UKH

I do own a TV, I even watch sometimes. However, I don’t have any subscription services. No SKY, BT, Netflix, Amazon.

Is this the new “I don’t own a TV”?

In reply to The New NickB:

IPTV is your friend.

In reply to The New NickB:

No, the old new "I don't have a TV" is "I don't have a smartphone." The new new "I don't have a TV" is "I don't fly."

In reply to The New NickB:

We binned Sky a few years ago.

We have the absolute basic BT package, as it's bundled with the internet and phone and handy for the kids, but we don't have any of the add-ons, or any of Netflix/Amazon/etc.

I have toyed with moving to a free-view box, but not got round to properly investigating the pros and cons...

In reply to The New NickB:

I have an enormous TV, plus sky, amazon and Netflix. I like to have it on in the background while I read. 

In reply to felt:

Are you talking about the impact they have, or how people can like to say them?

In reply to Timmd:

I thought this thread was a response to another where "I don't have a TV" was described as a form of virtue signalling. I'm speaking in that vein.

In reply to felt:

As much as I hate the phrase “virtue signalling”, sort of. It was also partly the fact that a good proportion of these people without TV’s were still watching a lot of the content, just through a streaming service.

Overall, I do sometimes feel like I’m the only person in the world who still just has Council telly, as we used to say.

In reply to The New NickB:

No subscriptions but have Freeview.

Currently watching Lost on DVD box set..so retro.

In reply to The New NickB:

I have a TV, but it's not connected to an aerial. I've watched 1 DVD and 1 iplayer programme on it this year. My wife will watch the odd old film or Simon Reeve series on her ipad whilst doing the washing up. My vice is the interweb, but consuming forums or Faceache.  We still pay our TV license as I listen to BBC local radio on my way to work and read the BBC news website each morning and feel I get reasonable value for that. 

In reply to The New NickB:

I don't like it either. As a phrase it almost describes itself. I also don't like "humble bragging".

Council telly, eh. I still remember when C4 first came in. Four whole channels! How spoilt we felt. (Well, three channels, as we discounted ITV with the sort of look that you can catch on Rob Bryson's face at 1:19 on this clip: youtube.com/watch?v=HsS3of0VzUE&)

In reply to felt:

I also remember the C4 launch. We didn’t used to watch ITV either, except for Coronation Street for some reason. I’m the same, except I don’t watch Coronation Street.

In reply to felt:

Aah, I only don't have a TV because i'm disorganised and haven't got one yet. I'd quite like one.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I have free-sat and it's great. Only downside is it doesn't have 4OD, but I can get that on my laptop if I want to watch anything. It actually has a lot more channels than the basic packages a lot of providers offer (which is weird, because they're 'free' channels?).

It cost me less than £100 total (£40 for a re-conditioned HUMAX box, £50 for the aerial, fittings, & cables etc.) You can get the dish, brackets, cables etc. as a package in a few places. Took about 2 hours to set it all up (I fixed the dish to the wooden post off a for-sale sign which I fixed against my wall).  

Best part about it is that I then only have to pay for the internet and it gives you a lot more negotiating power when your supplier tries to stick your bill up. They try and muddy the waters with "we'll throw in this package/landline/channel" etc. and you can just say "all I have or want is the internet and so-and-so do it cheaper". I've paid the same for about 4 years now (<£25 a month including line rental) for fibre broadband. 

Also I don't have a smartphone....

In reply to Timmd:

You don't really need one. It's quite boring, really, telly. You're much better off reading Dickens.

In reply to felt:

I agree, though it is handy for identifying those who are spending too much time on right wing websites.

In reply to The New NickB:

My friend doesn't have a TV , due to cutting the aerial wire while removing Ivy from his chimney. I did warn him but would he listen!

In reply to overdrawnboy:

Maybe he had a soft spot for her?

In reply to felt:

Apologies for sounding like the 4 Yorkshiremen. I remember only having 1 channel, BBC, in black and white, which used to stop broadcasting from time to time. "Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible." The good side was "Bill and Ben", "Andy Pandy", "Rag, Tag and Bobtail" and "The Wooden Tops". I think Friday was "Picture Book" which wasn't so good.

In reply to Toerag:

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ102

In reply to The New NickB:

You mean you can still rent TV's?

In reply to The New NickB:

When I was living in Applecross in the 80s we were all surprised to find it was one of the only places on the mainland in that region to have Channel 4.   I think it came from Skye as did the telephone system via microwave down the coast a bit

In reply to Raskye:

personally I think Jane Garvey on Radio 4's Woman's Hate Men Hour is worth the entire licence fee.

In reply to jimtitt:

I don't think so. I suspect the meaning morphed. 

In reply to The New NickB:

I don’t have one, new  or old.

AND I don’t want one ☝️ 

In reply to felt:

True that

In reply to wercat:

Did you get the “none” phone in bit today ? The  token man  belittled humiliated and then cut short . A true to form classic 

In reply to russellcampbell:

I thought Monday was Picture Book!

In reply to felt:

Hang on, I don't fly but it's nothing to do with one up manship or virtue signaling. It's because last time I did about 25 years ago my holiday was ruined by a 7 hour delay flying out and 8 hour delay flying back. 

In reply to Tom Valentine:

You're probably right. I just remember not enjoying it very much.

In reply to wercat:

In my Sunderland Poly days, me and my mates sent a letter of compliant to the bbc, explaining how rubbish their programmes were (particularly Question of Sport) and , if we had actually paid for a licence, we would have felt totally ripped off.  Few months later, a random knock on the door and it was the tv licence man.  He asked if we had a tv, but we were ‘relaxing’ and the theme tune to neighbours blasting out gave the game away.  We almost wet ourselves laughing. We lied and said we had just got the tv and only got hundred pound fine.  I’m fairly sure we didn’t put our address on the complaint letter, but couldn’t rule it out.

Following year, my flatmate moved next door to our other mates.  They then had two tv’s so stacked on on top of the other and could watch two programmes at once.  Still no tv licence.  We’ve all grown up since then, sort of.  Also, we never paid the original fine.

In reply to russellcampbell:

I thought Muffin the Mule was part of it. I liked that.

( I also liked Four Feather Falls)

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I thought the 5 programmes I mentioned were on Monday to Friday. I'd forgotten about Muffin the Mule.  Loved it. Remember the name Four Feather Falls but don't remember watching it and can't remember anything about it.

In reply to The New NickB:

I don't have a TV.  I haven't had one for 30 years. 

I've lived in the UK for almost 20 years.  Every few months I get threatening letters from TV licensing.  Disappointingly, nobody has ever visited me like they say.  I registered no TV by return post once or twice.  But they keep resetting that status so the letters return. 

Hilarious.  I think this British pantomime is way better than any of the shows that I read about that are on real TV.  So my recommendation is: don't have a TV -- the show is much better.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I think Muffin the Mule must have been earlier, I never saw it, though I remember all the others mentioned.  It sounds a bit American.

There was also Tales from Europe, which would be far too partisan for terrestrial TV these days.

Things started to pick up when Gerry Anderson arrived with Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray etc.  

In reply to The New NickB:

We have a TV  and we only watch Netflix and Prime. We rarely, if ever, watch "council telly" because it is atrocious. The value of Prime and Netflix makes the tv licence seem high.

Before people respond saying there isn't much good to watch on these services, I think there is loads...as long as you do not binge watch the good stuff in one weekend, there is shed loads of great content that will last years in our house.

Making a Murderer, Breaking Bad, Mind Hunter, Black Sails, Last Kingdom, The Crown, Vikings, Ozark, Top Boy, Stranger Things, Arrested Development, House of Cards, Better Call Saul,The Man in the High Castle, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Americans, Money Heist, Narcos....

Plus lots of movies and documentaries. ....and no Eastenders, Simon Cowell, Holby City, Strictly, One show nonsense in sight. News channels are good though.

In reply to BruceM:

You can have a TV AND still get those letters!

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Presented by the sister of actor John Mills and very definitely English.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

I actually think that the price of Netflix, Prime etc make the licence fee look like good value. Even more so if you compare it to a service that tries to cover a bit more of the breadth of services that the BBC do. Like Sky for example.

In reply to Raskye:

I know that, but where do you think the money comes from to pay for all the none-TV BBC stuff?

In reply to Mike Stretford:

...virtue signaling

Yes seems to be used by people who want to justify their callous disregard for anything other than themselves.

In reply to Toerag:

How altruistic of you. I’d be more impressed if you donated the license fee to someone less fortunate and needy. 

In reply to The New NickB:

Somewhere out there are people who would claim I haven't listened to new music for 20 years.  And quite a few who haven't read a book for 20 years.  Is this really any different?

In reply to The New NickB:

I do roll my eyes at those who "don't have a tv" yet watch programmes on laptops/tablets

The new "I don't own a TV" though is "I dont fly" yet drive everywhere

In reply to The New NickB:

The new ‘I don’t have a TV’ is ‘I don’t drink alcohol’.

I don’t drink alcohol.

In reply to wbo:

Is what different?

In reply to The New NickB:

I thought the new "I don't own a TV" was "I don't have Facebook" tbh. All whilst pointing out how it is a big bad entity (which it is) and using their other services such as WhatsApp and Instagram.

In reply to ianstevens:

Or posting on UKC forums that they don’t use any social media.

In reply to The New NickB:

Yes, quite

In reply to russellcampbell:

You can't beat 'Muffin the mule'!

In reply to subtle:

Driving is much greener than flying though?

In reply to DubyaJamesDubya:

Yes it does!

The only thing it may apply to is when (some) people share things on facebook, I read that people tend to be relatively unlikely to do something about whatever it is they're sharing/bringing notice to.

In reply to The New NickB:

"I'm not on Facebook"

In reply to The New NickB:

I have Sky and Netflix and they're great! Watched quite a bit of the climbing world championships on Sky..

And BT Sport was handy last night for watching Leicester beat Southampton 9-0. 

But I never buy anything from Amazon. Does that make it Ok?

In reply to Babika:

Amazon are shits, so most definitely so.

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

I know a bloke who got 5 yrs for doing that 

In reply to Ceiriog Chris:

He ought to have known better.