i 2nd you fourwinds - i like the way world service refers to "the regime in london" and stuff like that ver funny, and diff perspective.

the bbc is great, radio4 is a second home for me, i love writing/literature, discussion/history, comedy/satire, news/history and although sonewhat tainted at times r4 is the absolute best i've come across - better n anything on the tv as far as i can see. and has the added bonus of being soft on my southern english petit bourgeoius ears. company too in the lonely moments of life.

the criticism should be for the utter pap put out on the mainstream tv channels, shallow, follow the herd, unrepentently materialistic and asanine drivel. ps. i like changing rooms tho! (joke)

I don't care about the licence fee better n fuckin adverts - to advertisers i say fuck off out me heed, take yer nasty images and keep they're yours not mine, keep em.

yours rantily of small blue planet
Nick

A few stray things I'd like to chuck in here, most of them things I remember hearing but can't verify.

Firstly, I *love* the World Service, but I'd heard that it's not funded from the license fee but by the Foreign Office. If so, it's not part of this discussion.

Although many of us don't have BBC3 and all those yet, we will soon. They've brought out the 'freeview' boxes for £100 which give a range of digital channels. When the number of people in the UK without any digital TV gets low enough (around 200,000 households or so, I think), they'll give these boxes away so that non-digital broadcasts can stop. Then the newly cleared airwaves will be licensed off to the mobile phone companies.

And of course, we do all pay for watching commercial TV. Not only do we pay with our time spent watching fucking adverts, but the adverts are financially paid for out of the revenue from people buying the products.

I once saw a study of how much advertising adds on to the price of stuff, and it reckoned that an 'average' family of four spent more per year on adverts than on their TV license.

Whilst I don't buy cars or Maybelline mascara (despite any rumours you may have heard to the contrary), like everyone else I do use products that are advertised. I buy stamps, electricity, food; some of that money goes to produce adverts for me to get riled by on TV.

If not watching the BBC should qualify for a rebate on the TV license, shouldn't not watching TV qualify for a rebate on your groceries?