this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
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Maybe they should stop forcing this antiquated TV License scam. For those who don't know, the UK pushes for a TV License to watch Live TV though most people don't watch BBC anymore. Though I bet they will try to find a way to include Netflix and more in the TV License. EDIT: I agree the BBC should be funded though they are not a perfect entity and state controlled media is very bad especially for journalism. I think they are going about advertising the license in the wrong way and there is a lot of evidence of harassment from letters and visits to get a tv license even if you don't have a tv!
Hard disagree: if there's one thing we've seen over the many decades, BBC News for all its various stumbles has done a good job of setting a high bar for all the commercial news TV in the UK.
Just compare it to the absolute trainwreck that is US TV news media. Sky News for example is a Murdoch station just like Fox News, and yet they don't have even a fraction of the amount of crazy on there because the British people have come to expect their news presenters to act like adults and make at least some attempt at impartiality.
Even if you don't like the BBC's output, you still get the benefit from its effect on the independents, and it's not like anyone's forcing you to watch it.
Likewise NPR/PBS in the US. They're really the tits.
NPR has gone to shit since the Bush admin. It parrots way too much government propaganda. Look to Pacifica.
Well the BBC is technically forcing us to watch it. Many people don't watch TV at all but constantly receive threatening letters complaigning that we are not paying for a TV License that we don't use. They want every single household to have a TV and a license even if we don't watch the BBC. So that is a big problem with a forced narrative from the BBC. I do agree that they do a lot of things well but it's often too little too late. However, my main issue is not the quality of state controlled media or the ethical problems with that but rather the fact that they keep forcing us to pay for it. Even if we don't use it.
Literally everything that is paid for with tax money works like that. Did you think you got a refund in the mail if you don't drive on a particular road.
We don't use dollars in the UK
ya should have written money
As an example of the system being reworked into a better one: Germany's equivalent not only finances public broadcast channels, but also youtubers through the program FUNK. Granted, a lion's share still goes into the old TV channels, but at least that includes the French/German channel Arte, which has some top notch content (though usually documentaries) that it regularly uploads onto YouTube.
The TV licence funds the BBC’s 10 TV channels, 10 national radio stations, 6 regional radio stations, 50 local radio stations, 14 regional news operations, the biggest news gathering organisation in the world, 4 orchestras and music groups, world-leading R&D labs, S4C, local democracy reporters, and the World Service. It broadcasts in 39 languages and outputs 140 hours of news per day. It is also about to fund youtube creators. It’s cheaper than the German tax.
That seems more tolerable than in Japan where some people there consider NHK being annoying with agents actually knocking on their door and expecting payment for having a TV.
That is interesting. I like that they used YouTube channels. I feel like TV is sadly a dying platform though I do hate the day that TV and Cinema die. Unfortunately it only happens cause TV License people dug their own grave. Also, there is not enough new stuff to watch on TV with every streaming service putting out so many platforms to watch on. Though maybe I am being too cynnical and I apolagize.
I wouldn't say you're too cynical with that view. I mean, the 2 German public broadcast channels (ARD, ZDF) are under constant fire for basically catering to an audience that is slowly dying out - both metaphorically and physically. Sure, some of these shows still have some popularity with younger generations, but that is few and far between. It's pretty much the same idea that plagues big corporations - change is scary as it poses a risk, so they avoid it - even if they literally have nothing to lose.
And I agree that the fractured streaming environment made it ever harder to license content. However, I don't think they should focus on licensing content to begin with. Instead, offer more grants for independent studios to create publicly available movies and shows. I mean, as we speak, Glitch is funding multiple shows to be viewed for free on YouTube. Why can't public broadcast channels do that more too?
Government funded news programs are generally a good thing IF they're mostly their own entity and importantly as long as they don't block other sources. I think bbc being funded is good
BBC being funded is good but state controlled media is very bad. BBC is highly regulated and controlled by the crown and the British gov. How they push the TV License is very invasive and offputting to the point of harassment and threats. Surely there has to be a better way to do this. They should try to make people want a license not claiming that we HAVE to have it. That's all I am trying to say.
It's good to have it, all media is state sponsored, at least one of them is by the local state. You want BBC to be sold and owned by KGB nepo babies like the independent or evening standard?
Maybe they should just bill a household regardless and dispense with the extra nonsense then you would just have to pay and couldn't go on about it
What are you going to attack next? The queen? Mary fucking Poppins?! Leave our feudal traditions alone! XXX