# TV License In Countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013 "2012-02-06T21:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/21 "2012-02-08T11:41:28Z")
> [@grude](#): > > And those laws are based on illegally accessing private property(the cable junction hookup) there is absolutely no way to passively steal cable. So it is a bit different from being penalized for watching TV signals received over the air in your home. It’s this that annoyed me enough to never get a TV when I moved to the UK. It’s like being required to pay an “ear tax” to support the buskers on the underground. If you’re going to broadcast a signal in the clear I should be able to do what I want with it. I do like the BBC and watch a lot of stuff on iPlayer. I’d fully support a pay-per-view model for for non-license holding iPlayer users. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/22 "2012-02-08T12:13:26Z")
Not sure about the surveys that suggest people want the funding to change. You can conduct surveys in a way that’ll conclude almost anything you want. You can’t fiddle with the fact that the BBCs services have a 98% reach though (this means that 98% of the people who have the means to receive the BBC choose to do so every month). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/23 "2012-02-08T14:21:29Z")
> [@KneeSid](#): > > Here in the USA we don’t pay a license fee to have a TV, but I know other countries like the UK do. What is the cost of the licenses in other countries you know of? Also what happens if you’re too poor to afford one. Is there like a “food stamp” program to give TV to poor people? And what about computers that get TV? Do they have to pay a TV or radio license? Here in South Africa it’s R250, or ~$33 for a domestic licence. That’s per set, BTW. It’s R65 ($8.60) if you’re an OAP, disabled or a war vet. Probably other concessions I don’t know about. And _anything_ that can get a TV signal is liable. There’s a financial penalty for not paying (it’s not that huge, maybe double the annual fee for a first offence), but I’ve never heard of them breaking TVs. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/24 "2012-02-08T16:20:32Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > [Apparently not.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom#Public_opinion_.E2.80.93_general) The reason for the change is that, in 2004, there was a huge debate about whether or not to charge digital subscribers more. That’s the reason for the low figures. Note also that the figures are about keeping the licence as is, not necessarily getting rid of it altogether. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/25 "2012-02-08T16:25:33Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > It’s this that annoyed me enough to never get a TV when I moved to the UK. It’s like being required to pay an “ear tax” to support the buskers on the underground. If you’re going to broadcast a signal in the clear I should be able to do what I want with it. I do like the BBC and watch a lot of stuff on iPlayer. I’d fully support a pay-per-view model for for non-license holding iPlayer users. If I understand you correctly, your primary objection to having a licence is the delivery mechanism of the medium. But you enjoy the product anyway without contributing. In that case you must be one of those immigrants who comes over here, takes our telly, nicks our radio… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/26 "2012-02-08T17:16:11Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Though free if you’re 75 or over, and 50% off if you’re blind. What they’re saying is that the sound is worth 50% of the programming… SEVENTY FIVE??? That’s shamefull, why those old people love their TV. It needs to be lower. Where do I write the queen? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/27 "2012-02-08T17:17:28Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Not sure about the surveys that suggest people want the funding to change. You can conduct surveys in a way that’ll conclude almost anything you want. You can’t fiddle with the fact that the BBCs services have a 98% reach though (this means that 98% of the people who have the means to receive the BBC choose to do so every month). As I recall that’s not a fair comparison, as, (I think it’s Channel 5) was not physically able to reach more of the UK, simply because of interference problems. So of course the BBC can reach more, they were there first. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/28 "2012-02-09T16:38:55Z")
Ages ago when I was living in Germany, you needed to pay a fee to have a TV or even a radio. They actually had trucks that would go through neighborhoods with a detector that could tell how many people were watching television in an apartment building. If they noted that only 7 people were paying the fee, but 14 were currently watching TV, they would go into the building and listen to see if they could hear the sound of the TV from your apartment and knock on your door and you would have to pay a fine. The “trick” back then was to have the official forms on your TV and claim you just got it today and fully intended to register tomorrow. Granted, this was before cable and I often wondered if this was an urban myth, but so many of my friends had those forms on their TV’s that I sort of believed the whole story. I believe today most homes have cable, so this fee is simply included in the price. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/29 "2012-02-09T18:38:24Z")
I understand the penalty for not paying the U.K. licensing fee was being forced to watch _Full House_, but the U.N. intervened. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/30 "2012-02-09T22:28:02Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > As I recall that’s not a fair comparison, as, (I think it’s Channel 5) was not physically able to reach more of the UK, simply because of interference problems. > > So of course the BBC can reach more, they were there first. Not able to reach more, they do reach more. That figure is based on the % of the UK who do listen/watch radio/TV and subsequently listen/watch at least a tiny amount of the BBCs output. It’s a hugely large figure of course but they only need to tune in for one minute of anything to count. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/31 "2012-02-11T20:21:16Z")
Do you guys get/have to keep a copy of your television licence on hand? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/32 "2012-02-11T20:27:24Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Do you guys get/have to keep a copy of your television licence on hand? No. You used to have to produce it after a certain time in the unlikely event that someone came to your door to check, but now they have your details on their database. I’m actually overdue with paying mine. I phoned them up to say, essentially, sorry, I’m waiting to be paid (I’m self-employed) and then I’ll pay it, and they haven’t sent a letter since - they were sending them almost daily for a couple of weeks. They used to run scaremongering TV ads saying that, if you don’t have a license and do watch TV, you’ll be thrown in a prison till you’re 90, the upside of which would be the free food since all your money for your entire life had gone in fines, but it was pretty much just hype and I haven’t seen such a TV ad in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/33 "2012-02-11T20:38:14Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Do you guys get/have to keep a copy of your television licence on hand? Not really. You do get a piece of paper, but it’s just a proof of payment. You don’t have to show it to anyone. And when you buy a TV, you don’t get asked “do you have a licence?” That said, some people claim that, theoretically, anyone who sells a new TV is supposed to inform the BBC of the buyer’s address. Whether this actually happens or not is unclear, and I don’t honestly see how it would be enforceable. I’ve never been asked that question myself, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/34 "2012-02-11T20:48:51Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > That said, some people claim that, theoretically, anyone who sells a new TV is supposed to inform the BBC of the buyer’s address. Whether this actually happens or not is unclear, and I don’t honestly see how it would be enforceable. I’ve never been asked that question myself, that’s for sure. I’ve never been asked explicitly for my address, even the time I paid cash. I suppose a card payment might connect with an address? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/35 "2012-02-11T21:12:28Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > I’ve never been asked explicitly for my address, even the time I paid cash. I suppose a card payment might connect with an address? I just recall people who have worked in Dixons or wherever swearing blind that they were technically supposed to record the address of anyone who bought a TV. But yes, nobody has ever asked me, as far as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/36 "2012-02-11T21:24:30Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I just recall people who have worked in Dixons or wherever swearing blind that they were technically supposed to record the address of anyone who bought a TV. But yes, nobody has ever asked me, as far as I remember. I have been asked, but it was about fifteen years ago. Two days later I got a TV license demand. Actually, that was the only time I’ve ever bought a TV so I don’t have much comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/37 "2012-02-11T21:38:56Z")
I am going to suggest a TV licenses fee to Ontario Primer Dalton McGuinty. He never met a tax he didn’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/38 "2012-02-11T21:44:50Z")
I have never heard of this, but the “enforcement” angle of it sounds frightening. So can enforcers simply come into your home without a warrant and demand to see if you’re watching TV or not? If not, why can’t you just turn them away at the door? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/39 "2012-02-11T21:53:31Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > So can enforcers simply come into your home without a warrant and demand to see if you’re watching TV or not? If not, why can’t you just turn them away at the door? They can’t, and you can. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013/40 "2012-02-11T22:15:16Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > They can’t, and you can. Yeah. Red, what gave you that idea? FWIW, England had similar stories to DMark’s about ‘detector vans’ going round and _knowing_ if you were watching TV without a license. It was a myth. At least by the nineties they simply assumed, reasonably enough, that every home had a TV, so sent them a license demand if they didn’t already have one. It took them a little while to catch up with newer addresses (new-build estates and so on) but they did catch up, usually being alerted by someone at that address buying a license. If nobody at your address had _ever_ bought a license - only really likely in new-builds - then you were unlikely to get a demand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-license-in-countries/612013.md?page=3)