The BBC is a "quango": quasi-autonomous non government organisation. And the TV license .. well, it's really a tax, as much as vehicle excise duty is, but with outsourced collection. I think it's unsustainable long term but the BBC is still pretty popular for its non-news output.
In 2024 it's a subscription service with the world's worst UX. I only have internet-delivered TV, and so I'd be very happy with an iPlayer that just unlocks more content behind a subscription fee.
What other subscription service are you legally required to be subscribed to merely for owning a television, computer or any other sort of appliance?
Like, suppose your car comes with a subscription service for satellite radio... you're allowed to just not pay it. Owning the object associated with the service doesn't normally oblige you to subscribe to it.
> What other subscription service are you legally required to be subscribed to merely for owning a television, computer or any other sort of appliance?
Things may have changed since I left the country, but last I heard you only needed one if you owned specifically a TV or actually used iPlayer (i.e. more than merely having the capability to use it).
Not quite - the current legislation[1] is that you must have a TV license if you watch/record live TV (however you do it - online, with a TV, etc.), or if you use the BBC's iPlayer app/site.
You do not require a TV license if you have a TV but do not use it to watch live television (e.g. using it for YouTube/Netflix apps)
I'm happy to report that even with a TV license, you're not compelled to watch live TV.
To your actual point, you do now need a license to use iPlayer at all, not merely for live TV -- too many people (like me) were not bothering with a license and relying on catch-up. We stopped using iPlayer as a result.
> What other subscription service are you legally required to be subscribed to merely for owning a television, computer or any other sort of appliance?
Colloquially it's still called Road Tax. Like if someone says "Wait for the Tannoy announcement" you're not obliged to say "Actually they're using the SpeakLouder 3000. Tannoy lost the contract 37 years ago next Tuesday."
