13,000 UK households still using black and white TVs

I always forget that in the UK you need a license to watch TV

Sounds like a great place to live.

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Well, remember, their OTA television and radio channels are mostly public-funded. They do get some money from commercials, but nowhere near enough to offset costs. These fees offset that.

If television is anything like it is here, nothing but ridiculous reality tv garbage and commercials, it doesn't surprise me.

Compared to what they spend, the BBC gets 5-10x the effect out of the same (rather, usually far less) amount of money as the equivalent US production.

Originally posted by Bozobub:

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Compared to what they spend, the BBC gets 5-10x the effect out of the same (rather, usually far less) amount of money as the equivalent US production.

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I'm a little confused by your comment, the bbc gets 5-10x the equivalent, usually far less. I know it probably wasn't directed at myself, but could you elaborate?

Here in the us every taxpayer pays for public TV even if they have no TV at all...and we don't even get top gear...

We do have top gear. . . . . . the US version is way more interesting and fun to watch, the latter is stale with dry humor

Public television gets very little, relatively, from the US government. If you charged a license fee on TVs to cover it, it'd work out to $1-3 per "license". Furthermore, more than half their funding is from private donations.

The US spends over twice the annual federal funding of PBS, which is about $445 million, per day on servicing the interest on the national debt, to the tune of $1 billion each day. Similarly, at the height of the 2nd Iraq war, the US was spending $1.5-$2.5 billion per day on that conflict alone.

Originally posted by Bozobub:

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Public television gets very little, relatively, from the US government. If you charged a license fee on TVs to cover it, it'd work out to $1-3 per "license". Furthermore, more than half their funding is from private donations.

The US spends over twice the annual federal funding of PBS, which is about $445 million, per day on servicing the interest on the national debt, to the tune of $1 billion each day. Similarly, at the height of the 2nd Iraq war, the US was spending $1.5-$2.5 billion per day on that conflict alone.

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Originally posted by Bigwillyz:

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We do have top gear. . . . . . the US version is way more interesting and fun to watch, the latter is stale with dry humor

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Personally I am not a big fan of our version of Top Gear...and you have to pay for cable to get it anyway. Since I am always on the road, this isn't even an option. At least people in the UK can watch it online without paying for a VPN.

I am not sure how much exactly goes to where as far as taxes...but I do know that I pay a huge amount for internet access taxes that would far exceed the color TV tax that covers this in the UK. I also know that the local PBS channel in my city got almost $1 million from the federal government last year, and other than one very crummy news show, everything was rebroadcasts of content from other stations...usually stuff that was rather old.

Originally posted by KillerBug:

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Here in the us every taxpayer pays for public TV even if they have no TV at all...and we don't even get top gear...

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We also spend billions upon billions on public works projects no one will ever see to create "jobs." I have to agree with you though, the exclusion of top gear form my channel lineup is complete bullsh*t.

i live in australia.we have uk top gear but mostly just reruns now and we have an australian version of top gear.we have about 20- free to air digital channels.no licence required.

i'd hate to have to pay for a tv licence to watch tv.even worst that you have to pay for a licence

Quote:

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if you own a computer, tablet, smartphone or DVR,

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i did hear you can get tv,internet phone bundles (In uk) which are cheaper.

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Bottom line is TV is just garbage nowadays with reality that's not really reality and dumb trash can make it big by doing nothing. This kind of stuff makes me embarrassed to be American, it's just sad and makes people that work hard feel like crap. I really don't know where we are headed but it's not looking good so far. . . . . along with paying out the ass for less and less

Originally posted by Justoneguy:

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Originally posted by KillerBug:

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Here in the us every taxpayer pays for public TV even if they have no TV at all...and we don't even get top gear...

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We also spend billions upon billions on public works projects no one will ever see to create "jobs." I have to agree with you though, the exclusion of top gear form my channel lineup is complete bullsh*t.

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A shame all that money has gone to waste...have you looked at our infrastructure lately?

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Originally posted by Azuran:

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I always forget that in the UK you need a license to watch TV

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I never heard of this nonsense. It probably isn't nonsense after all the number crunching, but out front, it sounds like BS to me.

PraisesToAllah, is not nonsense about having to have a license to have a tv & i think radio in the uk.

Yes, you have to have a license for a TV or radio in the UK. In fact, if you play your boom-box outside where others can hear it (say, in a mechanic's shop or w/e), you're assessed a "public performance" fee. And yes, they have roving officials who enforce the fee.

I still dont get why people still have a Tube TV ... HDTV is awesome

ddp, you are correct. This isn't nonsense.

Originally posted by Wikipedia:

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In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live broadcast television transmissions (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to purchase an annual television licence. As of 2012, this costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white.

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Is this per household or per tv?

Originally posted by Bozobub:

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In fact, if you play your boom-box outside where others can hear it (say, in a mechanic's shop or w/e), you're assessed a "public performance" fee. And yes, they have roving officials who enforce the fee.

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Now that sounds ridiculous, but I'm sure the fees go directly to the artists, so it's all good....

It's per household, and they have scanners to check if you have a TV or not.

I think radio is free now in the UK. Main reason for so many stations in the UK.

Originally posted by JayBino:

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I still dont get why people still have a Tube TV ... HDTV is awesome

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An HDTV is still assessed as a TV, and you pay the color TV fee. It doesn't matter whether it's a CRT or flat panel.

If you meant the people still using black-and-white TVs, the article clearly explains why (they're cheap). I'd bet most of those folks are Welsh/Scottish — lol...

You only need a licence to watch live tv. The licence fee goes to the BBC, not the independent channels. You dont need a licence to Listen to the radio. A shop must pay a fee to ppl for listening to music in the public place. You do not need a licence for a computer. Only when you do not watch live tv then a licence is not required.

The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as theyre being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
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goto www tvlicensing co uk/notv

You dont need a licence if you dont use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as theyre being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ?catch up? services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD.

YOU DO NOT NEED A TV LICENCE IN THE UK FOR A COMPUTER OR TABLET OR DVD PR GAMES MACHINE DO NOT BELIEVE THE BBC SPIN TO MAKE YOU PAY!!!!!

Originally posted by PraisesToAllah:

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ddp, you are correct. This isn't nonsense.

Originally posted by Wikipedia:

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In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live broadcast television transmissions (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to purchase an annual television licence. As of 2012, this costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white.

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Is this per household or per tv?

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Household

taysider, post edited.

Originally posted by taysider:

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there is no such thing as a tv licence,you have never required a licence for mere ownership of a television,it is a broadcast reception licence.And to the edited by ddp bozobub why would you make the assumption that most black and white licences will be held by scots and welsh people.Tvl quite clearly states that these licences are held accross the uk and as england is the largest constituent country in the uk it would be a fair assumption that most will be held in england sorry to burst your stupid anti welsh/scots bubble

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I'm not anti-Scot or Welsh, silly git. I figure that, since they are on the average FAR more rural than England itself, they would be less tied to the idiot box; farmers tend to not have a lot of free time to watch TV. Furthermore, both the Welsh and Scots are quite well-known to be crusty "auld sods", in general.

Put that back in your pants; if you can't take a mild bad joke, get off the internet, lest your head explodes.

idiot banned, posts deleted. i'm at least 2nd generation born english canadian but my background is from montreal, ireland, england & texas.

Just to chip in, I pay a tv licence which is just for the bbc, which sux but is pretty good if your watching cos it means no advertising spoils your program or movie.
That being said I would take more advertising any day than pay for my tv licence cos I just record everything I watch on my dvr so the ads can be skipped through.
As for tv in the usa, I have been twice and while watching tv I did think it was insane how much advertising you have to endure, a 30min broadcast should not have 2 or more breaks for commercials.

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Yeah no TV licence fees here in Australia and look at the damned fine TV we've created and shared with the world - Skippy, Prisoner, Home and Away, Neighbours. I'm so proud I'm almost choked with tears here. Just excuse me while I go vomit and have a quiet chuckle to myself.

TV license, what the heck is that? Thanks alot for bringing that up. This will be added to the list of "what stuff haven't we thought of a way to tax yet". Another thing, the U.S. Top Gear sucks, the U.K. version way better, by far. What the heck, here's some more crap, this reality TV crap has got to come to an end. What lazy, cheap, talentless crap. What's next, Reality TV-The Movie, The Kardashians Movie. Give me a Three Stooges Festival any day. Now, what's on the radio....oh no, no, tell me this isn't happening.

Originally posted by leglessoz:

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Yeah no TV licence fees here in Australia

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We used to have radio and tv license fees here in Australia. When I was a uni student in the late 1960s the student hostel I lived in only allowed residents to have a radio in their room if they had a paid up license.

When I went to the UK for post-grad study in the mid 1980s we used to get cards in the letter box telling us we needed to get a TV license. We did not have a tv set there so we just chucked them. But every few months there was another one, so one day we got our young son to scribble on the card and we posted it off. We never got another card after that. Somewhere there is a bureaucrat who understands messy little boy scribble. :)

Originally posted by Dr_Shifty:

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Originally posted by leglessoz:

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Yeah no TV licence fees here in Australia

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We used to have radio and tv license fees here in Australia. When I was a uni student in the late 1960s the student hostel I lived in only allowed residents to have a radio in their room if they had a paid up license.

When I went to the UK for post-grad study in the mid 1980s we used to get cards in the letter box telling us we needed to get a TV license. We did not have a tv set there so we just chucked them. But every few months there was another one, so one day we got our young son to scribble on the card and we posted it off. We never got another card after that. Somewhere there is a bureaucrat who understands messy little boy scribble. :)

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ive never had to pay for a tv or radio licence living in australia.ive been here since 1986.

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Originally posted by xboxdvl2:

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Originally posted by Dr_Shifty:

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Originally posted by leglessoz:

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Yeah no TV licence fees here in Australia

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We used to have radio and tv license fees here in Australia. When I was a uni student in the late 1960s the student hostel I lived in only allowed residents to have a radio in their room if they had a paid up license.

When I went to the UK for post-grad study in the mid 1980s we used to get cards in the letter box telling us we needed to get a TV license. We did not have a tv set there so we just chucked them. But every few months there was another one, so one day we got our young son to scribble on the card and we posted it off. We never got another card after that. Somewhere there is a bureaucrat who understands messy little boy scribble. :)

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ive never had to pay for a tv or radio licence living in australia.ive been here since 1986.

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That means you missed this on the telly. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5B_6qPW0k8
Frank Thring was a well known actor back then.

They got rid of them in 1974.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence#Australia