The RSPB required a web application through which they could provide learning material to people interested in birds and birdwatching. Once a user has logged-in they are presented with 6 different modules as well as access to the resource library which contains the RPSB Handbook of British Birds and Where to Watch Birds - Britain.
As broadband speeds increase with technology advancements and coverage is getting increasingly better, not just in the UK but worldwide, more and more people have access to the internet and the information it carries. Information that was once restricted by geographic location no longer is, and it has never been so easy to find answers to the most complex or obscure questions.
Along with the information that the internet carries, there is also the entertainment. Social networking sites, online games and streaming media. It is the streaming media that I am particularly interested in for the topic of this post.
Here in the UK, if you have a television that is capable of receiving a television signal then you are required by law to pay for a TV licence. The cost of the TV licence is set by the Government and currently costs £139.50 for a colour TV licence and £47 for a black and white TV licence. The TV licence pays for the services that the BBC offers; TV channels, radio networks, the BBC’s websites, and the BBC iPlayer. The BBC is funded in this way as it’s services do not carry any advertising and are independent of shareholders and political interests.
I now think however that the TV licence has run its course and the BBC’s income needs to be sourced by a different means. With the success of the iPlayer service offered by the BBC, it is possible to view and download BBC programmes without having a TV licence. The only requirement I can see is that you need to have a UK IP address. Using various technologies this can be circumnavigated however.
The BBC have an official channel on Youtube allowing you to access BBC programmes in the same way you would watch other Youtube videos. A clause on the channel’s home page states:
Because of the way that the BBC is funded in the UK through the licence fee, we cannot make videos available outside of the UK.
Again, this can be bypassed using proxies, VPNs etc. The BBC also provide web streaming of their radio through the BBC website. The BBC website is accessible to all, there is no requirement for each visitor to have a paid-up TV licence.
Well the only way you can currently get live TV coverage is through a TV. The iPlayer and Youtube channel only provides access to content that has already been transmitted. Other than that, you can access all the other services without needing a TV licence. To me £139.50 seems a little steep just for live TV coverage.
I rarely watch any of the programmes that the BBC broadcast simply because I think they’re a load of rubbish. There are exceptions of course; sports coverage, Top Gear, Heroes and perhaps a couple of other series that I’ll watch if I manage to catch them. I disagree completely with programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and other drawn out competitions that are recycled each year and are just used in a ratings war with ITV.
Whilst the BBC is free from shareholders in the traditional sense as a result of the TV licence fee for income, each of the TV licence payers should be thought of as shareholders as they are investing in the BBC (though by law) and therefore should have some say over what programmes are broadcast.
Currently TV licence payers are subsidising those who don’t own TVs and watch the programmes via the internet. It is not a sustainable model. If all the TV licence payers decided to get rid of their TVs and solely watch the programmes via the internet the BBC would struggle for income. The programmes would still be watched, but not paid for.
Instead, if the BBC (and the Government) adopted a licencing model similar to Sky or Virgin Media whereby you pay for the channels you want access to. This could be taken a step further to the actual programmes you are interested in. Or perhaps introduce advertising to a free service, with a paid-for service advertising free?
The current TV licence has been outdated by the internet and is in desperate need of updating to ensure that all get a fair deal and that the TV licence payers don’t get ripped off.
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2 Responses to “The internet has outdated the TV licence”
Although possibly not ideal I’m sort of pro Tv Licence because I hate what the BBC could become without it. BBC One would become like ITV, shit programmes reduced and cut by adverts with hours of soaps each day, then theres of course “Loose Women”. ITV rarely air any good programmes.
The BBC radio channels would also suffer, with radio presenters having to slot in adverts as well as music (sorry I like Chris Moyles endless banter too much). The days were I have to listen to Franks Factory Flooring adverts of TFM radio are long gone.
Currently ITV has been struggling with the current revenue model of standard adverts, I think it’s about time they were allowed in show product placement (like in films) so long as it was not stupid then this could be a good way of getting revenue.
All I really want in the BBC to stay as it is with good programmes on Tv and Radio.
by Kean on July 20th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I agree with most of this. Except, as noted above by the previous commenter, the idea of what the BBC would become without being funded via the license fee. BBC One would simply become another generic UK TV channel.
As well as needed to insert ad’s into programmes.
The idea of Radio’s 1 and 2 running adverts is also hard to grasp. Much of Radio 1’s format is based on the fact that it contains no adverts. This allows for a “nice blend” of both Music as well as conversation from the current DJ.
Changing the BBC to a model supported by adverts would make this nothing more than a pretty memory, and would require the BBC to rethink the structure of its Radio Channels.
Strangely enough, I have the bill for my current cable provider here in the states right next to me. I pay £69.00/month for my cable service. Which is some ways allows the license fee format to look more appealing, but it also allows for it to look a bit of a scam.
That £69 gets me two DVR boxes (The Americans equivalent to Sky+) and roughly 230+ Channel, Including BBC America, Which is actually branded as “One - World” using the Graphics from BBC One.
Being that I’ve just noticed that I’ve started to go on a bit, I’ll finish with this,
We don’t like the idea of the license fee. We feel that its not only a scam but its a bit over-priced and outdated. But, when we are presented with the alternatives. We like those even less.
When you bring this up to most people, You’ll find that the vast-majority of them suggest we simply continue on as we are. We end up for Four BBC Channels, which run quality programmes and produce quality content, as well as ending up with a wide-selection of BBC Radio Channels, all of which, Are advert free.
-Donald Kelly
(A brit, living in the states.)
by Donald Kelly on July 25th, 2008 at 2:26 pm