BBC TV Licensing for a computer at home ?

[expat]

I don't mind paying if I do watch what I have to pay for (the point is currently moot since I do have a TV licence at home). But I would strongly object to having to pay a TV licence for having a PC that I can connect to the internet, just because the BBC decide to put stuff there thet I could access.

Just as, for example, when I lived in France: they decided that CD Roms were mostly for recording copyrighted music, so they put a 1€ levy on each blank CD Rom, to be paid to the music industry. I started buying them elsewhere, out of principle (the principle being that that wasn't what I used them for, and I had no wish to pay Johnny Hallyday one euro every rime I backed up my holiday snaps).

I believe that in Germany you do need a licence for a PC that can connect to the internet, if you don't already have a TV licence. I believe that the German government at first seriously considered requiring a licence for all PCs anyway, and that by location and ownership: so a contractor would need one licence for his registered office (the TV licence for that place as a home would not cover it ), one for any client office, and one for the hotel in the evening.

[ace00]

I believe that in Germany you do need a licence for a PC that can connect to the internet.....

I thought in Germany you need a licence to get out of bed in the morning.

[Pickle2]

Makes you wonder how the licencing people mine their data. I've been in my new place for two years now and only realized last week that I have no license (I used to pay the one for old flat on DD).

I have nice shiney 42" plasma, brough on c-card tied to address. Broadband at address. Sky subscription at address and big dish on roof. Santana sports subscription at address. And not a peep out of em. Detector vans my arse.

[Ruprect]

Makes you wonder how the licencing people mine their data. I've been in my new place for two years now and only realized last week that I have no license (I used to pay the one for old flat on DD).

I have nice shiney 42" plasma, brough on c-card tied to address. Broadband at address. Sky subscription at address and big dish on roof. Santana sports subscription at address. And not a peep out of em. Detector vans my arse.

Have the band got their own sport channel now?

[EternalOptimist]

the detector vans did actually have something in them, contrary to the myth. A telly used to produce an Intermediate frequency that was mixed with the signal to produce a lower, common frequency that the telly could handle. The IF told them what channel you were watching, and because your telly became a transmitter it was easy to triangulate it.
So they did actually work, but no one believed a word of it

[Spacecadet]

So, all this content provided by the BBC that one can get "for free" via iPlayer, the web site, et cetera.

I wonder what pays for the creation of that content, and of the infrastructure and applications necessary to deliver it to you?

You don't suppose it could be... no, surely not...

Morons

If you're reading any BBC websites outside of the UK then adverts are added into the content.

The BBC also has quite a strong commercial arm, selling programmes and DVDs abroad

The license fee is only part of the BBCs revenue

[Moscow Mule]

The license fee is only part of the BBCs revenue

Wikipedia reckons it's quite a large bit...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B...BP_Redvers.png

[Spacecadet]

Wikipedia reckons it's quite a large bit...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B...BP_Redvers.png

yup - and the BBC spends most of its money making TV programmes for broadcast on British TV


And Jonathon Ross

[NotAllThere]

I thought in Germany you need a licence to get out of bed in the morning.

Anything not forbidden is compulsory. It's easier that way to know what to do.

[SantaClaus]

Enforcement officers work for Capita, they have no right of entry.

Sue them for trespass!