[jambutty]

I am amazed that people still insist on equating the TV licence with the BBC.

Even if the TV licence was directly equated to the BBC, which it isn’t, it is still good value because there is more than just BBC1 and 2. There are several digital channels plus dozens of radio stations and of course all the other commercial channels be they cable or satellite. How many trips to the cinema would the cost of the licence fund?

Your licence authorises you to set up an audio and video receiving station in your house much in the same way that you need a licence to operate a CB radio or a Ham radio system or use a car/motor bike/lorry on the public highway. It has nothing to do with the BBC or any other organisation apart from the government.

Although a department of the BBC does the actual collecting of the licence money and monitoring who has and has not got a licence the money actually goes to the government and the government funds the BBC with an amount that is based on the licence fee. But you can bet your sweet life that the government keeps some of the money collected.

If you have a licence read what it states on the back.

To save you the trouble:
What you need a TV licence for

You need a TV licence to install and use any equipment to receive or record television programme services – for example a television set, video recorder, set-top box, PC with a broadcast card or any other TV receiving equipment.

Surely that is plain enough? The BBC doesn’t charge a licence fee – the government does.

Incidentally the BBC does fund itself with the sale of programmes to other TV stations around the world.