV & Makeover programs purely because they think they'll get more viewers from them.

I think programs are also (and this is generally, not just at the BBC) expected to be successful too quickly now. I have actually read that under the current management, both Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder would probably have not got a second series. Most people I know agree that these programs did not start to be good until the second series.

I will say I am a fan of the BBC, but I do think they should be required to have a wider variety of programs, and as I said above should not just chase viewers blindly.

The government is in a position to stop this, but the government would probably decide the BBC is not giving good value for money if they stopped..

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by scastle

then suddenly they add £5 (which is, after all, the cost of a packet and a half of cigarettes) to the licence fee and people start crying "rip off britain"....

I don't / wouldn't mind paying for the service / license if it offered value for money, I very seldom watch more than 2/3 hours a week, yet still have to pay an ever increasing amount, and for what, a chance to see all the repeats and programs that i've allready paid to watch over and over.

[Flubflow]

How your licence fee is spent...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/

Oh gods, another TV Licence thread.

So this rise is going to cost an extra 10p a week more or less is it?

So that means the cost of all the BBC TV and Radio channels will cost you £10.60 a month.

Compare that to the "basic" packs you get on cable/ satellite and how much they cost, then think about the rubbish you get on those including masses of repeats and, of course, commercials all the way through and then suddenly it doesn't seem quite so bad after all.

[Stephen]

The BBC really need to start advertising like all the other channels and stop this damn licence fee.

[Gareth]

Originally Posted by DarthYoda

The BBC really need to start advertising like all the other channels and stop this damn licence fee.

Or how about a coin slot on the side of all tellies, and when you wanted to watch anything on the BBC, you had to insert a coin - that would be great for me.... I'd save £120 p/year!