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After watching Peaky Blinders and wondering "how in the world do they pay for such elaborate sets" I learned about TV licenses in the UK and would be super interested in hearing more about them. Do you guys like that system, do people really get in trouble for them (it sounds like they do), do you have to watch commercials still, do you think it's worth it? Not trying to start any kind of controversy, just that I am curious about how it works.
Haha! I love it! It is my understanding that our TV licence revenue goes to the BBC - the only non commercial broadcaster (so no adverts on any BBC channels) but the other broadcasters (itv, channel 4, channel 5, sky to name but a few) do all show ads and are funded by this.
With the advent of ********* TV shows, a fair number of people got around paying for a TV licence by not having a TV and just ********* the shows through the internet but the government have now closed that loophole.
Yes you can be prosecuted for not holding a TV licence - just like any type of fraud.
A lot of people don't like paying for a TV licence especially if they don't a tually watch the BBC- tbh, I didn't use to watch much on it at all and I also paid a small fortune for Sky TV (satellite telly - the TV licence is on top of this)BUT I find their kids TV to be the 'safest', nicest, most educational, and - no offence- not full of American accents (which in general us brits love, just not on our kids lol), so we (the kids) have it on pretty much every day (no judgement please lol!) so to me, it's worth every penny ;)
I hope that sheds some light on it for you Atomic!
Xx
Thank you so much! Yes that's really very illuminating and interesting. My kids watch tons of British stuff and never "caught" the accent except for occasionally saying "zed" :)
Do you feel like the programming is "fair?" We have some controversy here with our public channels being possibly biased towards particular viewpoints and I was wondering if you find that to be the case or if because it's publicly funded, is it more representative of everyone?
And do people ever get annoyed over shows like Peaky Blinders?? It had to cost a small fortune to make that! Is there much public debate over how the $$ is spent or are most people generally happy with it?
Sorry I know this is all very weird but the whole idea is just amazing to me (although really no different than US having cable or Netflix) and I never really stopped to think about it before. Just interesting to learn how different people do things in different ways.
Hi atomic, very interesting question! I have to say I have the opposite view of kittybear (no offence!)! I pay around £45 a month for sky tv (satellite). I think the tv licence fee which goes to the BBC (I think ~ £150 annually) is very outdated. You can't actually own/watch a tv without one in this country, but this only covers bbc-ran channels. In my opinion it should be an opt in/out system instead of a compulsory thing. And they do get a bit of flak for wages/spending as this is public money. To be honest I don't watch BBC as much as sky we usually watch US based series (homeland/girls/the affair). My son occasionally watches CBeebies (BBC based children's channel). I love a good US accent any day, but I'm sure the grass is always greener!
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The tv license people used to come to our university halls of residence to check we all had a license if we had TVs in our rooms! Imagine, picking on poor penniless students like that [emoji23]
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Ah the dreaded TV licence van with its satellite thingy on the roof. The scourge of every student!
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Thank you guys so much!! This is very interesting to me. Gosh what do people in apartments do?? All have to have individual licences? And what if your child has a tv in their room??
All has to have their own in apartments- I think there used to be a clause that it was free if you had a black and white telly!
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Yes one tv licence covers the whole home but apparently not self contained bits of a house (like a granny annex for example) or tenants. Sadly you have to pay for b&w tv these days (it's £49 a year instead of £145.50) BUT it's free once you're over 75 (for you and the whole household!).
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Do you guys feel that the BBC represents all the various groups in the country fairly? I mean it seems like a reasonable idea for sponsoring public programming but I can't imagine it ever working here in the US since everyone is so divided, we'd probably never be able to agree. Is that an issue?
(I realize I'm treading on delicate ground here so I am hoping this isn't opening cans of worms for anyone)
Yes I can imagine a lot of young people would try to get by without the licence. I remember doing all sorts of things like that in my college days, sneaking into pools to swim for free, movie theaters, etc. Now I'm respectable LOL.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsE
There were a lot of people rushing to hide their TVs in the wardrobe when I was a student! Obviously I would never do such a thing [emoji56]Quote:
Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush
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It can be quite a contentious issue. The BBC has a duty to be completely impartial rather than representing people as such but because it's publicly funded I think it aims to create content that will appeal to the wide range of cultures, religions, etc we have in this country. It has multiple tv channels, websites and radio stations to do this.Quote:
Originally Posted by atomic sagebrush
Personally I have no strong feelings about its funding. I don't mind watching adverts and I'd rather not have an extra bill to pay but really it's just part of life in the uk - it's always been that way. It can be irritating when they spend a fortune on some programmes but then when you see some of the things it produces, like the Attenborough nature programmes, they are spectacular.
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I don't have strong feelings either. I kind of love the BBC as it's just so British, and like you say it's just normal because it's been that way all our lives. I love the royal family too. Expat life makes me miss all our crazy British-isms [emoji636]Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsE
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I also love the BBC too! But I find I do watch more programmes on the 'advert' channels, including lots of American drama series (love them!).. and everyone is right, it just so 'normal' to us, like paying any other tax, you just accept it. I can understand why people who never ever watched any BBC programmes or channels would find it annoying to have to pay the licence fee though. Personally, I do find there is something quite nice about watching programmes with no ads.. BUT that has changed a lot recently anyway (I don't know about anyone else, but with digital recording now, I tend to fwd straight though ad breaks anyway! lol). I love Cbeebies for the kids, I like that there are not any ads for toys at the end of every programme.. and I find the programmes educational, and all my kids love the characters (even DS1 who is a bit older now), and I also love Eastenders (soap opera).
Oh and Atomic- you must try and watch 'Call the Midwife' if you can, you would love it!! It is a period drama based on a real midwife's memoirs, they started it from the 50s, but the current series on BBC1 is now in 1962 (they have a series per year, and it goes year-by-year in order of when the programme started). They explore how things really were back then for ladies having babies with issues such as poverty, domestic abuse, the medical restrictions of the specific time, etc (eg. I forget the name of the drug, but last year they had episodes involving the drug that was given to pregnant ladies to help ease MS, but it was later found to be causing birth deformities) some of it is quite heart-breaking, but they tell every story so beautifully... I think you would find it really enjoyable and interesting to watch. ;) xxx
Oh and PS. I also remember the very first seasons of 24 were aired on the BBC, and they just cut out the ads!! Every episode was only 45mins without them! LOL.
I started off watching it and really loved it, but then there was a sad old man she was caring for and it made me so unhappy I could hardly stand watching it!!! The episode where the woman had pre-eclampsia I was literally shouting at the TV!!
I love everything British, I AM British by heritage and I love BBC programs (I also watch BBC news almost every night). It seems much more balanced and fair to me than our US public broadcasting, which has a definite political message to it but I wonder if it's more that it all goes over my head haha. So I truly admire their ability to be publicly funded and yet be representative of lots of viewpoints...but again, that may largely be because I don't know the details. :)
LOL re Call the Midwife, I totally get what you mean, some of it is quite tough to watch... I thought of you when watching it a little while ago cos they were talking about the intro of BCP etc, I remembered how you liked to know about stuff like that, so couldn't help but think to myself- atomic wold love this programme!!! ;)
I do find the BBC to be pretty impartial, but DH and my dad occasionally comment on how they think it is a little 'slanted' regarding religion/politics.. I try not to get involved in those types of conversations though, cos DH in particular just gets fired up, and I cant be bothered arguing over that type of stuff! ;) (I think they are a little bit mad to care so much about other people's views/beliefs! lol. live & let live I say, as long as no one is actually harmed obviously). But yes, I agree with you that they are pretty balanced, and most people here would share that view I think. :)
Thank you so much Coral, and everyone else who chimed in!! I feel like I learned about something I didn't even know existed, which I always enjoy. :)
Just saw this article and thought of this thread...
BBC's TV licence bullies are exposed | Daily Mail Online
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We have the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) which is pretty similar to the BBC as it is publicly funded but the funding comes out of our taxes so we don't get charged a bill. I guess it means students and pensioners aren't paying much for it as they probably don't pay much or any tax but wealthy people would be paying more towards it.
I'm a fan of the ABC, we get a lot of BBC shows but also a lot of local content. They have two kids channels as well and my kids watch way too much of it.
Yes that's how it works here too, we have PBS and NPR and it's an amount just taken from our taxes.
Wanted to jump in here:) Its funny pp mentioned the american accents as we used to laugh about how the kids would all play with american accents:)
Atomic, have you come across a uk series called Taboo yet, I can recommend it! Its another by the bbc, worth looking out for:)
I hate it. The BBC covered for a massive paedophile and made him a millionaire, if I didn't have to pay I wouldn't. I don't watch anything from the BBC and online but proving it would be hard so I just pay *rolls eyes*
I saw it advertised and I'm dying to watch it!! Looks fabulous!!Quote:
Originally Posted by ELP
Oh gosh carebear you're right, I read about that. I hadn't even stopped to think about that angle of it. Yes, I'd certainly not enjoy paying to support an organization that had covered for Savile.Quote:
Originally Posted by carebear1st