TV Licence why???

ShowMeTheCash

I know this kind of thread has been opened before, but why o why do we pay RTE a licence fee?

My understanding is it makes up 50% of their revenue but between broadcasters getting between half a mill and a a million pre 2011 why are we paying it???

RTE use this money to ensure no other broadcaster can really get a grip in the state, something they deny but it is easy to out bid the competition when the law states you pay RTE 160 yoyo per house hold.

I have come to the conclusion as a people we have simply become acustom to getting shafted by the state and never to challenge it!

I would see past it if RTE did not advertise or take revenue from other areas....

And what do we get for it??? Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy farting around talking incoherent guff the RTE sports panel must suppply man nappies as I am sure the studio must smell like an old folks home after the Christmas party by the time those guys are done!

Specialun

Apt username

Menas

I would not mind paying a licence fee if I used the service. Aside from Love/Hate and the odd show like Charlie I rarely watch RTE.
And then you have RTE radio....2fm is a joke. Competing badly in a flooded market and losing cash handover fist. Why are we paying for that? It would have been shut down years ago if in private hands.

Dont get me started on TG4. Culturally important perhaps, but a tiny audience.

And then there are the over paid fat cats at RTE....

ShowMeTheCash

What really annoys me is this, I do not get a TV signal in my area, never had one.. So I have Sky but I still need to pay RTE Y

bear1

The fee doesn't just go to RTE.
The money is used for productions, regeneration of archives, advertising etc.
Although I see your point, 160e per year for mostly drivel is too much.

whisky_galore

Not too worried about the tv licence, as I don't have a tv. Good luck to them trying to extract money from me with this proposed Broadcasting Charge.

inforfun

It is there so you can watch a bit of tv-series and films in between the commercials

Menas

I would love to see them get rid of Tg4 and RTE2. Focus RTE 1 on news, culture, current affairs, home made shows and throw in a bit of Irish language stuff.
Cut RTE radio down to 1 channel , Radio 1. Get rid of the rest.
Keep the RTE.ie website.
Align their head count and wages to more realistic levels....and slash the cost of the TV licence.

Turtyturd

Do we?

bear1

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I would love to see them get rid of Tg4 and RTE2. Focus RTE 1 on news, culture, current affairs, home made shows and throw in a bit of Irish language stuff.
Cut RTE radio down to 1 channel , Radio 1. Get rid of the rest.
Keep the RTE.ie website.
Align their head count and wages to more realistic levels....and slash the cost of the TV licence.

Any chance you could apply for a job in the Dept. Telecommunications?
I like your idea.

Polo_Mint

When is the New Public Service Broadcasting Charge starting?

whisky_galore

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I would love to see them get rid of Tg4 and RTE2. Focus RTE 1 on news, culture, current affairs, home made shows and throw in a bit of Irish language stuff.
Cut RTE radio down to 1 channel , Radio 1. Get rid of the rest.
Keep the RTE.ie website.
Align their head count and wages to more realistic levels....and slash the cost of the TV licence.

That won't happen with the (very vocal) Irish language lobby. Plus one of the good things about TG4 it keeps almost all the Irish stuff off RTE proper.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I would love to see them get rid of Tg4 and RTE2. Focus RTE 1 on news, culture, current affairs, home made shows and throw in a bit of Irish language stuff.
Cut RTE radio down to 1 channel , Radio 1. Get rid of the rest.
Keep the RTE.ie website.
Align their head count and wages to more realistic levels....and slash the cost of the TV licence.

isn't that wat RTE 1 pretty much is?

UCDVet

The TV licence is a joke, to be perfectly honest. I'd recommend not paying it.

Duggy747

TG4 is the only channel I'd give the time of day, they do have some quality stuff.

ShowMeTheCash

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

isn't that wat RTE 1 pretty much is?

Good one, oh how I love sarcasim!

Turtyturd

Duggy747 wrote: »

TG4 is the only channel I'd give the time of day, they do have some quality stuff.

They were on the breaking bad bandwagon before 95% of the country.

bear1

UCDVet wrote: »

The TV licence is a joke, to be perfectly honest. I'd recommend not paying it.

If you are caught though it won't be a nice fine you will get.

UCDVet

bear1 wrote: »

If you are caught though it won't be a nice fine you will get.

In my experience, nobody ever gets caught.

THOUGH TO BE CLEAR - I AM NOT ADVOCATING BREAKING ANY LAWS AS THAT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF BOARDS POLICY. I ONLY RECOMMEND NOT PAYING IF YOU AREN'T REQUIRED TO BY LAW.

Harry Palmr

No licence = TV3 x 5

ShowMeTheCash

UCDVet wrote: »

In my experience, nobody ever gets caught.

THOUGH TO BE CLEAR - I AM NOT ADVOCATING BREAKING ANY LAWS AS THAT WOULD BE A VIOLATION OF BOARDS POLICY. I ONLY RECOMMEND NOT PAYING IF YOU AREN'T REQUIRED TO BY LAW.

Does not matter, next they will legislate if you have eyes you may inadvertently watch a RTE broadcast so you will be liable for payment!

They are cracking down, basically if you have an internet connection you will have to pay!

cerastes

Fair enough,don't watch TV3 either

BBJBIG

It's just anudder Tax to shaft yous up de Bum Bum ...

nelly17

Brady Dunphy and Gilsey arguing and throwing strops like little girls is about as much justification as I can find but that much entertainment is not worth the money to be honest

The Backwards Man

I get an enormous sense of well being from paying it

mikom

Meet The McDonaghs.

zoobizoo

€3 a week for daily news, radio, tv, the player and then the six nations etc etc....

I'm happy to pay the price of a Sunday newspaper every week to get that service.

ShowMeTheCash

zoobizoo wrote: »

€3 a week for daily news, radio, tv, the player and then the six nations etc etc....

I'm happy to pay the price of a Sunday newspaper every week to get that service.

You would pay for a Sunday newspaper subscription if you had no intention of reading that news paper?

kneemos

Polo_Mint wrote: »

When is the New Public Service Broadcasting Charge starting?

It was scrapped after the IW mess,what with an election coming up don't you know.

ShowMeTheCash

It's a complete nonesense.

The TV licence was brought in by the Brits prior to 1922, but we kept it
Back then it may have been necessary to fund a state led broadcasting station.

Now it is down to advertising, RTE get the benefits of this both ways they are no longer needed, they want to operate they should be made compete with other broadcasters!
We have the technology to prevent people viewing RTE they know if that is brought in RTE would fail as a business!

Hence why they have jumped to the Broadcasting charge as mentioned.

However if the Broadcasting charge comes in would it not make sense that, Sky, Netflix, Youtube etc etc should get a portion of that? After all they too are providing a service in the state???

RTE and their fat cat cronies want to provide nothing new a sub standard service but also get a state handout which is enforced by law.

Generic Dreadhead

Double Dipping F**kers RTE :-/

mikom

zoobizoo wrote: »

€3 a week for daily news, radio, tv, the player and then the six nations etc etc....

I'm happy to pay the price of a Sunday newspaper every week to get that service.

A newspaper that takes you to court if you don't buy it?
Even the Daily Mail, the Indo, and the Sun are not as big of pricks to try that scam.

Chancer3001

Just don't pay it.

They'll never catch you.

Valetta

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Just don't pay it.

They'll never catch you.

http://www.thejournal.ie/almost-11500-people-in-court-for-not-paying-tv-licence-935979-Jun2013/

Chancer3001

Valetta wrote: »

http://www.thejournal.ie/almost-11500-people-in-court-for-not-paying-tv-licence-935979-Jun2013/

All people who stupidly have their name at some stage.

Never give your name, never get caught

Cienciano

zoobizoo wrote: »

€3 a week for daily news, radio, tv, the player and then the six nations etc etc....

I'm happy to pay the price of a Sunday newspaper every week to get that service.

And that's the way it should be. People like you should pay for it. People like me who have never used the player in my life, haven't listened to the radio in about 5 years, and haven't watched the TV channel since the would cup shouldn't be forced to subsidise it for you.
Actually, I don't pay the licence, so I can't really argue :pac:

Ste-

Chancer3001 wrote: »

All people who stupidly have their name at some stage.

Never give your name, never get caught

APT username.

AllGunsBlazing

Much like the church in decades gone by, the relationship between RTE and the state is far too close. I honestly wouldn't trust the RTE news department any farther than I could throw it.

qt3.14

whisky_galore wrote: »

That won't happen with the (very vocal) Irish language lobby. Plus one of the good things about TG4 it keeps almost all the Irish stuff off RTE proper.

Plus some of the best stuff was on tg4. Remember staying up to watch oz. They've a smaller budget so have to be cannier with it.

Dirty Steve

bear1 wrote: »

The fee doesn't just go to RTE.
The money is used for productions, regeneration of archives, advertising etc.
Although I see your point, 160e per year for mostly drivel is too much.

Can't remember the exact figures, but RTE gets the majority of the licence fee. Something like 80% of it.

Edit: found a breakdown of the €160 here: http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/this-is-exactly-how-your-tv-licence-fee-is-used-542836-Aug2012/

RTE get €125 of the €160 directly (they can however get extra funding through the Sound & Vision etc.) which is 78% of the licence fee.
An Post get €9.62 for their collection of the licence fee, so if I was to subtract that, RTE get €125 of €150.38, or 83.1% of the licence fee.

RTE also complained in 2013 that the licence fee was too low: (http://www.independent.ie/business/media/160-tv-licence-fee-is-too-low-says-rte-as-it-seeks-more-public-funds-29583345.html)
I suppose if you're going to act as the government mouth piece though, you'll get your way.

oneofakind32

Ahem.....

RTE is useless. If it disappeared in the morning no one would miss it. TV3 / UTV would pick up the gaa / 6 nations.

They use the license fee to keep the likes of Tubs's pay at around the half million mark for fear that he would be snapped up by the BBC/ITV and paid more there. The rest is used to buy the latest episodes of 2 broke girls which all can't wait to see.

They produces little or nothing in the way of special interest content as they are also bowing down to advertisers.

RTE.ie is a disjointed mess of a website.

TG4 take 8% and produce worth while programming that serves minorities that wouldn't be served by commercial broadcasters.

Half the license fee, disband RTE. Give the money to TG4(who would no longer need to advertise) / whoever maintains the infrastructure.

mikom

Nicky Byrne's Million Euro Challenge

silverharp

its one of the many reverse Robin Hood organisations common in Ireland, steal from the poor and give to the rich

oneofakind32

The problem is, it is neither a good public service nor a viable commercial entity. It exists in it's own bubble.

DesperateDan

Boards is (unfortunately?) not very representative of the nation though. While I loathe anything RTE has ever produced - I don't even have time for Love/Hate :eek: - the highest rated shows of the week are consistently Fair City and the RTE News. Until that starts to change, the licence will never go away

ShowMeTheCash

DesperateDan wrote: »

Boards is (unfortunately?) not very representative of the nation though. While I loathe anything RTE has ever produced - I don't even have time for Love/Hate :eek: - the highest rated shows of the week are consistently Fair City and the RTE News. Until that starts to change, the licence will never go away

This is a double negative if you are saying these shows are actually popular then RTE do not need a state handout they whould be able to operate like many other stations in the UK and support themselves.

I do not care if RTE dissapear into the ether or continue to operate.
It would not take too much for RTE to charge for a subscription like Sky, you want RTE pay the 160euro a year or 13 euro a month. We have the technology to stop people viewing RTE if they do not pay the subscription just ask SKY or Netfilx or any other broadcaster in the free market.

RTE want every house hold in the state to fund them why?? What is the justification of doing this?

SouthTippBass

Dont pay, dont give your name, problem solved.

Rise above the threats of fines, courts and scare tactics.

whisky_galore

qt3.14 wrote: »

Plus some of the best stuff was on tg4. Remember staying up to watch oz. They've a smaller budget so have to be cannier with it.

Used have some good movies, but then they went dubbing some of them into Irish over Xmas so fcuk it, not bothered with that.

ShowMeTheCash

SouthTippBass wrote: »

Dont pay, dont give your name, problem solved.

Rise above the threats of fines, courts and scare tactics.

I just bought a new home at the end of the summer.. Prior to that I worked in Belfast Mon - Fri and rent there and was back home at the weekend to my parents.

I say about a month or two after buying the house in the state I got a letter addressed to me for the TV licence, how did they get my name?
I assume it was the post office as they see the change of name on the address.

Deluded Oreo

It's basically fraud I don't pay and will never will 160e to watch some D- shows and watch those guys at the old folks home constantly whining about footballers...

No thanks.

Shiraz 4.99

A license should only be attached to something that can provide a service or potentially do harm.
A radio transmitter or a shotgun for example.

A license on a TV makes a much sense as a license for a fridge or a washing machine, actually scrap that, it might give them ideas.