[steeljack]

No licence fees here in the US , most folk recieve the signal either via cable or increasingly thru the phone line , think "over the air" signals recently changed to digital and you had to apply for a coupon to get a discount on a reciever box , think only about 10 or 12 local channels broadcast this way anything else you need 'cable' . Also since the land areas are so large and spread out folks in rural areas get poor reception .. (the stations aren't going to invest millions in building transmitters to serve rural areas ).
One of the biggest scams is that local councils allowed only one cable company to 'wire' each town/area for a fee + (backhanders to local officials and Councillors) thus locking you in to that company
Another sneaky scam the sleaziod politicians have come up with is having to pay a 're-cycling fee' on new electronics