Worth the licence fee?

I feel I get value for money for my licence fee - I am not a TV addict, but there are lots of programmes I enjoy - I have learned a lot, laughed a lot and seen wonderful proms concerts. Definitely worth it.

I am not sure about this and have had many a lively debate about it!

Forcing people to pay a 'tax' before they can watch any programmes is wrong imo.
Some people may never watch BBC, only ITV, Channels 4, 5 and others but have to pay the fee to watch anything.
I know there are ways around it, but it is still money by coercion.

The argument that programmes can be watched without interruption by advertisements is now a lost cause as the BBC have so many adverts for their programmes and services between programmes they may as well accept commercial adverts as well.

I agree, rosequartz. The BBC does produce some good programmes, but the quality is patchy these days and quite often there's nothing I want to watch on any of their channels.

The salaries at the top seem to be huge! No wonder there isn't much money left for actual programme-making.

How much is the licence fee? Can you give an example of a country with a better range of TV and radio programmes?

The bbs still sets a standard although I expect some pele would think that Fox met all their needs

People of course

Rose - there is a HUGE difference between 'adverts' between programmes and 'adverts' that break up programmes

Do you really not know how much the licence fee is?

Of course I do - it's peanuts compare to what've get for it. A cup of coffee a week?

Now Ana - why don't you answer the real question - name a country with better TV and radio?

Yes Ana you must answer zis question as vee ave zee vays off making you talk

Anya - thank you so much for such an intelligent well-informed thought through contribution - just what I would expect when you can't answer the question.

As far as I am concerned radio 4, my constant companion as I work alone, is worth the fee on its own.

The BBC is a decent channel and can provide good entertainment. Would we be lost without it, probably not. Would it be missed, yes. Is it worth paying a fee for, debateable. Would I like to see it disbanded, certainly not!

However the BBC has many faults too. Wages are ridiculously high, money is wasted because it doesn't have to source the majority of it's funding. It is certainly a jobs for the boys institution.

The news channels are very poor and have lost ground to other channels for content, breaking news stories and neutrality, the latter will be a personal view I accept.

I am always astounded that the BBC is still revered by so many people when wages are paid to individuals, in the millions! I don't understand why it hasn't been chastised by the population who pay for it. Banker and politician bashing is game on yet paying a licence fee to support paying somebody a few million quid to talk rubbish is OK. I don't understand that logic.

The BBC has become a 'sacred cow' and I think it needs to be reminded of it's charter.

Lighten up G2 - it's hardly worth getting your bloomers in a twist about. Yes, I know I'm stupid, lacking in intelligence, without a thought in my fluffy little head, but that's how nature and nurture made me. Spare a thought for us poor lesser mortals

wanders off singing 'I could while away the hours conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain...

Anya You're alright in my book.

I'd pay the licence fee just for two weeks of wonderful tennis. Not to mention Glastonbury, the Proms, Chelsea Flower Show, Last Tango in Halifax, Graham Norton, Cucumber, Banana, Don't tell the Bride.

All sport coverage is far better on BBC than ITV as was the Royal Wedding and the Jubilee.

You pay for the commercial channels too. Every commercial on TV costs a huge amount of money and that cost is taken into account when setting a product's price. Constant adverts are very intrusive and spoil the flow of programmes, particularly dramas.

I think the licence fee is tremendously good value for money and I feel that we are very lucky in this country to have the BBC.

Yes, the top employees earn a lot of money but their salaries are not comparable to the CEOs of banks and other businesses.

The Director General earns £450,000
Head of Radio earns £352,900

The Telegraph in October 2014 reported that the typical CEO now earns £3,344,000

The FT quoted these figures for the top CEOs:

WPP 29,846,000
Shell 13,983,000
Crest Nicholson 13,615,000
Experian 12,972,000
Vodafone 12,711,000

Having lived in Germany for a long time I would suggest, GrannyTwice, that their broadcasting service is much better than ours. I do hope that your demand was open to everyone and I'm not barging in uninvited?

Our TV is marvellous! As is our radio. Compared to almost any other country in the world. It's so easy to grumble about it and take it for granted.
The licence fee is a bargain. I don't care, personally, about how much various individuals earn, or other sundry facts and figures. All I know is that the BBC has been entertaining me all my life, from when I crouched around our old bakelite radio in WW2, to today when the selection of entertainment, sport, documentaries, etc, are right there, available to me day or night.
It entertains and instructs, which I believe is the mantra of the BBC.

GT it may only be the cost of a coffee a week to you therefore inconsequential, but to some people that could be a substantial sum. And no, they should not have to do without radio and tv. But if this was not a compulsory payment they could choose to watch and listen to commercial channels only.

People can cut down on heating, water consumption and choose somewhere cheaper to shop for food but cannot avoid this compulsory fee for which non-payment resulted in prosecution.
www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/24/in-court-non-payment-tv-licence-television-desperate-cases

In today's world of so many commercial channels the BBC with its exorbitant salaries is an anomaly.

henetha do you still have to pay the fee if you were listening to the BBC in WW2?
Excuse me if you are still too young to be exempt (75) but it is worth checking!

There was no choice then, of course!

To digress, I think the TV Licence system is a nonsense .... probably 99% of the population watch some sort of TV output/listen to the radio so support for the BBC should come out of general taxation.

Surely it would be cheaper than having a Government department issuing licences, catching evaders, detector vans, advertisement campaigns, etc.

I wonder how much it costs to run all this.

And there were reports that the detector vans contained no detecting equipment whatsoever.

They were a con trick.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10340804/Myth-of-the-TV-detector-van.html