Wow. I was on X and saw a post from a Brit complaining about receiving a letter warning her that Police would be visiting her if she didn't pay her TV License. I had no clue what that was so Googled it and learned that anyone watching or recording TV in the UK whether through cable, streaming, or satellite has to have a license. A TV license costs the equivalent of $240 USD annually and the money is used to fund the BBC and their version of NPR. This tax has existed since TV was received on antennas.

The license fee is not a surcharge on their cable bill or streaming bill it is a completely separate license they have to pay on its own. I cannot imagine Americans going for that. I know US taxpayers funded PBS and NPR but not $240 a year and if we had to sign up and pay for a license a lot of Americans would never do it. The BBC is allowed to use electronic surveillance to locate scofflaws watching and not paying the tax. Can you imagine if you were a conservative Brit being forced to pay for a license funding the BBC? That would be like conservative Americans being forced to give MSNBC $240 a year. They are also debating whether to require a license to use Broadband services.

How else will they pay for welfare for new Muslim immigrants?????

Have a heart man. Eschew hate.

Yeah I had heard about that from from one of Brit youtube streamers I watch. Bizarre, isn't it?

Doesn't matter which side of the country you're on, the people on the other side of the ocean are nuts.

Live TV only, but yes, they do. They don't need it for shows/movies on streaming services.

It may have changed in the last 15 years, but on a trip to London with the better half we had done all the touristy stuff all week and the 2nd to last day was a Sat. so took the wife to the flagship Burberry store and Harrods. I gave her 2 hours in Harrods and excused myself to a pub to watch EPL football.

Made some new friends / mates in the pub (who were all drinking British Budweiser which at the time was the official beer of the EPL, weird) and they were all SHOCKED that at my house in Dallas every weekend I could pretty much watch any EPL game from the comfort of my couch. They could hardly get the matches on their TV with limited channels.

But I don't think it's just a UK issue, also in mainland EU I don't think most family homes have near the same level of tv / streaming width and depth options that we have. Could be wrong, it could all be the same now.

This has been around for a LONG time...

I remember when I lived in a small town in England from 1973-1978; we would have the "TV van" drive by our house... my dad told me why, and I still remember thinking it was stupid.

I liked it better when the Chip Truck came by, and we got our fish and chips wrapped in greasy newspaper, though.

Just talked to a buddy of mine who lives in Birmingham now and he says it's still there and he's not a fan either...

Jarrin Jay said:

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It may have changed in the last 15 years, but on a trip to London with the better half we had done all the touristy stuff all week and the 2nd to last day was a Sat. so took the wife to the flagship Burberry store and Harrods. I gave her 2 hours in Harrods and excused myself to a pub to watch EPL football.

Made some new friends / mates in the pub (who were all drinking British Budweiser which at the time was the official beer of the EPL, weird) and they were all SHOCKED that at my house in Dallas every weekend I could pretty much watch any EPL game from the comfort of my couch. They could hardly get the matches on their TV with limited channels.

But I don't think it's just a UK issue, also in mainland EU I don't think most family homes have near the same level of tv / streaming width and depth options that we have. Could be wrong, it could all be the same now.

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My Birmingham buddy has some internet **** that gets him everything. Can't remember exactly what it was, though...

nomad2007 said:

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Live TV only, but yes, they do. They don't need it for shows/movies on streaming services.

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It's if you have a TV...

They don't care if you're using it just for streaming.

They gotta get their BBC1/BBC2 bucks...ummm...pounds...

Yeah, this show talked about it in the 80s

infinity ag said:

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How else will they pay for welfare for new Muslim immigrants?????

Have a heart man. Eschew hate.

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The License Raj originated here only

The Brits are not only famous for their love of tea but their docility and passivity while being tea-b@ggd by their government for the sake of the welfare state.

Ulysses90 said:

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The Brits are not only famous for their love of tea but their docility and passivity while being tea-b@ggd by their government for the sake of the welfare state.

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Well, they tried that tea stuff with us and we tossed it in the ****ing bay...

Here's your teabag you limey ****!

This is why we fought a war to get rid of British control.

Ag with kids said:

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nomad2007 said:

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Live TV only, but yes, they do. They don't need it for shows/movies on streaming services.

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It's if you have a TV...

They don't care if you're using it just for streaming.

They gotta get their BBC1/BBC2 bucks...ummm...pounds...

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It's for live TV and recording of live TV, as well as any content on BBC iPlayer. That's on any service. If it's a live broadcast on Netflix or BBC, doesn't matter. Basically it's got its tendrils in so many services and so many services have some content that requires a license that it's easier to just pay up for the license than justify your lack of need over and over. Basically a harassment campaign by the government to force payment even if not justified by the individual's use.

hph6203 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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nomad2007 said:

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Live TV only, but yes, they do. They don't need it for shows/movies on streaming services.

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It's if you have a TV...

They don't care if you're using it just for streaming.

They gotta get their BBC1/BBC2 bucks...ummm...pounds...

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It's for live TV and recording of live TV, as well as any content on BBC iPlayer. That's on any service. If it's a live broadcast on Netflix or BBC, doesn't matter. Basically it's got its tendrils in so many services and so many services have some content that requires a license that it's easier to just pay up for the license than justify your lack of need over and over. Basically a harassment campaign by the government to force payment even if not justified by the individual's use.

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Yeah...I think the term "tendrils" fits it quite well...

Welcome to leftism UK! You abandoned your western values and now you're in full on socialism. Good job!

How are the welfare recipients paying this tax? I'm guessing they are not and the government doesn't want to shut them off for fear of being racist.

TexAgs91 said:

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Yeah, this show talked about it in the 80s

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Vivian's sock was pretty funny back in the day.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Its actually quite a controversial thing right now.

Millions are refusing to pay the fee, eother out of protest or because they claim they only stream content, and its causing a big budgetary problem for the bbc. Something to the tune of 600 million a year

The UK is shockingly poor.

Had that opinion the first time I went, nothing much has changed in my opinion over the years. Which makes their behavior regarding immigration even more surprising

Imagine if you were forced to pay a license to fund CNN who had a complete monopoly on all television programming in the USA

This is what Dems mean when they say "we want to be like Europe!"

Maroon Dawn said:

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Imagine if you were forced to pay a license to fund CNN who had a complete monopoly on all television programming in the USA

This is what Dems mean when they say "we want to be like Europe!"

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We are forced to pay for PBS and NPR. At least the Brits know where their money is going.

Any of y'all ever added up all the fees on your internet and phone bills?

We're paying a similar fee every month, effectively. It's just being 3rd party billed.

There's a TV tax in Ireland too. My son was transferred to Dublin in November of 2024. The condo they rented was furnished and included utilities but they had to buy a TV. After about 6 months, an inspector knocked on their door in the middle of the day and asked if they had a TV. My DIL said she couldn't deny it- you could hear it in the background when she was at the door. Apparently the inspector explained it and was nice about it but left no doubt of consequences of failure to pay. They had to go to the post office and pay the tax. The tax was on a per TV basis but I'm not sure if you get a price break for additional units.

Ag with kids said:

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nomad2007 said:

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Live TV only, but yes, they do. They don't need it for shows/movies on streaming services.

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It's if you have a TV...

They don't care if you're using it just for streaming.

They gotta get their BBC1/BBC2 bucks...ummm...pounds...

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No, it's only for live tv programming.

The UK is a full on nanny state.
It's incredible how just two generations ago (from me) hundreds of thousands of them died fighting against tyranny. Now they roll out the red carpet for it.
It's really, really depressing.

Who?mikejones! said:

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Its actually quite a controversial thing right now.

Millions are refusing to pay the fee, either out of protest or because they claim they only stream content, and its causing a big budgetary problem for the bbc. Something to the tune of 600 million a year

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The majority of Brits want to go to a subscription based funding model for the BBC but the Government won't do that because they know only a small fraction of the country would pay for the content. Millions stopped paying for the license and revenue has dropped and that's why they are looking for alternatives like requiring a license to use broadband services.

Extremely old news. The TV tax was first introduced in the UK on 1 June 1946.

doubledog said:

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Extremely old news. The TV tax was first introduced in the UK on 1 June 1946.

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Yes I know that's why I said it has been in effect since TV was received on antennas but I had never heard of the tax and as an American it seems shocking people would pay it.

How can they tell you're watching OTA TV?

aggiehawg said:

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Yeah I had heard about that from from one of Brit youtube streamers I watch. Bizarre, isn't it?

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Brits have been paying a "TV tax/license" for decades.

I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath from 1975-1977. We lived in a small country town and had to pay the TV tax and show receipts when asked.

A small public works van would drive through the neighborhood occasionally and check addresses to see if they matched paid customers. If the customer had not paid, they would be fined on the spot.

Nothing new in Great Britain over the last 50+ years.

My understanding is that Al Jazeera will remain free OTA, but you have to live within 50 feet of a minaret, which I understand will not be a problem in most parts of London and will be 100% coverage in Birmingham.

Gilligan said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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Yeah, this show talked about it in the 80s

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Vivian's sock was pretty funny back in the day.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

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Still have my Young Ones DVD set. Will be rewatching now!

This seems like a good idea to me. It's transparent, optional, and you are more or less paying a tax related to your consumption. We pay taxes and fees for TV as well, but we have no idea how much because it is so obfuscated.