Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

A place to discuss programming, content sources & aggregator web sites, hardware, and all things related to emerging audio programming distribution technologies.
Deleted User 4520

Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:10 pm

I find it interesting that in Britain, a TV license is required which is about £154.50/year. I guess they have a lot of OTA channels available. I read somewhere the BBC gets a good amount of that fee to produce programming.

Now all of that said, it's really difficult to watch BBC content even with a VPN. When using a VPN, you still have to create an account with the BBC. They claim that its to tailor advertising content to you, but I don't really by that. So I went though all of that. The zinger here folks is that after you create an account while using a VPN they ask for your UK TV license. So basically they have 3 obstacles for Americans to get around before they can watch the BBC iPlayer and BBC News live stream.



User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Turkeytop » Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:34 pm

Boris announced last week a new policy whereby, failure to pay a license will no longer be subject to prosecution and fines.

That will probably be the death Knell for BBC.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

Deleted User 4520

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:40 pm

To me this TV license thing seems like an unfair tax. I was under the impression that over the air signals were free but yet the Brits are being charged. I would be curious as to how many British households don't have a TV for this very reason. Will TV's just NOT work if you're not licensed?



User avatar
Some Guy from Toledo
Posts: 111
Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:12 pm

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Some Guy from Toledo » Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:50 pm

TheForce wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:40 pm
To me this TV license thing seems like an unfair tax. I was under the impression that over the air signals were free but yet the Brits are being charged. I would be curious as to how many British households don't have a TV for this very reason. Will TV's just NOT work if you're not licensed?
The idea of licensing TV was a very European thing, where television was seen as a public service and less a commercial entity like the US has, a lot of other countries have operated similar license taxes as well. I see Wikipedia has a good chart showing all the different countries and how they go about funding their state-own broadcasting organizations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence



Deleted User 4520

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:57 pm

So how does the British government know if you are illegally watching OTA broadcasts? How is this enforced? Is there something in the TV that won't let you watch if you're not licensed? It is unfortunate they recently starting requiring these licenses to watch the iPlayer. Do B&W TV's still exist??

United Kingdom
Main article: Television licensing in the United Kingdom
A television licence is required for each household where television programmes are watched or recorded as they are broadcast, irrespective of the signal method (terrestrial, satellite, cable or the Internet). As of September 2016, users of BBC iPlayer must also have a television licence in order to watch on-demand television content from the service.[77] As of 1 April 2017, after the end of a freeze that began in 2010, the price of a licence may now increase to account for inflation. The licence fee in 2018 was £150.50 for a colour and £50.50 for a black and white TV Licence. As of April 2019, the licence fee is £154.50 for a colour and £52.00 for a black and white TV Licence.[78] As it is classified in law as a tax, evasion of licence fees is a criminal offence.[79] 204,018 people were prosecuted or fined in 2014 for TV licence offences: 173,044 in England, 12,536 in Wales, 4,905 people in Northern Ireland and 15 in the Isle of Man.[80][81]

The licence fee is used almost entirely to fund BBC domestic radio, television and internet services. The money received from the fee represents approximately 75% of the cost of these services, with most of the remainder coming from the profits of BBC Studios, a commercial arm of the corporation which markets and distributes its content outside of the United Kingdom, and operates or licences BBC-branded television services and brands.[82] The BBC also receives some funding from the Scottish Government via MG Alba to finance the BBC Alba Gaelic-language television service in Scotland. The BBC used to receive a direct government grant from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to fund television and radio services broadcast to other countries, such as the BBC World Service radio and BBC Arabic Television. These services run on a non-profit, non-commercial basis. The grant was abolished on 1 April 2014, leaving these services to be funded by the UK licence fee, a move which has caused some controversy.[83][84]

The BBC is not the only public service broadcaster. Channel 4 is also a public television service but is funded through advertising and Government grants. The Welsh language S4C in Wales is funded through a combination of a direct grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, advertising and receives some of its programming free of charge by the BBC (see above). These other broadcasters are all much smaller than the BBC. In addition to the public broadcasters, the UK has a wide range of commercial television funded by a mixture of advertising and subscription. A television licence is still required of viewers who solely watch such commercial channels, although 74.9% of the population watches BBC One in any given week, making it the most popular channel in the country.[85] A similar licence, mandated by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904, existed for radio, but was abolished in 1971.



User avatar
rugratsonline
Posts: 488
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 1:20 pm

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by rugratsonline » Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:43 pm

TheForce wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:57 pm
So how does the British government know if you are illegally watching OTA broadcasts? How is this enforced? Is there something in the TV that won't let you watch if you're not licensed?
You can still use your TV in the UK, but the BBC has a fleet of vans that roam around the UK, detecting who's watching TV and whether they have a license. If you have no license and get caught by a licensing van, you are liable for a £1000 fine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_detector_van

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisio ... ed_Kingdom



User avatar
rugratsonline
Posts: 488
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 1:20 pm

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by rugratsonline » Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:53 pm

Turkeytop wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:34 pm
Boris announced last week a new policy whereby, failure to pay a license will no longer be subject to prosecution and fines.
Practically the only thing I agree with Boris.
Turkeytop wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:34 pm
That will probably be the death Knell for BBC.
Of course, they can be like PBS and ask for pledges and grants; or the Aussie ABC, and raise taxes through other means ("only 8 cents a day"); or the CBC, whose TV operations use a mixture of taxes and commercials.



User avatar
Some Guy from Toledo
Posts: 111
Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:12 pm

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Some Guy from Toledo » Fri Dec 27, 2019 12:23 am

rugratsonline wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:43 pm
TheForce wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 9:57 pm
So how does the British government know if you are illegally watching OTA broadcasts? How is this enforced? Is there something in the TV that won't let you watch if you're not licensed?
You can still use your TV in the UK, but the BBC has a fleet of vans that roam around the UK, detecting who's watching TV and whether they have a license. If you have no license and get caught by a licensing van, you are liable for a £1000 fine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_detector_van

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisio ... ed_Kingdom
Recall Michael Moore covering this as a report on his old "TV Nation" show back in the 90's, showing off those vans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEEJpjBfhvg
rugratsonline wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 11:53 pm
Turkeytop wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:34 pm
Boris announced last week a new policy whereby, failure to pay a license will no longer be subject to prosecution and fines.
Practically the only thing I agree with Boris.
Turkeytop wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:34 pm
That will probably be the death Knell for BBC.
Of course, they can be like PBS and ask for pledges and grants; or the Aussie ABC, and raise taxes through other means ("only 8 cents a day"); or the CBC, whose TV operations use a mixture of taxes and commercials.
They'll certainly look into those other options.



Deleted User 4520

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:39 am

This is very fascinating stuff! I would think these TV detector vans would be an invasion of privacy. Does one need a license to use your TV for video games? How accurate is their detection system when scanning an apartment complex? Can they actually pinpoint the room that is violating?



Deleted User 4520

Re: Difficult To Watch BBC Programmes In America

Post by Deleted User 4520 » Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:58 am

Excellent video on the TV license goons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcLqvFjMhE



Post Reply Previous topicNext topic