Mikko Peltoniemi

[email protected] wrote:

    > Only in UK? Does anybody shell out money on this scale anywhere else?

In Finland it's about 190 euros for a year. Regardless of how many TV
sets you have in a household. The money goes to YLE, and its TV and
radio channels.

Before it used to be that you could get either black and white or color
permit. Black and white was cheaper, of course.

--
Mikko Peltoniemi
Film & Video Editor, Avid Technician at large.
http://editor.is.dreaming.org

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:45:51 +0200, [email protected] wrote:
    >
    > >On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 08:45:49 +0200, Tim Challenger
    > ><[email protected]> wrote:
    > >
    > >>On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 20:23:24 +0100, JohnT wrote:
    > >>
    > >>> You are aware that there are NO COMMERCIALS on any of the four BBC TV
    > >>> channels?
    > >>
    > >>Nor on any of the (20-30 odd?) radio stations which are also funded by the
    > >>licence.
    > >
    > >Nor on the BBC GBP5 million web site.
    >
    > But there are commercials on BBC America.

Which doesn't broadcast in the UK. That's the point. People in the US
don't pay a BBC license fee obviously, and the BBC sell it to US
providers as part of their commercial wing. It makes a profit for the
corporation, using programming they've already made. That said, not all
the BBC America programmes are actually made by the BBC- some of them in
the UK are made an broadcast by commercial stations (e.g. Location,
Location, Location.) Regardless, the channel is quite unlike any channel
they broadcast in the UK- a closer equivalent would be something like UK
Gold.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

nitram

On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:16:02 -0600, Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:

    >On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:45:51 +0200, [email protected] wrote:
    >>On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 08:45:49 +0200, Tim Challenger
    >><[email protected]> wrote:
    >>>On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 20:23:24 +0100, JohnT wrote:
    >>>> You are aware that there are NO COMMERCIALS on any of the four BBC TV channels?
    >>>Nor on any of the (20-30 odd?) radio stations which are also funded by the
    >>>licence.
    >>Nor on the BBC GBP5 million web site.
    >But there are commercials on BBC America.

but not Eastenders :-)

Wolfgang Schwanke

"Sarah Banick" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:lpV8d.341747$Fg5.38626@attbi_s53:

    > Okay, I need some cultural education. I've heard of this before, but
    > since I'm a USasian, how much does it cost to license a TV?

Approx between 10 and 20 EUR, depending on the country.

    > Do you have to license each one seperately?

As a general rule it's per household, not per device, as long as the
household is equipped with one or more devices capable to receive
broadcast television. That inclused VCRs with built-in tuners, computer
TV cards, etc.

    > Who gets the money?

The public broadcaster(s) of the country you live in.

    > What other electronics must one license?

Radios.

Here in Germany there's been talk of licensing computers (or internet
hookups, or whatever) on the grounds that they're capable of receiving
online radio broadcast from public radio stations. But so far that's just
talk, and is bound to face opposition.

    > (I've been to the UK several times, but
    > I've never had this conversation).

TV licenses exist in most countries who have public broadcasters, which
is the majority of countries in Europe. Some other countries who have
public broadcasting choose to finance it directly from tax money, which
makes them effectively a kind of state television (AFAIK France is an
example). The idea of financing them through a fee which doesn't go
through government instead is to make the broadcasters independent from
the state while still being publically funded.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

[email protected] (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
th' barn) wrote in
news:1gl8yk8.a1wobyi7bafdN%this_address_is_for_spa [email protected]:

    > Cost is around £120,
    > a lot less if you only have black and white, but I imagine that's rare
    > nowadays.

In Germany there's no distinction between b/w and colour. Do they also
distinguish between mono and stereo radios? :)

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote in
news:1097164439.d6KLGkF7GYUtZZjjmKEKEQ@teranews:

    >>>"The BBC is run in the interests of its viewers and listeners. Twelve
    >>>Governors act as trustees of the public interest and regulate the
    >>>BBC. They are appointed by the Queen on advice from ministers."
    >>
    >> In other words the PM.
    >
    > If you're a cynic, yes. :) I just can't seem to get images of Sir
    > Humphrey from "Yes Minister" out of my mind.

On the other hand, Sir Humphrey is a brainchild of the BBC.
So it can't be all that bad.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

[email protected] wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    >>>>That job was done by post office detector vans but they
    >>>>scarcely bother any more. The computer database
    >>>>tells them which houses dont have a TV license and
    >>>>they simply check those out.
    >>>
    >>>
    >>> Over and over and over ... again
    >>And after the first time (or not even then), you tell them to get
    >>stuffed. These queries have no legal basis.
    >
    > AFAIR they have the right to enter and search the premises.

Not in this country, they're not government officials.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

"Sarah Banick" <[email protected]>
wrote in news:mOe9d.217051$3l3.95580@attbi_s03:

    > Thanks everyone! 116 pounds a year -- wow, that's pricey.

If you get decent television on one or two dozen channels from it, don't
you think it's worth it? Most of what the commercial stations air is
complete junk, at least over here.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

"JohnT" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > You are aware that there are NO COMMERCIALS on any of the four BBC TV
    > channels?

Once more a comparison from Germany: Public stations here may air
commercials, but only before 20:00 hrs, and not interrupting programmes.

    > My friends in California are paying shedloads of money for lots of
    > mediocre chaneels on Charter Communications cable. I think this is not
    > unusual but perhaps some North American contributors may comment?

But that's a different cup of tea. The cable company gets money for the
technical service of providing you with television & radio signals. The
public broadcaster gets license fee money for producing the programmes. In
Europe, if you have a cable hookup, you pay both.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Wolfgang Schwanke

"Keith Willshaw" <[email protected]> wrote
in news:[email protected]:

    >> You can get some of the BBC local radio stations via Internet.
    >
    > And ALL the national radio stations

A godsend

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:

    > [email protected] (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
    > th' barn) wrote in
    > news:1gl8yk8.a1wobyi7bafdN%this_address_is_for_spa [email protected]:
    >
    > > Cost is around £120,
    > > a lot less if you only have black and white, but I imagine that's rare
    > > nowadays.
    >
    > In Germany there's no distinction between b/w and colour. Do they also
    > distinguish between mono and stereo radios? :)

Well, radios don't need a license. I don't think that many people would
have b/w licenses nowadays, and I imagine that, if they did, they'd get
checked up on. There's also a reduced license for the registered blind-
I'm not kidding.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Chancellor Of The Duchy Of Besses O' Th' Barn

Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:

    > "Sarah Banick" <[email protected]>
    > wrote in news:mOe9d.217051$3l3.95580@attbi_s03:
    >
    > > Thanks everyone! 116 pounds a year -- wow, that's pricey.
    >
    > If you get decent television on one or two dozen channels from it, don't
    > you think it's worth it? Most of what the commercial stations air is
    > complete junk, at least over here.

I'd argue that in many ways, the BBC has dumbed down a lot recently, but
it still makes fine programmes, and in some respects you could argue it
keeps the standards of some of the commercial stations higher.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

nitram

On Sat, 9 Oct 2004 17:01:34 +0100, [email protected]
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:

    >Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> [email protected] (chancellor of the duchy of besses o'
    >> th' barn) wrote in
    >> news:1gl8yk8.a1wobyi7bafdN%this_address_is_for_spa [email protected]:
    >>
    >> > Cost is around £120,
    >> > a lot less if you only have black and white, but I imagine that's rare
    >> > nowadays.
    >>
    >> In Germany there's no distinction between b/w and colour. Do they also
    >> distinguish between mono and stereo radios? :)
    >Well, radios don't need a license. I don't think that many people would
    >have b/w licenses nowadays, and I imagine that, if they did, they'd get
    >checked up on. There's also a reduced license for the registered blind-
    >I'm not kidding.

and a refund for students, who only watch the TV 30 weeks a year. If
they buy a license at the beginning of September AFAIR

nitram

On Sat, 9 Oct 2004 17:03:31 +0100, [email protected]
(chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn) wrote:

    >Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> "Sarah Banick" <[email protected]>
    >> wrote in news:mOe9d.217051$3l3.95580@attbi_s03:
    >>
    >> > Thanks everyone! 116 pounds a year -- wow, that's pricey.
    >>
    >> If you get decent television on one or two dozen channels from it, don't
    >> you think it's worth it? Most of what the commercial stations air is
    >> complete junk, at least over here.
    >I'd argue that in many ways, the BBC has dumbed down a lot recently, but
    >it still makes fine programmes, and in some respects you could argue it
    >keeps the standards of some of the commercial stations higher.

Maybe as little as 10% of BBC 1 and 2 new programs are not aimed at
the dumb (as in dumbed down). Most of it is repeated over and over
again. Stuff that was used as a daytime filler is shown at prime time
now.

Poldy

In article <mOe9d.217051$3l3.95580@attbi_s03>,
"Sarah Banick" <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Thanks everyone! 116 pounds a year -- wow, that's pricey.
    >
    > Sarah

116 pounds for each home or each TV in home?

Is it more for larger screens?

Does that give you commercial free channels?