Abolition of TV licence fee.....

Cameron wants to decriminalise not having a TV licence because it gives people a criminal record for a comparatively small offence. Which is, relatively speaking, unfair.

article here

full article here

"The best alternative to the licence fee, the report concluded, would be a compulsory broadcasting levy paid by all households, regardless of whether they watch TV, or how they watch."

(extract from report by committee of MPs set up to think about it)

Whoops. Didn't read far enough. So where has this idea of an entertainment levy tax, or whatever it's called, sprung from?

I don't have a telly, dj.

secure.avaaz.org/en/uk_media_loc/?bkHcnjb&v=58392

Oh. She's long gone. In bed most likely.

Even you will have to pay it Bags.

That will. Not they will

Well, if they bring in a levy on all households, whether they have a tv or not, they will take care of that.

Apparently you do not need a licence to watch tv programmes on 'catch up'. It would mean waiting to see them and of course not all programmes are on iplayer etc

They don't. Not from that petition anyway, but there is the Save the BBC petition as well, vague though it is about what the BBC needs to be saved from. I might sign it if that were perfectly clear. At the moment everything is just speculation and rumour.

If there's a petition asking you to sign if you want the fee to be abolished, how do they know how many people have not signed because they want to keep it?

Oh wait, I see that eloethan has quoted a bit about the compulsory fee being "eventually" ended. I gathered from the same article that "eventually" is envisaged as a long way off. My gathering may have been mistaken.

Only 139,000 signatures for that petition so far, thatbags. I will not be signing it. The BBC fee is such good value for money.

ITV staff on strike today for better pay.

According to a 38degrees petition in 2013 70% of respondents wanted changes to the licence fee.

Re the thread title, has abolition of the licence fee actually been suggested or 'threataned'? The news article I read was much vaguer than that. Where has the fear of abolition come from?

For me the real worry is the Proms - they are my summer treat and I record them to enjoy in the winter months....and the Young Musician of the Year........and the Cardiff Singer of the World. I would be very sad to see them go, or have them dumbed down as "highlights."

The BBC (especially BBC4) is a valued institution.

And BBC radio is excellent - something for everyone.

£12 a month for the BBC channels would be better value than a comparable amount for the subscription cable ones.

Elegran What I object to is being forced to pay. The BBC do make some good programmes I agree but it has also wasted money. It should be a voluntary subscription channel.

Do you watch £3 worth of BBC programmes a week, Magpie ? If it were a subscription channel, I would pay that to watch (and fund) the programmes that the BBC makes so well.

Reading between the lines of the survey sent to me, it looked as if BBC3 was the station that looked under threat. It was mentioned rather too frequently.

Soutra of course no one forces me to watch TV, but I object to being forced to pay £145.50 just because I own a TV. I believe in freedom of choice and I personally would like to decide who I give my money to. I subscribe to Sky and Netflix.

From The Independent:

"One of the Conservative MPs appointed by David Cameron to oversee the future of the BBC believes the licence fee is “unsustainable” and “worse than a poll tax.

"John Whittingdale, who has been appointed as Culture Secretary, said in October that the compulsory charge to fund the BBC should be eventually ended."

The article goes on to say:

"Mr Whittingdale also has a strongly right-wing record on parliamentary votes.

"According to the site They Work For You, which collates the way MPs have voted, he has voted very strongly against equal gay rights, strongly against the fox hunting ban, very strongly against equal marriage and moderately against laws to promote equality and human rights."

Just the sort of chap you'd want to be involved in decisions relating to a public broadcasting service.

Tegan i will be sorry to see the Scandi dramas go but look forward to seeing what the Beeb will discover next. Without a channel like BBC 4 we would never have discovered these things. Real innovative programmes in drama, the arts, history and culture are only brought to us because the Beeb is still an organisation with the best interests of the public at its heart www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/publicpurposes