TV licensing...

[Mick F]

Do they still cover expensive sporting events?

I personally wouldn't know ....................... we don't have a telly!

Last time I saw any telly, was at a pub during the World Cup.
I paid no attention, as did many others.

[thirdcrank]

I don't think that the abolition or curtailment of free licences will hit the BBC. I thought that they agreed to this cut in income after some sort of negotiation with Gordo. Anything is possible, of course, but it's much harder to take away something than not to give it in the first place. I could imagine it being continued for existing beneficiaries who are all old and getting older but stopping it for anybody else. If I've read it correctly, this will come into effect in 2020, but after a lifetime of just missing out, my 75th birthday falls in 2019. (Carefully worded there.)

PS I think they shell out a lot on Wimbledon and perhaps some snooker.

[mercalia]

I don't think that the abolition or curtailment of free licences will hit the BBC. I thought that they agreed to this cut in income after some sort of negotiation with Gordo. Anything is possible, of course, but it's much harder to take away something than not to give it in the first place. I could imagine it being continued for existing beneficiaries who are all old and getting older but stopping it for anybody else. If I've read it correctly, this will come into effect in 2020, but after a lifetime of just missing out, my 75th birthday falls in 2019. (Carefully worded there.)

PS I think they shell out a lot on Wimbledon and perhaps some snooker.

well since whats his name the grinning chimp from radio 2 was it or Radio 1 left to "climb higher mountains" ie get more cash than his £1.6M from the BBC, do that a few times to the other fat cats and no need to stop the licence for over 75's?

[Lance Dopestrong]

Just a thought. Instead of robbing free TV licences from those that can't afford them, why don't successive Governnents make huge multinationals pay their tax dues like the rest of us have to? Stop tinkering with irrelevant rubbish, and sort the problem.

[al_yrpal]

Thatcher Thatcher milk snatcher

May May take it away… !

Expensive irrelavent sporting stuff… Match of the day, Match of the Day and again Match of the day. Overpaid pundits (especially Garry) discussing trivia. Make 'em pay I say. Millionaires kicking pigs bladders!
Blinking Wimbledon, 2 weeks of hell on TV
Golf the non spectator sport
Snooker.. Bring back Pot Black which was sensible coverage for this minority 'sport'
Too much coverage of athletics. Highlights would suffice on many events.

I think the free licence is a remnant of the time when many pensioners just barely existed on the basic State Pension. If they made it optional to pay for over 75s on the premise that they would cut out the crap and put more decent programmes on, I would be willing to pay. But.. Cant see that happening.

Al

[Mick F]

It was all the mindless crap that stopped us watching anything, so we stopped.
The rest is history!

If they would cut out all the rubbish and have a decent set of programmes on, and not have 24hr transmissions, it may be worth it ....................... but I doubt they will, so it won't.

[mjr]

Save money by cutting all the crappy quiz programmes they pump out and the over the top coverage of expensive sporting events that a minority are interested in.

Al

Do they still cover expensive sporting events?

Yes, and they cover them expensively. The BBC go very overboard for every FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euros Cup. Last World Cup, I think there were at least 4 presenters, 12 pundits and 12 commentators to cover 33 2-hour-ish matches, all either on-site or in the host country.

For comparison, itv cover 21 days of cycling and two rest day recaps with (I think) a presenter, a pundit, two commentators, one London interviewer and two on-site ones. For the Vuelta, it's cut down to one presenter, two commentators and one on-site interviewer (who also works for a podcaster), but there's no live show or rest day recap shows. The commentary seems to be done "as live" though.

itv's as bad for splurging on the football, though, and it's very difficult to avoid paying for itv by buying products of companies that advertise on it - even more difficult, if you don't have a tv?

I recently upgraded my digital video recorder to one of those ZGemma/openPLI/Enigma2 ones. Being able to set recorders by search parameters (a step beyond the old "series link") has been an interesting experience. Now if there's a show you're wanting to see, you don't even have to wait to spot it in the EPG: just set up the AutoTimer and let it record it once it appears.

[ambodach]

Yes Lance D. but multinationals have expensive lawyers and probably govt. ministers on board. Much easier to rob the poor who have no such protection. Besides is it not said “ unto him who hath shall be given and he who hath not shall have anything he hath taken away” or something like that anyway.

[Mick F]

We were in the Buccaneer Inn in the village yesterday for an hour.
The tellies were on.

ITV ............ a "shove ha'penny" quiz, and then followed by some people answering questions and trying to advance up a ladder thingy with some egg-head at the far end.

[Cunobelin]

The question. is whether to change the License or the BBC


At the moment it is a license to watch, record anything that is a "Live Broadcast" from whichever source.

So if you watch a programme when it is broadcast you need a licence, but watch a streamed version later that evening and technically you don't

This however covers ALL broadcasts whether that be from Sky, Blaze, Dave, the Yesterday Channel and so on .... even though they get no benefit from that license.

However even this dubious license was corrupted in the BBC's favour so that in order to watch ANY BBC programme on iPlayer you still need a licence, even though it does not come under the definition of a "live broadcast". Bizarrely though you can at the moment watch the same programme as a streamed broadcast on "UKTV Play" or "Catchup TV" and not need the license you need to watch the same programme on iPlayer


So there is the answer?

Scrap the dubious subsidy to the BBC, make the BBC a Pay as you View, and let us watch all the other channels free, after all there is no actual "need" to watch the BBC or iPlayer at all.

[Mick F]

Yep.
Scrap the TVL and fund the BBC some other way.

Doesn't mean we'd watch anything though or even be tempted to.

[Cunobelin]

Yep.
Scrap the TVL and fund the BBC some other way.

Doesn't mean we'd watch anything though or even be tempted to.

Or simply watch it alternatively?

Many series will be rebroadcast later on anther "medium"

For instance "The Bodyguard" is the present "Jewel in the BBC's Crown", and you could only watch with a License and / or BBC subscription.

BUt only a matter of time, like its predecessors it will become available on Netflix, Sky, Amazon Prime etc.

[thirdcrank]

... Scrap the TVL and fund the BBC some other way. ...

But if you never watch TV, the licence system is the best for you, particularly as it means you aren't subsidising somebody else's viewing through taxation.

[mjr]

For instance "The Bodyguard" is the present "Jewel in the BBC's Crown", and you could only watch with a License and / or BBC subscription.

BUt only a matter of time, like its predecessors it will become available on Netflix, Sky, Amazon Prime etc.

All of those are also subscription services, but if you don't want to pay directly, most of their dramas and comedies seem to turn up on UKTV's app eventually. (UKTV is co-owned by BBC and Discovery IIRC)

[Cunobelin]

For instance "The Bodyguard" is the present "Jewel in the BBC's Crown", and you could only watch with a License and / or BBC subscription.

BUt only a matter of time, like its predecessors it will become available on Netflix, Sky, Amazon Prime etc.

All of those are also subscription services, but if you don't want to pay directly, most of their dramas and comedies seem to turn up on UKTV's app eventually. (UKTV is co-owned by BBC and Discovery IIRC)

That is why I mentioned the absurdity of needing a license to stream last night's "Eastenders" on iPlayer, but technically don't need on on UKTV Play

I also chose the Pay To View examples as these are an example of how the BBC can recover costs externally to the license fee