Licence For Your Pc??
 

Trust the BBC
If you cant read it in the pic :
Computer users could find themselves paying double for their annual TV licence fee under current Government proposals.

This is the plan put forward by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in a recently published green paper on the review of the BBC's royal charter. The proposals include not only retaining the licence fee but extending it to those who watch TV programmes via a broadband connection.

The DCMS concluded this would make it easier to collect licence fees, which are only based on television ownership at the moment. It claimed large numbers of people are downloading BBC media over the internet, making it increasingly difficult to enforce the licence fee. In effect, the change could see people paying twice, with a fee for a PC as well as their TV.

The paper says: "The means of collecting the fee may have to be changed, so that it became, for example, either a compulsory levy on all households or on ownership of PCs as well as TVs."

The Government says it has no plans as to how the licence fee will be collected from PC owners, saying the proposals refer to when the BBC's charter is renewed in 2006. "By that time," a representative of the Department told us, "it might be necessary to look at extending the licence fee to computers."

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

The TV licence needs scrapping. The BBC should contains adverts like the hundreds of other channels. If they cant hack it in the real word then shut down.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

It is exactly why the BBC doesn't have adverts that it is better to watch.

I would much rather watch a film or programme on the BBC than on 3, 4 or 5 because you don't get the constant irritating interruptions, and that includes Formula 1.

I understand that adverts are the source of the commercial channels' income, but if they actually spent the money on things other than crap prizes for any Tom Dick or chav that happens to appear on the programmes, they could actually get away with showing less adverts and more decent tv

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

The BBC is just another typical goverment funded, over managed and under achieving waste of tax payers money. Who do you think will be paying for the analog switch off? You and I with our licence fee. And who will be making all the money? Goverment, when they sell of the analog air space to commercial TV companies.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

The BBC Surely should not force people to pay a licence fee for their web services?
When they started putting things out over the net they were financing it with the monies already provided by the licence payers & those people provided those funds so that they could watch television not so that the Beeb could play with cool new toys!
Also are they going to get some sort of mandate that will enable them to claim licence fees worldwide? After all, although the Beeb's website is an excellent site it can be accessed from anywhere by anyone! If they are going to just claim this tax (because thats what it is), only from u.k. citizens are they not infringing on our human rights? If the rest of the world can download & watch T.V. programmes over the net without being penalised then why should we be penalised for using what is a modern technology that is open to all nations?

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Most of europe can watch BBC for free now it is not encoded on sky anymore. Pull out your sky card and watch BBC1 2 3 4 and others.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

I like having adverts when would i be able to nip to the loo during the film and miss none! or tell the kids i will get you a drink when the adverts come on? at least that way i never miss any of it. The kids dont have to keep bugging til the end of the film or programme whatever. More adverts less license i say, is it not that we pay enough to have a pc in the first place expense to buy one in the first place, expense to run one (broad band) expense for the printer and software and paper and ink and digital camera and disks and pens and little plastic things to keep disks in and the electric to run the thing on, and all those wonderful things you see on Ebay that you think wow a bargin got to have that and then bid like crazy.

Makes you think if its all worth it,

Will the elderly get a discount on the licence?

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Probably - about £200 OK?

Plus free bus travel to PC World to buy their new computer!!!

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

If I would him I would take it to the local press - that would give them something to do, instead of talking about the Panopticon!

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

I would have loved the scene:

Busman before the bench

Q. Now my good man can you give me one good reason why you have failed to purchase the obligatory television licence?

A. Yes your effervessence. I ain't got no TV like.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Well then my good man did you tell them you haven't got a T.V.?

Many times yer worshipful being I even e-mailed them.

You e-mailed them? Then you have a P.C.! Send him down!

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Not sure that actual ownership requires a TV licence MichiganRed but once it's plugged in and receiving a signal we are breaking the law if we don't have a licence. The licence is theoretically a permit to view the BBC programs so why can't those of us who object to paying have a way of simply opting out of watching the BBC?

I usually watch Sky anyway. When analogue is abandoned and we are left with digital can't they work out a way of making BBC subscription only and scrap the licence? At least then those of us who don't want to watch it won't have to pay for it.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

This site gives a brief description:-

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

You'll notice that it doesn't give a distinction between BBC and commercial stations - I think you'll find that you need one even if you don't watch BBC

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Do I need a licence?

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/white.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one. http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gifhttp://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/white.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif Back to top http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gifhttp://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gifHow much does it cost?

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/white.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/image/spacer.gif A colour TV Licence costs £121.00 and a black and white licence costs £40.50.

There are a number of ways to pay, click here to find out more from our Ways to Pay section.

The licence is not for watching any particular channel. It is for owning/using a TV ( or PC with TV card ). So it is basically a licence to receive TV signals. You need a licence to receive most radio signals ie CB, Amater Radio, PMR radios used by security firms/businesses etc.

They are trying to catch people who will stop watching TV by receiving radio signals, ie people using broadband TV straight up your PC, this is digital data all the way, no radio signals to licence for.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

I'll let the BBC tell you:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thefuture/charter/charter.shtml

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Thanks again, Less.

Since this has no impact on me, I am somewhat hesitant in voicing an opinion on the matter. However, with your kind indulgence, I would have to say this is, from the individual taxpayer standpoint, even more grievous than the state of Michigan "Use Tax" (whereby we must pay state sales tax on purchases made outside the physical boundaries of the state) and on par with the "Religious" tax enforced in Germany.

Surely the person who dreamed up this scheme has been enshrined in whatever Pantheon of greatness bureaucratic minds use to celebrate themselves. The Royal Charter states the BBC is required "...to provide sound and television programmes of information, education and entertainment funded by advertisements, subscription, sponsorship, pay-per-view system, or any other means of finance..." and according to the BBC Freedom of Information report "About TV Licensing", just under 24 million of these licenses were in use at the end of 2003. The report doesn't seem to break down the numbers by type of license (i.e. color, black and white) but it does state that "More than 3 million customers aged 75 or over benefited from free licenses and over 30,000 customers received a 50% blind concession on their license fee." Even if the free licenses are deducted from the aforementioned 24 million, that is still a rather tidy sum of cash.

It must be nice to be able to generate new revenue streams at a whim and require others to comply. I wonder what would happen if I were to try something like that with my employers.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Like Donald Trump says (or Alan Sugar over here) "You're fired"

Both shown on BBC2!

Best read that article - doesn't that fall out of their parameters?

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

I'm with MUMMIBOO we do need adverts, but not so many of them.
At the end of every programme would be plenty.
But extending the ads for 3min instead of two would be better.

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

It's a bit rich though isn't it when the money goes to the BBC?

I think this stems from the fact that in the beginning there was only the BBC and then we got ITV which funded itself by paid advertising. Now we have numerous choices but no matter what we choose we still have to pay a licence fee to the BBC.

It doesn't sound quite right somehow does it?

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Nope is does not. I watch a lot of european TV which cost me nothing so maybe I am getting more for my money :)

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

i get most of my favourite tv shows from america in the way that tehy are recorded from american broadcasts and put onto teh internet

the rest of my tv shows i pay ntl for

cant say i ever watch the bbc so why shoudl i pay them for somthing i dont use

i am very surprised that in a country that prides its self on democracy and freedom of choice we are FORCED to pay for somthing we neither want or need

teh only channels that are truely worth their salt are channel 4 and the ITV stations as they are %100 free at no cost to us what so ever because they run of advetisments

the bbc have our money because the govenment says we have to pay them and SKY tv gets funded by the subscriber plus lots of advertsments as well which is a bit rich considering how much we pay them in subscriptions

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

b**tards!! when are the BBC going to die a death anyway. I dont watch TV and the programs i download arent broadcasted on BBC I pay tv licence because i have a tv & I dont watch TV GRRRRRRRR

Re: Licence For Your Pc??
 

the law will have to be changed yet again to accomodate the bbc

has anyone else noticed how fast a law can be changed for the bbc yet it can take many years for a law to be changed that will proyect people

i guess theres no money to be made in protecting people :mad: