TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by dilli-theclaw

I pay so little for my tv licence that I don't really mind it.

The little bit you pay turns into millions that they pay themselves and each other.

Still I don't see them getting rid of it any time soon.

Oh, it's going. believe me.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by dilli-theclaw

I pay so little for my tv licence that I don't really mind it.

But I must admit if I wasn't still in a contract for the BT part of my youview box I would most likely go down the on demand route.

I do see why people who don't watch the BBC get irritated by it but I don't like the idea of it going subscription only. At leas the BBC does still do /some/ good programming which I am sure would disappear completely.

Still I don't see them getting rid of it any time soon.

Little question Dilli

If Tesco charged you a fee each time you used Morrison's would you get annoyed ?

[dilli-theclaw]

I'd go somewhere else if it worried me that much.

Same as with the license if it worried me that much I'd get rid of it and go down the on demand route.

But then I don't watch much tv if any that isn't on the on demand channels.

---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 ----------

Personally at the moment Natalie is the reason I'll end up keeping it after the BT youview contract is up. £6.06 a month isn't bad value to keep her happy

Originally Posted by Sirius

Little question Dilli

If Tesco charged you a fee each time you used Morrison's would you get annoyed ?

do you resent paying for schools even though you don't use them

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by dilli-theclaw

I'd go somewhere else if it worried me that much.

Same as with the license if it worried me that much I'd get rid of it and go down the on demand route.

But then I don't watch much tv if any that isn't on the on demand channels.

---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 ----------

Personally at the moment Natalie is the reason I'll end up keeping it after the BT youview contract is up. £6.06 a month isn't bad value to keep her happy

That's fine but i cannot watch a live rugby match on Sky unless i pay the tv tax i have no choice in the matter. Its a tax that then goes to a provider who had nothing to do with broadcasting that live service by sky, does not pay the wages of the people involved in showing that service. So why should the BBC be allowed to profit from a broadcast they had nothing at all to do with ??????

---------- Post added at 10:46 ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 ----------

Originally Posted by martyh

do you resent paying for schools even though you don't use them

Yes

The BBC is a commercial service and it should be made to make its way in the world like any other large company would do. Schools are funded from real taxes not the highway robbery that is the TV tax.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Sirius

That's fine but i cannot watch a live rugby match on Sky unless i pay the tv tax i have no choice in the matter. Its a tax that then goes to a provider who had nothing to do with broadcasting that live service by sky, does not pay the wages of the people involved in showing that service. So why should the BBC be allowed to profit from a broadcast they had nothing at all to do with ??????

---------- Post added at 10:46 ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 ----------



Yes

The BBC is a commercial service and it should be made to make its way in the world like any other large company would do. Schools are funded from real taxes not the highway robbery that is the TV tax.

As I said I can understand why it would be a problem for others.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by martyh

do you resent paying for schools even though you don't use them

Does that mean you'd be willing to pay for a TV licence even though you don't watch TV?

Originally Posted by Sirius

Yes

The BBC is a commercial service and it should be made to make its way in the world like any other large company would do. Schools are funded from real taxes not the highway robbery that is the TV tax.

The BBC is a public service and most public services are funded by general taxation ,like schools, that are there for the good of society as a whole regardless of who uses them .I know there is a separate debate to be had about the impartiality of the BBC but it is supposed to be there for the all to take advantage of

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by martyh

The BBC is a public service and most public services are funded by general taxation ,like schools, that are there for the good of society as a whole regardless of who uses them .I know there is a separate debate to be had about the impartiality of the BBC but it is supposed to be there for the all to take advantage of

The BBC sells it's content abroad and to other uk providers therefore its commercial. So you would pay for something you never use, sorry but the word MUG springs to mind.

Originally Posted by Gary L

Does that mean you'd be willing to pay for a TV licence even though you don't watch TV?

I would favour funding from general taxation ,i would also favour a complete restructuring of the BBC to ensure that it remains impartial

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Not paying the BBC tax should never have been a criminal offence in the first place. Sledge hammer to crack a nut IMO.

Its days must surely be numbered with much viewing moving to on-demand and on-line services the huge majority of which are NOT BBC sourced.

Wasn't there some research recently that established that a subscription based BBC would actually achieve a higher revenue for itself?

I can see them at least trying to close the on demand loophole.

Originally Posted by Sirius

The BBC sells it's content abroad therefore its commercial

Plenty of our public services make money from their products and facilities when they are supplied in a way other than for their public service obligation. Hiring of school premises on evenings and weekends immediately springs to mind. Yet that doesn't make our schools or councils "commercial".

It is perfectly reasonable for a public service provider, having fulfilled its obligations to the taxpayer, to find other ways of supplementing its income in order to further enhance its public services.

If BBC Worldwide did not sell products overseas the BBC would have less money and would be able to do less in the UK.

Originally Posted by Sirius

The BBC sells it's content abroad therefore its commercial

BBC worldwide sells programs world wide to supplement the licence fee ,as far as i know this has always been the case ,this in no way stops the BBC being a public service

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Comparing the current BBC to schools is quite misleading. If you were to say there should be a special tax that all must pay to run Eton though your children will never go there is a better allegory.

IMO the BBC fails its PSB remit as it just goes for ratings these days and pushes out rubbish designed to appeal to the lowest denominator. Real quality programming is rare and so many other commercial channels do it better.

I'm not saying the BBC is like a school. I'm demonstrating that just because a public service provider also does commercial operations on the side, it does not reclassify the whole operation as "commercial".

[Mythica]

Originally Posted by martyh

I don't think subscription is the best answer ,imo that would lead to the poorest in society being denied quality programs as the subscription continues to rise far beyond the ability of the poorest to pay and at least at the moment you do have a choice of sorts ,if you don't watch live tv then you don't have to pay

What's Sky Sports got to do with the BBC?