Abolish The TV Licence Fee

Guest Blogger – Steve Jones – Warrington

I don’t watch TV as it is. It would make no difference WHATSOEVER to me if the BBC were to go bust in this recession.

However, were I to watch TV, and were I to be given the choice between a license fee and free, advert-laden television, I would surely pick the latter.

I love how BBC spokesmen and/or MPs join this group (thus inadvertently swelling its numbers) to try and indoctrinate us with falsitudes about the BBC’s “wonderful service”, its “unbiased” (my arse, and you can quote me on that) programming and its “importance”.

Michael Hamilton said it best in another thread in this very group:
“Nowadays most, if not the vast majority, of the programmes on, at least, BBC 1 & 2 are mindless rubbish. If it isn’t flogging stuff at auctions, its celebrities getting it on to rekindle stagnant careers or celebrities dancing, cooking, or some other thing in order to hog the limelight.”

You say the BBC is important. How the hell did younger generations survive before there ever was TV? Oh yeah, I bet they ate mud for breakfast and shit for tea before the BBC brough them The Good Word. Such a shame that people like you, Matthew, are currently regurgitating both from every orifice with your posts. Before the BBC, there were dragons roaming the skies torching every village, and let’s not forget it was a BBC employee who invented the circular wheel!!

I will never, ever, as long as I live, donate a single penny of my own money to this fascistic organisation. I shall never connect my television set to the aerial socket unless the TV license is scrapped, or the choice to opt-into BBC programming is brought into force. I shall miss nothing – my Internet subscription fee will provide me with all the Top Gear I could ever watch, while Youtube will grant me access to snooker, assuming I can even be bothered to watch it.

A miracle is needed to bring in this “impartial, engaging, unbiased, entertaining programming” you speak of. Because if I look down the listings in the TV guide, I find pretty much none of it on the Beeb.

I shall save my TV tax-fee money for spending on DVDs. This gives me three (3) distinct advantages:
1 – NO ADVERTS! WAHEY! Even for programmes normally broadcast on ITV or other commercial channels, I have them removed! Joy!
2 – I pay only for things I want to watch, not for my hours of viewing clogged by shit I don’t care about.
3 – It will be cheaper to buy a bunch of DVDs than an abominable license fee, of which I see precisely no benefit to having, and would not even if I did watch TV.

I guarantee I shall not mourn my loss of this wonderful cornucopia of delights you call the BBC daily schedule. I shall not suffer for being without, I shall not want for it. And I guarantee that any future progeny shall not either. =)

Guest Blogger – Alan Parson – Liverpool

Well if the BBC was to go, and TV Licence was to be abolished, then would you really want to watch television which is purely out there to get money and greed? The BBC offers impartial, unbiased programming, which isn’t influenced by sponsorship. The BBC is probably the one place in this country where we can truly get away from commercialism.

If the BBC was to go, or at least commercial, then the quality of television would drastically go down in this country. Indirectly, commercial networks are keeping up with the quality of the BBC, if the BBC was to lose television licensing then their quality would go down, effecting other broadcasters to do the same.

ITV is a vile channel in many respects, it constantly makes cheap reality television programming, which doesn’t engage any respectable viewer what so ever. Do we get expensive, meaningful drama’s on ITV any more? nope, do we get documentaries which are insightful and captivating? nope. Mass audience are influenced on ITV by cheap reality television, and lazy script writing. ITV is losing revenue through advertising because it doesn’t connect with its main target audience of 16 to 30 year olds. That is all that ITV truly care about, because that is the age bracket of what advertisers target. Do you not think it is good to have a network which ISN’T influenced by advertising? ITV has to put Coronation Street on twice two nights a week, just to keep the ratings up, and Emmerdale every god-damn night!

The BBC hardly makes much reality television in contrast, I can only think of one which is ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, yes it used to do Fame Academy, and perhaps one or two for charities. You might as well be brain dead watching reality television shows, it doesn’t engage anyone, or better people. At least the BBC gives us a variety of output which can educate and stimulate the mind.

The BBC has the courage to show new and invigorating drama’s, where commercial networks are too keen to repeat tried and tested formula’s over and over and over and over again! (Friends..upto 6 times a day on E4!), The Simpsons, Zzzzzz, yes they’re good, but the amount of repeats on some commercial networks is terrible, and as long as they’re getting the ratings (MONEY) they’ll stay on. The BBC is unbiased and can take chances on developing new, fresh programming. it is not influenced by ratings.

Look what has happened to children’s television NOW in this country. We used to be the pioneers of making good children’s television, what has happened? ITV isn’t getting advertising money…so no more childrens tv.. This goes to show that ITV is JUST about the MONEY, not about the entertainment, the engagement of programming, and ITV goes along with just about every other commercial network out there.

The BBC is very much needed to fund impartial, engaging, unbiased, entertaining programming, which isn’t influenced by this sick and twisted commercial world we live in! Isn’t it nice to have a channel which doesn’t have ‘PEPSI’ or ‘CADBURYS’ plastered all over it.

LONG LIVE THE BBC IN IT’S CURRENT FORM!!!!!!
38 pence a day! you can’t even get a chocolate bar for that much.

Guest Blogger – Jack Carridine – Bristol

Here’s a theory for you all.

Health is an important thing. It keeps people working, happy and alive longer. It is therefore potentially a “good thing”

A tax amount paid by all pays for public health services for all. Because it’s a tax paid by all for the benefit of all the money must be spent according to certain rules that are not set by market forces: more care to the needy, elderly, children. This is our NHS.
(more…)

Guest Blogger – Chris Woods – Birmingham

I agree that the Beeb has some fat on its bones – it will have to be pared off. However, there is no denying that the core output of the BBC is as valid and worthwhile today as it was 40/50 years ago. Just last night I watched an hour of incredibly thought-provoking documentaries about the LHC on BBC Four, then I put the Proms on for an hour or so and listened to a cracking rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth, and it was a quality broadcast too both in terms of the subject matter and the technical quality. (I’d expect nothing less from the BBC)

The BBC does also put out a load of populist rubbish, but this is partly because they HAVE to due to the nature of how they operate (”due to the unique way in which the BBC is funded” etc), their mandate requires them to produce programming which will appeal to everyone, and they’re following the logical route. I hate all those reality shows and competition shows (the musical ones with Lloyd Webber make my skin crawl) but none of the other channels are any better.

(more…)

Guest Blogger -  Chris Woods – Birmingham

First thing’s first: the licence fee funds approximately 75% of the BBC’s expenditure. It still has commercial businesses and they have to turn a profit, so the BBC does not purely rely on the licence fee.

(The Government does take its own cut of the licence fee, you know! If you want to get angry about anything, get angry about the double tax the Government puts on petrol, they tax you with Fuel Duty and then tax you with VAT on the Fuel Duty! Oh and also complain about how the cost of gas goes up in line with the cost of oil and petrol, even though the two aren’t linked at all in real life – that’s the European Union controlling that, so go complain to your MP, because that’s where the REAL costs come in for the regular homeowner. By contrast, the licence fee is miniscule.)

Back on topic…
The Licence Fee does NOT just go to the BBC. The BBC gets the lion’s share, but Channel 4 and ITV will most likely get some in the future too – and they’re pushing for more. Yet, I bet ITV and Channel 4 will still have adverts…

(more…)

Guest Blogger – Matthew Bell – London

I totally disagree with you on this. Yeah it is enforced but the BBC puts us in a massively priviledged position companred to the closed, controlled media of the USA. The BBC as a public service broadcaster is largely impartial and provides relaitve freedom of information the world over.

Freedom of information might not sound like anything special in our overly spoilt society where we just expect things for nothing but actually the movement or restriction of information by the state in other countries leaves people in the dark about things which really affect their lives and opinions.

(more…)

This ia curious argument, and one not surprisingly brought up by students. Ultimately tv is a luxory, and the idea of different rates for different income groups does as much against equality as it does towards it

£12 a month isn’t at face value that much money, I think the main problem is that the overal amount of tv’ing becomes greater once all the other packages ie sky etc have been bought and attached………..the argument for opting out of bbc is slightly weak as you can’t opt out of sky basic package or simiar cable or satellites operators.

There is also the fact that in many ways tv has been superceeded by internet so you can get news, sport, or even features like I player on the internet over the tv.

(more…)

Guest Blogger – Richard Watson – Australia
I moved to Australia in October. They do not have TV license here. This may seem like a good thing, but….

every channel has an advert break approximately every TEN MINUTES for a length of FIVE MINUTES…that’s TWO-THIRDS OF YOUR VIEWING TIME WATCHING ADVERTS…

prime time TV is made up of Cheap TV….talent shows & reality TV & reality TV based talent shows (you know recently they came up with two quite intriguing shows: ’search for the one’ – like pop Idol, but for psychics and ‘Battle of the choirs’ – like pop Idol, but for choirs (there are many shows on TV like this ‘Pop Idol with a twist’). I really do hate glorified talent shows.

Day time TV is set up in a similar format to Uk daytime TV except every segment is about ‘a new wonderful product that you really need’, where the presenter actually sounds like they are reading from a script…you still have those wonderful FIVE MINUTE advert breaks every TEN MINUTES.
The only decent TV shows with any substance, quality and originality are on ABC (the government channels) and were actually made by the BBC.

(more…)

Guest Blogger – James Collins – Nottingham

What is everyones problems with paying the TV Licence fee? BBC is our national broadcaster which is required to keep, especially news, impartial and factually correct.

Most channels are influenced by their advertisers – my girlfriend is from Canada and their television is totally advertising controlled. This drives the standard of programming down. Example – Fox News, which calls itself a ‘news channel’ is actually heavily influenced by the Republicans and as such reports cheap and biased news.

Also, take this into account – even though we don’t know it, we spend a lot of our hard earned cash on products and services we have seen advertised on television. If the BBC scrapped the £139.50 licence fee I can guarantee you would spend more than that buying products you saw advertised on the channels!

(more…)

Guest Blogger – Chris Williams – Manchester

A lot of arguments on this page would be more convincing if they weren’t posted by either the illiterate, the uneducated and the too-tight-to-pay-for-anything-but-I-must-have-it-anyway-funding-for-creativity-be-damned mentality that’s been breeding in the world’s richer countries of over the past decade. Nevertheless, there are some good points that need a little clarification instead of the hearsay that some jackasses on here refuse to check before they type. So, in tribute to you all, here’s what I have to say.

If the BBC starts having adverts in their programmes, then they’d have to shorten them to make way for adverts. I for one would prefer no adverts. I’m not a geriatric so I don’t need to piss every 15/20 mins. I don’t like tea or coffee so time to make yet another cup would be wasted.And I don’t want products having a say in how the programme is made just because they offer sponsorship – which will happen. If I want ad breaks and shameless commercialism, I’ll go watch ITV

(more…)