Mostly for dumb historical reasons, currently justified as slightly protecting them from the government cutting their funding.
Objectively European TV licenses are just a terrible wasteful idea, basically creating an entire parallel tax collection system. Of all the important, vital things a government funds, I'm not sure why a public broadcaster should have any special insulation from the usual democratic decision making.
The UK TV license is much less tax-like than the German one. I never paid for the UK one, by the cunning and devious scheme of… never buying a TV once I moved out of my parent's home.
Now I'm in Germany, and here we have to pay for a TV license regardless of if we have a TV or not. (Also, my partner here has a TV).
> currently justified as slightly protecting them from the government cutting their funding.
How does that work? Who sets the TV license rate? If I hate the BBC and want to eliminate their funding, and I also want to be popular, what's stopping me from eliminating the license regime altogether?
In Italy it's now a part of your energy bill, by law. Basically too many people were opting out (legitimately or not), so they made it non-negotiable: "if you have energy, you must be powering screens! Pay up!"
Meanwhile, mainstream TV (both state-run and privately owned) is more and more unwatchable, and more and more people just tune out - but they are still taxed.
You can still opt out, just fill out a declaration that you don't have a TV. It can be done online in two minutes (it must be repeated every year tho).
The difference is that before it was basically opt-in, with spotty enforcement, and as a result about 30% of the population was not paying anything. Today it requires lying on an official form, making it much more serious.
Objectively European TV licenses are just a terrible wasteful idea, basically creating an entire parallel tax collection system. Of all the important, vital things a government funds, I'm not sure why a public broadcaster should have any special insulation from the usual democratic decision making.