i'm with you there. though you can access bbc news on the internet, too. i prefer that. DO NOT WATCH AMERICAN TELEVISION!!!! it'll rot your brain. unless it's one of the discovery channels.
I'm rather fond of some HBO output - Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire. Two incredibly well made programmes that the BBC would've been proud of.
yeah, the pay channels frequently have something worth watching. there's a dark comedy on showtime i've been wanting to see, about a coroner who's also a serial killer. i don't have showtime, though. btw, i hated curb your enthusiasm. there wasn't a single character on there worth a cup of water if they were on fire.
meh. the daily show doesn't do much for me. as for the misanthropy, you know, that southern california mini-culture REALLY IS exactly like that. frankly it makes me feel slimey. makes me wanna blow some shit up. dave loves that show, though. that whole metropolitan yuppie culture is a soulless nightmare to me.
I think that eventually the BBC will introduce encryption technology to replace the licence. It would be a twelve month contract minimum term and you would be able to access all the BBC channels for about 12 pounds a month. They could already do this as encrytion technology was in full swing when everything was analogue. Sky had been doing it for years for example. Whilst putting the BBC into a scrutinuos eye, I do like their radio channels on Dab, including SportsX and BBC London.
yeah, we have satellite, and should our bill go unpaid one hour, they shut it off. since you have to pay the tv license anyway, why don't they just go to a similar box setup?
I think that tv licence campaigners should campaign not to get rid of a fee but to get the BBC to use an encrypted technology. As we already know, Setanta sports now on channel 34 is encrypted and can be activated by a viewing card. IF BBC used the same principle then we can say goodbye to a licence forever and simply fund the BBC if we want to access the channels. At the moment we have forced subscription. This is not fair and Sky don't even do that.
that fee is ridiculous. paying to watch tv ha ha that is laughable. you can tell its dodgy because they have to design new equipment in order to detect you watching tv in your house. what? maybe its just me but it seems crazy. although they do allow you the liberty of using your tv to watch dvd's. does anyone know how much the government makes from tv licensing?
I doubt the government makes anything. The license fee goes into funding the BBC, which exists to serve the public and fills a vital independent space between the state and commercial interests. Paying to watch television is entirely sensible when seen in that context....
nah not necessarily, there are other channels that can/could offer the same. also what if people are not interested in what they have to offer, look at it like this if you never watch the BBC then you are spending £120 for nothing plus its mandatory. its like being made to pay £120 a year for a pass to go into the congestion charging zone and you live in Manchester and the likelyhood of you going anywhere near london is slim. very unfair.
Well, Channel 4 is also a public service broadcaster, though its funding is more privatised. That leaves ITV and Channel 5 which, frankly, aren't worth a second's viewing between them. For most other channels, except those on freeview (which are allowed to be free because of your license payments) you'll have to pay a lot more. But the main point is this, look at it this way. You could either pay every time you use a hospital, have an operation, go for a check up etc, or the hospitals could be funded by universal taxation and be free at the point of need for everyone. In the first instance, you'll end up with massive inequalities, where the poorest sections of society will not be treated at all, as with America. In the second instance, the rich might pay more, but everyone in society would have access to the health service through a small redistributive process. It's a fairly crude example, but the point is that public service broadcasting is precisely that. It serves society and we all have a responsibility to its continuation, just as it has a responsibility to us. Television in this model is not just a commercial product, like health care and television is in America. It is a function of society for the betterment of all. That's the kind of society I'd rather live in....
Just in case people think paying by Direct Debit is any cheaper. It isn't according to Watchdog. They charge you extra per quarter. I suggest people join the Tv licence cash easy entry scheme. It only costs ten pound a month after your first licence. I believe that in the near future, the BBC may use encrypted technology to give people a choice whether to watch the BBC channels for a fee. This gets rid of the mandatory tv licence as the licence will be replaced by a subscription fee inline with the BBC monthly figures. And I believe it may be excellent value for money. I do like the BBC for their programmes. Occasionally you have crap stuff but the majority is good. What is even better is watching a movie without adverts every fifteen minutes.
