Would someone please explain to me what a T.V. license is?

Question

Dumb Yank.

Answer 1

firstly hello dumb yank...
here in the UK we have a TV license that is for having equipment that can receive TV broadcasts (a TV), it is created by the government. (and often seen as a tax)
many TV broadcasters take money from its collections to focus on local & culture events, sports, education etc.

The BBC collects the money on behalf of the government and is the main puplic broadcaster & is awarded with more of the money than most (ITV, C4, Five and S4C ) are examples of other public broadcasters that have part PSB requirements & also receive money from the TV license.

It is illegal in the uk to have a TV without a license and you can be fined up to £1000 for not having one.
but as a whole its their to secure a standard of broadcasting.
such as S4c
http://www.s4c.co.uk/e_index.shtml
which is a Welsh channel in the welsh language.

some like it, some hate it.
but one thing is for sure, even if we had no public broadcasters such as BBC or S4c. the government would still impose such a license.

Answer 2

Hi - you need to buy a licence each year (although you can pay monthly) if you own a tv (although you only need one licence per house, regardless of how many tvs you own. The only legal way to watch tv without a licence is to have a battery powered portable tv. If you don't pay the licence, you get chased constantly by the tv licensing authority who have taken it upon themselves to become a less efficient modern day equivalent of the spanish inquisition - and they don't believe that even an empty property could be without a tv and constantly harass you with letters and visits - they are not satisified that you don't own a tv so the best thing is to buy a tv licence so they leave you alone.
The licence was set up a long time ago to pay for the work the BBC does. The BBC tries to justify the continuing fee by expanding its work to include TV, radio and internet. However, with the growth of cable, many people feel they shouldn't recieve so much money as people don't watch it this much. They argue that because they are non-commercial they offer a higher standard of programming. This is debatable.
Personally I don't care whether they continue to have a license or not, but they should find a better way to collect monies rather than harass grieving relatives. Sorry - your question seems to have attracted a lot of rants from disaffected brits. Basically go and buy a licence - you've got no choice! peacex

Answer 3

In UK only...... A licence is required to authorise a particular house, apartment or premises to be used for the reception of radio or television signals( either black/white or colour)...A government body, the television licencing aythority., is responsible for the issuing and yearly renewal of these licences. The rates for radio only. black and white television and colour television are revised annually. Blind people get a discount and over 75 year old people are exempted from payment .. A colour TV licence currently costs £135.50 a year( Just over $270). The money is used to finance the BBC Television services and also the host of BBC radio channels... The government is obliged to maintain an independent broadcasting service that is truly independent and not subject to commercial or political influences or pressures. The licence fee is considered the best way to finance the BBC. What people do not realise is that the fee is not levied by the BBC itself but by the government, and that it is not a licence to watch bbc TV but a fee to allow a premises to be used for the reception of any radio or television signals from whatever source, and by any means.. You don't have to have a TV set,,, A video recorder needs to be licenced or a computer with TV reception facilities..Hope this has helped your query... The licence fee system has been in force for many years long before WW2 .

Answer 4

In the early days of television in Britain, which was non commmercial as it was first provided by the BBC, a means of paying the substantial extra cost of television broadcasting over and above the cost of radio was required. For this reason it was decided the still relatively small number of television viewers should contribute for the service, which is quite reasonable and fair, it was decided this would be achieved with the purchase of a licence to own/use a television. At the time and for decades the only tv broadcaster was the BBC so there was little issue with having a licence to recieve their programming. As times have changed so has the attitude towards a tv licence as a means of funding the BBC.

Answer 5

It's not UK only. It's in the Republic of Ireland too.
You have to pay about €70 or €80 a year if you have a TV in your house even if you exclude the BBC channels and only have the Irish terrestrial channels.

They've also tried to tell us that we have to have a TV licence for every TV and computer monitor in the house. But they're too dumb to realise that everyone knows that they don't have to let the TV licence inspector into the house. Haha.

They never come round to check anyway, it's pointless.

Answer 6

In the UK you cannot legally use a TV set without a license. The money raised is used to fund the BBC, hence the BBC is not dependant upon billionaires or selling advertising space. This means it is able to produce a higher standard of programs than would otherwise be possible.

Answer 7

Forty years or more ago, Australia had broadcast reception licenses for radio and television. I cannot remember the costs now; but there were licences for each appliance you had in your residence INCLUDING car radio licence. EACH appliance was charged for.

It was a tax, allegedly directed to the funding of the Australian Broadcasting Commission as the public radio and then also television broadcaster (and also the overseas shortwave service Radio Australia).

It died because it was too expensive to enforce collection/payment, through the tyranny of distance here in Oz, as well as proliferation of radio receivers.

CB and UHF radio transceivers did require licences for many years; but they also fell away a few years ago.

Amateur radios (tranmitters/receivers) require licensing of the operator, not the unit.

Answer 8

In the UK to be able to own and operate a television set you need to pay around $250 to the TV licensing authority for the right. The fee goes to fund the BBC.

Answer 9

The annual cost of a colour TV licence (set by the Government) is currently £135.50. That works out at £11.29 per month - about 37p per day for each household. It is free if you are 75 or over, and half-price if you are registered blind.

A black and white TV licence is £45.50. Reduced licence fees apply to eligible hotels and residential care accommodation.

The BBC is paid for directly through each household TV licence. This allows it to run a wide range of popular public services for everyone, free of adverts and independent of advertisers, shareholders or political interests. 92.5% of the UK population used the BBC every month in 2006/2007.

Basically, it's just another way to rip us off and get money out of us.

Answer 10

It is a fee you have to pay to be able to watch the BBC channels, it is compulsory, if you are found watching TV without a license, even if you are watching a different channel you will get fined.
You only need 1 license per household not every TV set.