redsquirrel said:
That's different to voting for analog to be turned off.
What, so this should have been some kind of referendum?
It's worth bearing in mind that no one 'voted' to switch from analog to digital mobile phones either, nor are any of the 150,000 people a day who are switvhing to VoIP services - what happens in 5 or 10 years when BT and the traditional fixed line providers have to turn round to their goverments and say 'We can no longer maintain the fixedline infrastructure and stay in business?' and those who haven't switched to VoIP or mobile are left without phones? At that point are you going to say that people haven't voted to cut out the fixed line networks?
For my money preparing for the switch to internet telephony impacts on a far more vital social service than TV and could have far greater consequences for the 'digital gap' that is already starting to emerge between those with access to digital services (be that iTV, VoIP, digital mobile or broadband internet) and those without.
Anyway, back to TV...There isn't anything that says you have to buy a digibox for the next 7 years tops, well within the replacement window of most TVs, by 2012 some broadcasters project that almost half of all broasdcasts will be HD which can't be broadcast on the analog signal - certainly for the commercial broadcasters their most profitable audiences will all be HD households meaning there is little or no incentive for them to continue to broadcast non-HD progs (I'm not too sure about the additional costs of producing in HD/no-ND - any TV people out there got an idea on that one).
Which also leaves public service broadcasters like the BBC in a Catch-22 - caught between a public service remit that obliges them to broadcast to as many as possible and an enforced funding system that those most able to complain about getting 'good value' ever being heard when it comes to it's funding? Should the government cripple the BBC by insisting that it continues to broadcast to the lowest level of technology?
As Chio points out, TV will still be FTA so should you want to the only fee you'll have to continue to pay will be the licence charge, which will also (it appears) be used to subsidise C4s public service programmng obligations as well. C4 is in an even worse position than the BBC - it's a trust, has a much harsher PS remit than ITV (which now just about covers news and religious programming and that's it) AND has to compete against ITV, C5 (now in the comfortable pockets of BMG) and Sky for advertiser money in order to fund it's programmes. But other than that you wont have to pay anything aside from a box upgrade if you haven't changed your TV in the previous 7 years.
Its a bloody rip off!
I already object to paying over £100 each year for a licence that allows me to watch a load of bollocks on TV.
I deliberately chose not to subscribe to various companies because I object to paying even more out for even more crap TV!
Where's my choice now eh?
1. You don't pay £100 for just TV programming. Try having a look at what the BBC actually DOES before whining about it
2. You don't have to subscribe to anyone else.
3. Where's your choice? Stop watching 'a load of bollocks' on TV and go and buy a book, go to a gallery or the theatre, listen to the radio. Maybe go to the gym or attend an evening class to improve you mind or develop your skills at a hobby that interests you. 'Where's my choice?' - probably the same place you left your imagination.
