1. Chat

Labour May Force the TV Licence on Every Home

In the News

www.spectator.co.uk/article/labour-will-regret-extending-the-bbc-licence-fee/

This assumes just about every home uses some sort of streaming service. While I don't subscribe to any service I do use free sites like youtube so I guess I would be pulled in. It doesn't appear to be a tax on services like netflix but instead removing the exception for people who only stream from needing a TV Licence. So just watching any streaming video on a PC in theory would require a TV Licence.

Personally I don't like BBC content, I'm a huge scifi fan who can't stand Dr Who so there is nothing for me on the BBC and even if there was the occasional show I'm not paying £150 a year to access it. I don't believe BBC news is impartial at all but my biggest issue is their utter inefficiency and huge salaries and pensions. I just don't want anything to do with the BBC and certainly don't want to pay anything towards it.

Forced taxation for a entertainment service is not in anyway fair. Yes we all accept taxation for the NHS, Police etc.

We shall see what happens but BBC revenue is collapsing as more and more homes give up their TV Licence.

BonzoBanana
a week ago
What do you think of this?+20 points
telmel

I never watch BBC , but that´s through choice as the quality of the programmes have gone down so much

I like the way they move the goalposts , first it was a BBC licence and now it becomes a licence to watch any tv content including subscriptions you are already probably paying for watching online

It´s the same with EVs . they started off being offered with discounts, less tax , cheap charging etc

Now look what is happening , owners are being hammered with extra taxes, higher insurance and charging and any other , and they are still grossly overpriced with short life batteries

They reel you in , then bang

Other countries don´t pay to watch tv, why is it we have too now they are saying it is for watching everything

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BonzoBanana

telmel I must admit I do watch the wheel at my mother's house if I'm there on a Saturday night and its on. I used to watch Impossible too but they don't seem to make any new episodes of that so when I see it is on at my mother's house I quickly turn it off again as its a repeat. I do look at the BBC website occasionally and very rarely listen to Radio 2 but I'm more likely to listen to a local radio station funded by advertising.

A huge chunk of the TV Licence fee is just paying extortionate salaries and pensions and I guess the issue is that if the TV Licence is abolished they won't have the money to fund these legacy pensions. Logically you would think a BBC could survive on subscription and advertising but their legacy of paying huge wages and pensions would mean tax payers would have to fund those pension shortfalls as they would have to be paid for separately. I have never seen a single reason why public sector pensions don't operate the same way as private pensions. I.e. they pay into a fund and if that fund doesn't perform as well they get less pensions. Why on earth should private sector employees be forcibly taxed to pay unfairly generous pensions in the public sector? It should be a level playing field. I view it as theft as the general population were never given the choice whether these pensions were fair. A huge section of private sector employees have no pensions or very small pensions yet are forced to pay for ridiculously generous pensions for other people?

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Leannexxx

Well labour can f off I'm not supporting child abusers

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Pjran

It’s just another way of earning revenue for the government to spend on building a new runway at Heathrow and demolishing all those homes.

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Jerseydrew

Pjran clearly the government clearly is getting revenue from licence fees which is then used to pay for what they want

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Pjran

Jerseydrew I assume making every household pay is to fund the extortionate salaries of BBC presenters.

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Jerseydrew

Pjran that as well

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Jane1000l4

my friend was bullied into getting a licence ,she only watches Netflix and amazon prime, I told her to challenge it as she doesn't need one

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Leannexxx

Jane1000l4 get her to cancel it and tell them to do one they have to prove she's watching live tv if she's got no signal they can't do anything

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PhilipMarc

Jane1000l4 Help her through the process if she's that worried. Be a good, trusting friend.

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jms19

Don’t think they will do this any time soon, the BBC is at a low in terms of public support.

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MelissaLee1

It doesn't get any better does it?I thought for about 2 days that they were going to get rid of it.Then I woke up lol.

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BonzoBanana

MelissaLee1 What annoys me is most surveys have shown the vast majority want the TV Licence ended, they don't care how BBC is funded or if it even exists at all. Politicians ignore this and seem to think they know better than the population. Realistically it should be funded by voluntary subscription and advertising and if that means the BBC shrinks in size so be it. If BBC pensions can be funded and the government has to step in they should only be funded to the same level as average private pensions not the final salary pensions many BBC staff were unfairly given at tax payer's expense.

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MelissaLee1

BonzoBanana Couldn't agree more Sir. Image

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DanielleMcK1992

I'm fuming about it to be honest, it's all about control. It's ridiculous when we already pay for the streaming platform

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Jerseydrew

DanielleMcK1992 exactly we've already paid for our streaming so why are people being forced to pay for a service they don't use

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BonzoBanana

DanielleMcK1992 I must admit and know this won't be popular but one of the suggestions is putting an extra tax on streaming services which I believe France does, not sure. That way I still wouldn't pay for the TV Licence as don't subscribe to any streaming services. Ultimately I'm hoping for a solution which I don't pay for. So if Netflix, Prime etc all went up 50% in price to pay for the TV Licence I would see this as a better option than everyone forced to pay it in their council tax or having to pay a TV Licence just because they own a TV. Frankly I'm amazed how little content the BBC makes considering the huge sums they get.

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tumblespots

All you say and more as they have employed and fully supported many employees who have committed various and numerous offences in the past. They are a defunct operation that should cease to be unless they can finance themselves.

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martinlufc5637

I never watch BBC, content is rubbish, when our licence runs out, we won't be renewing it

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hspexy

They can try. Chances are there will be resistance so the BBC may need to consider another way to squeeze money out of people

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Lynibis

Because I watch through my sky box I sort of feel I am paying twice with licence and sky subs. I didn't read the link but if your headline proves correct surely that means the government gets a share of the fee or is that already so and I am just ignorant? I am sick of not being able to watch decent programmes without paying subs to so many services. You see them talking about great series on daytime tv only to find it's on a service you don't have. I refuse to pay for more than licence and sky, feel for all the pensioners for whom tv may be their only companion.

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suevernon1968

Lynibis i agree with you. I don’t have an aerial I only watch TV through my sky box. So if anything then sky should pay - with a huge discount considering how many customers have.

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Jerseydrew

How can they expect those that don't watch the beeb to pay for it. It's a choice what we stream

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BonzoBanana

Jerseydrew Remember the expenses scandal, how they claimed for everything at the taxpayers expense and that was every party. Dare I say it but politicians are scum of the worst order, huge egos but little intellect or morality.

You can look at their expenses on this site. Why did Diane Abbot claim 1/4 million for staffing costs the previous year? I'm in no way focused on her just I recognised her name immediately as her surname was first on the list as starts with 'AB' I'm sure every party has MPs making huge un-necessary claims.

www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs/your-mp/diane-abbott/172

I personally don't think they will care about throwing more expense on the general population even for a service hated and resented by a huge percentage of people.

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Jerseydrew

BonzoBanana I agree

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PhilipMarc

Starmer's Party just keeps burying itself. Keep going. 🤣

This ultimately strengthens Reform even more.

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BonzoBanana

PhilipMarc Across Europe we are seeing huge political movement to the right as people give up on existing political parties. Lets not forget we are not alone with our huge debts and destruction of industry, many countries are close to defaulting on their debts in Europe, the EU has been a huge disaster in many ways. Countries were better run independently and this meant a stronger Europe. Now Europe is in debt crisis. We left the EU only in name as we are still part of the single market trading block despite the huge trade deficit we have with Europe. It is clear we need to remove ourselves from such strong connections with Europe and repair our country but we never did that. We need to start manufacturing our own goods and growing our own food again and stop importing so many products. This should be the number one priority of any government and paying back our debts should be our second priority.

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RegularComper91

PhilipMarc Let's hope so.

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SilverSurfer

Another reason people get pushed towards iptv

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terrymich100

The BBC should take a leaf out of all the streaming sites. You only pay for what you watch we should never be forced to pay for something that we do not want.

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BonzoBanana

terrymich100 Yes you can make the case we all have to pay for the NHS, Fire Brigade and other essential services but not entertainment like this. If they want to fund a national TV service it should just be for a stripped down simple service not £150 a year. Nowadays a huge chunk of the TV Licence is paying for legacy pensions which were far too generous often multiple times the worth of standard private pensions. Why should I be forcibly taxed to pay for a TV service I don't like or use and for pensions which should never have been offered as utterly self-indulgent at the tax payers expense.

The solution is surely;

  1. Advertising
  2. A Subscription service
  3. Royalties on all their legacy content
  4. Commercialising the BBC so they make content people want to watch in huge numbers and not make so called high quality programs with a tiny audience.
  5. Cutback on waste and unfair pensions and wages
  6. Downsizing in many areas.
  7. Maybe minor amounts of government funding
  8. Year by year reduction in the Licence fee until its gone to give them time to adapt.
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davewalsh126

Of course it's not an "entertainment service" . The BBC core six purposes are:

Sustaining citizenship and civil society

Promoting education and learning

Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence

Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities

Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK

and developing technology in society by undertaking the above.

The problem is, that they have their fingers in everything and because they are so well funded they are able to drive out the competition from the market. If they were self funding we would't have the scandal of a football pundit taking home a 6 figure salary and then spouting his own views from his accrued fame.

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Leannexxx

davewalsh126 agree to a point but if you were offended the he's was getting paid would you turn it down?

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davewalsh126

Leannexxx Nope! Money for old rope... but should the Beeb have offered our money to pay for it!

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Leannexxx

davewalsh126 well I definitely would take whatever money I was offered lol

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BonzoBanana

davewalsh126 Who voted for that nonsense and what on earth does it even mean especially when people are no longer watching the BBC even when they have paid for a TV Licence. You can't force people to watch such rubbish. The only stuff people watch in large numbers on the BBC are general entertainment programs like Eastenders, the Wheel etc. If this is a service you want with these goals good luck to you but you and people like you should pay for it not expect others to subsidise your viewing habits.

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Gromit22

The people who pay (us) need to have a real say in what content is produced even if these decisions are by way of questionnaires. It’s another example of a public funded organisation who is not held accountable for anything it does with public money. I would say I’m surprised at labour but based on their performance since elected they do not care about the finances of any “working person” be that employed (apart from NHS) or self employed and pensioners or anyone that saved from working so if they are attacking our wallets again it’s no surprise

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