←back to thread

Please do not write below the line

(www.bbctvlicence.com)
313 points dcminter | 6 comments | 21 Oct 24 18:42 UTC | HN request time: 0.488s | source | bottom
Show context
cooper_ganglia ◴[21 Oct 24 19:34 UTC] No.41907633[source]▶
A "TV License" is one of those things I alway assumed people were making up to satirize the claims of over-regulation & bureaucracy in the UK.

Finding out it was real was a mixture of hilarious and sobering.

replies(19): >>41907663 #>>41907684 #>>41907721 #>>41907726 #>>41907766 #>>41907792 #>>41907811 #>>41907864 #>>41907881 #>>41907917 #>>41908104 #>>41908142 #>>41908609 #>>41908757 #>>41908807 #>>41909327 #>>41909601 #>>41909804 #>>41911273 #
Zak ◴[21 Oct 24 19:38 UTC] No.41907684[source]▶
Many European countries are worse about it than the UK; even people who do not own a television are required by law to pay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

replies(9): >>41907763 #>>41907863 #>>41907865 #>>41907867 #>>41907970 #>>41907989 #>>41908308 #>>41909072 #>>41909254 #
1. ho_schi ◴[21 Oct 24 19:54 UTC] No.41907867[source]▶
This fee is hot topic in Germany. Our French friends also enjoy ARTE[1] but seem not to suffer anymore from this ridiculous fee. Actually I’m surprised that the Swiss fee is even higher, despite everything in the Swiss is expensive.

[1] Big parts of our public television suck. But ARTE is awesome!

    * Borgen
    * Occupied
    * Mit offenen Karten
    * Karambolage
    * …
PS: ARTE is watchable outside of France and Germany in a lot of countries in Europe. Poland, Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Czech and so on.
replies(2): >>41908147 #>>41908514 #
2. metabagel ◴[21 Oct 24 20:21 UTC] No.41908147[source]▶
Occupied is outstanding, and available in the U.S. on Netflix.
replies(2): >>41908398 #>>41912207 #
3. FragenAntworten ◴[21 Oct 24 20:50 UTC] No.41908398[source]▶
I didn't find it on Netflix, but it seems to be available on Amazon Prime Video.
4. 9dev ◴[21 Oct 24 21:04 UTC] No.41908514[source]▶
While the public television may suck, it still pays for the only real Independent news coverage in Germany. No matter what you think of the ARD or ZDF and their management boards, the work of the Deutschlandfunk and regional broadcasters is outstanding and a pillar of a free democracy.

I hate having to pay for distribution licenses for soccer games, but if that ensures continued support for high-quality journalism, so be it.

replies(1): >>41908621 #
5. sva_ ◴[21 Oct 24 21:20 UTC] No.41908621[source]▶
> I hate having to pay for distribution licenses for soccer games, but if that ensures continued support for high-quality journalism, so be it.

You sound like you're in an abusive relationship. Get help while you still can.

6. ho_schi ◴[22 Oct 24 08:04 UTC] No.41912207[source]▶
Yes. Netflix seems to “import” public television series from Europe into their paid subscription.