The history of the TV licence
In the 1920s, the government took the decision not to allow the fledgling BBC to fund itself using commercial advertising and instead required people to buy a licence in order to receive their broadcasts.
The first wireless licence was issued in November 1923 for 10 shillings (50p), and by the end of the year 200,000 had been issued.
The number of active licences continued to rise dramatically, and in 1928 there were 2.5 million issued.
The first combined radio and TV licence was issued in 1946 for £2.
A supplementary licence for colour TVs was introduced in 1968.
Black and white TV licences remain available for purchase to this day, and as of the end of September 2019, 6,586 of them were in force.
In 1971, radio-only licences were abolished, along with the requirement to have a licence for car radios.
The BBC was made responsible for administration of the licence fee as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1990, and the broadcaster now sub-contracts out the work.
In 2015, the Government and the BBC reached a settlement which meant that the broadcaster had to find savings of £800 million by 2021/22.
It also saw the broadcaster commit to taking on responsibility for the funding of free licences for the over-75s.
This resulted in the announcement by the BBC that from June 2020, the benefit of a free licence fee will be restricted to over-75s who claim pension credit, with the BBC saying it cannot afford to take on the financial burden from the Government.
Today, anyone who watches or records LIVE CONTENT on a TV, computer or other device must own a TV licence – along with anyone who watches or downloads shows on BBC iPlayer.
There were 25,752,560 TV licences in force in the UK in 2018/19, according to TV Licensing.
The figure represented a decrease from 2017/2018 when the number of active licences stood at 25,836,495.
TV licensing around the world
Countries that have a TV licence include:-
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Japan and Pakistan.
Countries where the TV licence has been abolished include:-
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Gibraltar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Soviet Union, India and Sweden.
Countries that have never had a TV licence include:-
Andorra, Brazil, China, Estonia, Iran, Luxembourg, Monaco, Nigeria, Spain, United States and Vietnam.
Source: Wikipedia:TV Licences around the world.
The future of the TV licence in the UK
The media landscape in Britain and around the world is changing fast, mostly driven by advances in media technology. Particularly advances in broadband internet speeds and general availability.
We find ourselves in times where our choice of television entertainment is far wider and served by a myriad of live broadcast and on-demand content providers.
The BBC and other UK TV providers that have relied heavily on our network of TV transmitters over many decades are now facing stiff competition on the internet from companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney.
Technological changes and other factors have led to some politicians and an increasing number of citizens to question the need and moral justification for the continuation of the TV licence fee.
Some ideas for alternative means of funding for the BBC include subscription and advertising. A government consultation on the BBC in 2020 has explored possible reforms, including the decriminalisation of TV licence fee evasion. The government has yet to make an announcement on the results of the consultation.
Source: Consultation on decriminalising TV licence evasion.
Further reading
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