Why there is a license fee for watching TV in UK?

Answer 1

The license fee pays for the BBC. The BBC runs a web site, dozens of local and some national radio stations, and several TV channels, all of which are free and commercial free. The license fee enables quality programming to be produced without the ridiculous quest for ratings that happens in the US. Unlike the US the BBC don't go into a flat panic if ratings are down and cancel shows left and right. They accept that some shows appeal only to a niche audience and so keep them on the air anyway. The other advantage of the BBC is that along with government regulations it keeps other commercial channels from becoming over commercialized. In the US a typical half hour show is edited down to 21 minutes with the other nine minutes for commercials. On re-runs American TV will actually cut scenes from the show to squeeze more commercials in. In the UK a half hour show will have ONE commercial break half way through the show, and the show will not be deliberately butchered just to add more commercial time.

While it may sound odd to tax TV in this manner it is a system that has worked extremely well for decades. British TV has world class news programming, documentaries, comedy, drama and more, all commercial free (and few commercials on commercial TV). It is far less censored than American TV as well.

Answer 2

There are "advertisement free" channels on British television, and the license fee is what supports these programs. Even if you only watch the commercial channels, the license fee is obligatory (you are fined if you don't pay), because the fee subsidises the non-commercial channels, and you can't "opt out" of them. I used to live in the UK, and always figured it was worth paying the fee in order to keep our non-commercial channels.

Answer 3

because uk is the one of biggest and riches country in the world.So to make the country economic more and more stronger then before means first they have to improve the public knowledges.Watching TV is the one to get more good information. So if the government dosen't charge any fee for watching TV means all most all the people dosen't watch TV properly. i think that the reason why UK charge free for watching TV.

Answer 4

Too preclude the television industry of the United Kingdom from being taken over by advertisers who by virtue of their purchasing time and backing producers can hold too much influence on the populace at large. The United Kingdom has taken a proactive stance and taxes all users of this product there by having some of the highest artistic standards in the world on their state run channels. Well done UK.

Answer 5

Like many countries, their first TV channels (which had little or no advertising revenue) were publicly funded - in Canada, the government subsidized the CBC; in the U.S., PBS is funded by "viewers like you". The U.K. and many European countries collect a license fee from TV and radio owners to pay for their "core" system. Theirs is a more equitable system - after all, how many viewers actually contribute financially to PBS, Ontario's TVO, etc.
Face it, if someone can get something for nothing, do you REALLY think they'd voluntarily pay for it?

Answer 6

In the UK, television licence fees are set by Parliament and go directly to the funding of the BBC, enabling it to provide programming without the need for commercials.

Answer 7

nicely i do no longer agree. i imagine the license fee is amazingly sturdy fee for each thing you get with - each and each of the BBC television channels, inclusive of the freeview channels, each and each of the radio stations, and all the different cool stuff the Beeb does. I hate commercials, exceptionally on the radio - i imagine its fantastic the BBC is loose from commercials. ITV continuously has to make effective it pleases its advertisers, in truth they're more desirable considerable to ITV than the visitors. you would under no circumstances discover courses like Watchdog and that is existence on ITV because the advertisers would under no circumstances enable it! They completely administration what you're allowed to video reveal. do you want them to own you thoroughly? The BBC will be ruined if it had to count number upon commercials, and it may be the top of existence in Britain as all of us understand it! God keep the BBC!

Answer 8

Possibly to cut down on taxation. You know those British like to tax everything. So American history has taught me. They'll charge for anything these days. You probably buy water. If I ever thought I could make a profit selling water I would have payed attention in science when they talked about filtration. Do you have to pay for health insurance, life insurance and the like in the U.K.? If not then it's a good trade off.

Answer 9

The UK produces a lot of its own content. The fee pays for that, and more I'm sure

Answer 10

In Canada and the US commercials pay for the TV you watch. The TV tax is used to fund BBC so you can watch commercial free TV