Read this: TV Licences: Up to 3.7 million over-75s to pay licence fee
Summary: PA Up to 3.7 million pensioners who previously received a free TV licence will now have to pay for it. The elderly are by far the biggest consumers of the BBC's output, the average age of BBC TV's audience is now over 62, the question is how far younger licence fee payers should subsidise these older viewers. - www.bbc.co.uk
www.bbc.co.ukTV Licences: Up to 3.7 million over-75s …Transcriptions done by Google Cloud Platform.
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Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Have the BBC considered the fact that it is highly likely they will have to prosecute individuals over the age of 75 who cannot or refuse to now pay for their TV licenses and the accompanying bad publicity this will cause the corporation?
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Has the BBC considered the almost certain situation in which they will have to prosecute all those viewers over the age of 75 who cannot or refuse to now pay for their TV licenses and the adverse worldwide publicity this will create?
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MikeB3:05 PM
Nicholas Anderson: The BBC was given an impossible situation. Indeed, it was engineered to be one, right from the start.
Gordon Browne gave over 75s free TV licences, and paid the BBC for them. Osbourne basically said 'I want to be generous to a demographic that tends to vote, and vote Tory, at that, but dont want to pay for it'. Basically, he promised a free round of drinks in a pub, but then made sure that the pub had to pay for it.
That cost was a dagger at the heart of the BBC - its a huge sum, especially since many of that age group can easily pay for it themselves. Whats depressing is that not only the print media, but even C4 and the BBC itself fell into the same line of questioning.
They should be taking the government to task, not the BBC. Whatever the BBC does, it will get damaged. Which was almost certainly the point in the first place.
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Wednesday, 12 June 2019
MikeP
10:05 AM
10:05 AM
It's interesting to consider what happens if/when the BBC start getting paid for over 75's watching TV. They estimate that it will cost them about 250m to collect the fees - but that it will bring in an additional 500m - 600m to add to their coffers. So a net profit of some 250m - 350m.
More money for them to squander on overly paid presenters and higher management.
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StevensOnln111:48 AM
MikeP: It won't give them more money, it is to replace the money lost from the government's decision to cut funding for the free TV Licences.
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Dorothy Wilson12:04 PM
Originally BBC had us pay tv licenses to view BBC, then the license covered viewing anything on TV. Also in the beginning the tv license was deemed necessary because BBC did not advertise. However, NOW they have so many productions that not only tout the products but have the products in full view on screen... This is marketing tactics which constitutes Advertising.
Firstly Why do we still have to pay for a tv license? Secondly, why couldn't the elderly already getting the free tv license be allowed to keep that deal? Thirdly as has been mentioned above by others; enprisoning the pensioners for non payment of the tv license will put many of them into a condition of life than some of the sheltered housing and cheap nursing homes they currently suffer in.
It has been jokingly mentioned on social media that its cheaper, cleaner, and easier to live in jail than to survive on a meager pension with so many payments for nothing, like council taxes and tv license that chip out of a pensioners funds. Wait till you get old and crabbie, see if you like the way the younger generation are treating you then. Any laws made and then revoked gives the next generation coming up behind you the idea to do the same. Watch out what they will create for you to suffer from...
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MikeB4:28 PM
Dorothy Wilson: Which products do they advertise? That book based on the series Gentleman Jack? Dr Who DVDs? The BBC doesnt advertise, although it sensibly does tell you about its upcoming programmes and other services, such as Iplayer and BBC Sounds.
If you search this website, you will find a full range of articles Brian did about 3 years ago about the BBC and its costs, and the efficiency of the licence fee, subscribing, etc. The bottom line was simple - its much cheaper, universal, and doesnt lead to the collapse of commercial TV. And in theory, its out of the grubby reach of the government of the day.
If you want to complain about the decision the BBC has had to make, blame the government.
Firstly, you can blame them for putting a gun to the head of the BBC during the last charter settlement to pay for something that the taxpayer had been funding. Its as if George Osborne had gone into a pub, shouted that he was buying a round of drinks for everyone in the place, and as soon as the drinks were poured, left, saying he didnt have any cash. He looked great, but someone had to pick up the tab.
And blame the government for the state of UK pensions. Although there is a certain amount of cynicism about heat allowances etc are often shielded from cuts due to the fact that pensioners generally vote far more than their grandchildren, and 60% of them Tory, the reality is that pensions are far lower as a percentage of earnings than most other developed countries. https://www.ftadviser.com…rld/
The UK is probably more generous than might first appear with other states in Europe, Do pensioners in the rest of the EU get more cash than the elderly in the UK? - Full Fact , but the pension in countries like the Netherlands is higher overall.
My dad can certainly afford his TV licence, but not all can, and there is provision for that in the BBCs plans. But it was pretty much designed to bankrupt the BBC, and they had to do something.
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Thursday, 13 June 2019
MikeP
8:21 AM
8:21 AM
StevensOnln1:
Work out the arithmetic and you quickly find they will have an increased net income.
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