Apparently, despite the entertainment industry having been hit very hard by the pandemic globally, TV streaming services are doing a roaring trade.
I have no idea how other countries (ie outside UK), except New Zealand, pay for their television channels but I assume that most are financed either by personal subscription, though advertisements or political donations or a combination of those.
In the UK it used to be the public service broadcaster (BBC) financed by a license fee without which it is illegal to watch a television so, in effect, everyone with a TV has to have a license. Then along came Independent Television (ITV and it's offshoots) financed by advertising. That was how it carried on for a number of decades.
In 1989 SKY came along and charged for satellite television with 4 channels. Now it includes most mainstream channels together with SKY channels.
As the number of 'free to view' channels proliferated Freeview was established in 2002 to control the potential chaos on the airwaves.
However it is now so complicated that I doubt many people have a clue about the vast range of services available unless they happen to want to watch something in particular when they find it's no longer available on a free-to-view channel.
The first thing that I noticed was when the Formula 1 Grand Prix ceased to be available live on the BBC and went to SKY who outbid the BBC for the rights knowing that many people would join SKY so that they could see it. There was such an outcry that a BBC channel was granted a few years of an edited version later in the day and a live UK GP. I can live without the GP.
I don't know who has all the major football matches but I assume that it's SKY and BT between them because they have a great deal of the UK's sport now.
The only thing that will really annoy me is if Wimbledon deserts the BBC.
Several years ago I wanted to watch something that was on Netflix so I got the trial package for a month or whatever it was and, because I wanted to continue with the series I just carried on with the subscription. I suspect many people do that.
Now there are many subscription channels including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Britbox (A joint BBC/ITV venture with old box sets), Disney Plus and Now TV. I have no idea, apart from Britbox, what they offer but apparently they all have at least something 'everyone wants'.
I am fortunate that I don't want anything more that the standard BBC and ITV and existing free-to-view channels although I haven't cancelled my Netflix subscription (which is silly because I've only watched The Crown).
Obviously there are people who spend a fortune to get their football or whatever else on TV or all these subscription channels wouldn't exist. Personally I shall just bumble along paying my license fee and enjoying what's on offer or switching off and listening to music. Which reminds me that YouTube also has a subscription service which, so far, I've avoided.
The development from public stations paid through license fees to private stations etc. was pretty much the same here in Germany. I used to watch very little TV and read a lot more, but my eyes simply do not allow for much reading anymore, and so I have shifted good part of my former reading time to the telly.
ReplyDeleteOnly two years ago, O.K. gave me Apple TV for my birthday, and I really like the possibilities that come with it, for instance watching Midsomer Murders not only when I have time, but also in English and not the dubbed German version.
Last year, my sister and I subscribed to Netflix. I have watched a few programs and series on it, such as The Crown. Sports or cars on TV? Honestly, I couldn‘t care less.
Meike, I had the original Apple TV to put my photos onto the big screen but I never had a subscription service and, of course, it's now obsolete anyway. It's interesting to hear how other countries operate.
DeleteThe BBC are an anachronism and an annoying one. Only the other day I decided to watch the Peter Kay, Sian Gibson Car Share only to find they have removed it from I-Player and sold it to YouTube. That is theft, the public paid for that programme and as such it isn't the BBC's to sell, not in the UK anyway. Robbing blighters.
ReplyDeleteYouTube have one problem and that is the frequency of advertisements. I'm also a thief as I watch without seeing them and for free.
Not to worry, all good socialists are thieves.
Adrian I agree that the BBC is a bit of an anachronism. I listen to a lot of Radio 3 and that's also covered by the license fee. The alternative is a dumbed down version with adverts like Classic FM. That brings another issue because Classic FM did not broadcast in non-profitable areas like the Highlands and Islands outside Inverness. Of course now it's available anywhere if you have wifi. Are bad socialists not thieves then or are all socialists thieves. Along with politicians .....
DeletePoliticians one and all. Not all socialists, the majority are consumed by envy which tends to breed dishonesty.
DeleteThankfully we no longer pay a license for our TV now. Son subscribes to Netflix, Sky Sport and the Disney channel, but I am fine with just Freeview (although I will watch the rugby when it is on!). We each have our own television, so can both watch what we like LOL.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, when I lived in New Zealand I had no choice and had to have Sky because there was no Freeview available where I was out in the sticks. Then it became available via satellite and I was delighted because I only wanted the basic channels. On Freeview here I have about 100 TV channels and only ever watch bits of about 10 of them.
DeleteThere is no licence fee here and the national broadcaster, the CBC, is financed through the general tax revenue, but now also accepts advertising. There are myriad other channels financed by advertising, but you have to subscribe to a cable service or a satellite provider to receive service into the home. Most of what I watch, other than the nightly news at 9:00 pm are nature documentaries, so most of the channels we receive might as well not be there. We too took a subscription to Netflix after a free trial period, but cancelled it after six months when we weren't using it. And I remember back in the 1960s when I lived in Québec City and we had two channels, CBC English and CBC French, in black-and-white, with a rickety antenna on the roof! And television monitors weren't as big as screens in a movie theatre. We own one television of very modest dimensions, and I am quite sure that visitors think us quaint!
ReplyDeleteDavid I'm interested that you have to pay to get the service into the home. All the Freeview channels are available free either via an aerial or satellite. Obviously if you have a cable service or Sky satellite that has to be paid for. Your Quebec experience is very much what it was like when I came to Lewis. I confess to having a quite large screen television linked to my hi-fi speakers. I was watching the Metropolitan Opera on it last week and it made me wonder why I pay a fortune to see their broadcasts live in the cinema when I can in Glasgow.
DeleteWe are not great TV watchers so only have the standard Freeview channels on a cheap and cheerful set top box that lets P record some of his late evening history documentaries.
ReplyDeleteIf I feel the need to watch something, I generally try to find something interesting on BBC i-player via my laptop as I can more easily follow it with the subtitles on. I did try doing the same with the ITV channels but found that I was unable to fast forward over the ads so I don't bother with those.
JayCee, I'm not a huge TV watcher but I certainly would not want to do without it these days even though this week I have watched only a couple of channel evening programmes, the rest of my viewing having been concerts or The Prada Cup on YouTube. Oh, and the news on the kitchen TV.
DeleteThere are many good things on Netflix. You are missing some excellent dramas and films that are available. I often name them on my blog but perhaps they go in one eye and out the other. I am new to Netflix only having it since November and am loving it.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I have seen your recommendations. I got the impression most were pretty challenging. I have an aversion to anything that is challenging from the tension point of view at the moment. I'm not sure why but these days I like feel-good things on the whole. The last thing I watched like that was 'Bodyguard' because I know a former close protection officer (female as it happens) and wanted to see what it was like in reality. I really enjoyed it. Having said that I haven't watched very much television or any films at all for ages. I thought the winter evenings in lockdown would be great TV and reading time but it's not turned out like that. I've been watching/listening to concerts this week whilst trying to do some sketching and writing.
DeleteI have done a post on what I have been watching recently Graham. I don't consider any of them to be challenging and are mostly contemporary drama, I am not keen on historical dramas, nor documentary/drama. Of the ones I have mentioned today I think you would enjoy them all.
DeleteIn the US, the variety of arrangements for television/streaming/etc. seems endless and is often dependent upon where one lives. For example, where I live (semi-rural) there is only one cable provider (due to our commissioners giving them a 20 year sole franchise). They are also the sole provider for internet services in my area. A basic internet package, with no TV channels, starts at roughly £66 and goes up from there depending on how much bandwidth one uses. And the darlings have recently announced increased charges because so many people are streaming things other than their offerings. The provider will offer "special packages" of £75 and up for basic cable television access but what they don't tell you is how many other "taxes and fees" are not included in this rate. Our current bill includes fees and equipment charges totaling £51. All told the monthly bill now reaches £142. The kicker is that I do not watch television at all, but my DH does. However, even he is reaching the point where abandoning television seems a reasonable, economic choice.
ReplyDeleteMary, your comment has totally gobsmacked me. In the UK a great deal of that sort of thing is done on a flat rate throughout the country with a lot of central infrastructure in rural areas subsidised by the Government. My BBC licence fee is £157 a year (just looked it up because it was free for oldies until the Tories got back in this time and abolished the universal free licence for oldies). My wifi is £21 a month for unlimited use. That's it. Oh, I forgot. I do pay about £5 a month for Netflix but I could easily drop that but I want to watch The Crown next series.
DeleteAh...Netflix costs £10.24 here.
DeleteThings get complicated. I don't watch TV so I don't have a clue about the situation . I do know that nothing is free anymore. There's lots to see on you tube without the subscription.
ReplyDeleteRed, I've only recently discovered how much is available on YouTube. It's great.
DeleteWe used to have a license system here too for our public service channels, but now that is included in our taxes instead. The argument was that you no longer need a TV to watch TV as the public service channels are also free to watch online; and on the whole there are few people nowadays who have neither TV nor internet. We also have one commercial ground-distributed TV channel that can be watched for free. In my building we get TV as well as internet via fiber optics cable since some years back. I subscribe to a basic pack of commercial channels most of which I've been used to having since many years. They include some British programs that I like to watch, for example "Escape to the Country" (house-hunting in the British countryside) and Antiques Roadshow, plus various crime and drama series. I also have Netflix, although that's really thanks to my brother (who is sharing his with me.) Besides The Crown I have also watched a few other series there (although I have to say, I have started on more than I have felt inspired to finish). As I also have quite a few old favourites (both films and TV-series) on DVD/BRD, I don't really feel motivated to subscribe to even more channels or streaming services. (And as I'm not a huge fan of any sport, I feel I get more than enough of that already...)
ReplyDeleteMonica, I think the inclusion of the public service broadcaster in the general tax is a much better way and probably much cheaper to administer as well. You seem to have your television wants covered just about perfectly.
DeleteMy attitude is similar to yours. I am one of many football supporters who refuse to subscribe to SKY which of course emerged from the right wing Rupert Murdoch media empire. It's outrageous that the people who run football have sold TV rights to the highest bidders instead of sticking with the BBC. It's the same with cricket.
ReplyDeleteYP, the trouble is that football has become such massive business that the sport element has become secondary to big money. Despite once having nearly gone for my ref's ticket I no longer have the slightest interest in football. All 'sport' will soon be pay-to-watch soon. I for one will no longer be watching.
DeleteI'm not a follower of sport, which seems to be the main reason people get subscription services. Years and years ago we got cable tv in an introductory offer but it didn't take long to realise that we were flat out seeing what we wanted on free to air and cancelled it.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have netflix which I use quite often but I wonder whether i would have bothered off my own bat. I'm intrigued by Britbox, it is new here and it shows some very nostalgic stuff but yet again, i doubt I'd get the value from it.
I really enjoy the streaming services of ABC and SBS, both government stations and very good and free.
Kylie, when BritBox came out I wanted to see what was on it and got the free trial. I went through a whole list of BBC/ITV things I used to watch and would like to have seen that were not easily available today. Not a single one was on BritBox. I never subscribed.
DeleteAs oldies we are exempt from a license fee (which used to be attached to our annual house rates), and only watch UK TV via a free Sky box. There is nothing I would really miss if the service suddenly disappeared.
ReplyDeleteCro, you'll get a rude awakening when you get back to the UK and have to have a licence again.
DeleteI love my streaming services...and I love bingeing on good series...good, character-driven series. Documentaries and movies, too, are on my list of binge-worthy pastimes. :)
ReplyDeleteThere is very little worthwhile watching on free-to-air...so streaming it is for me...(not screaming!
Well, Lee, there's nothing like enjoying some good escapism.
DeleteI think here from memory the ones like tv 1 and tv 2 are owned by tvnz and manage by selling advertising space and tv programs, I do remember quite a few years ago though they did get bailed out by the govt, can't remember why though but as for other channels like sky and netflix we don't pay for those yet they are available though, we mostly watch youtube as our smart tv has that option also.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I more and more watch YouTube on my tv as well.
DeleteAs you will remember our basic TV is hopeless and Freeview not much better. I gave up watching sport when SKY monopolised them all but have watched a few All Blacks games with my son on his SKY and theatre sized TV screen. Used to love the cricket and now it's back - on TV1. Even women's games. Bet it doesn't last. I share Netflix with Leone and watch a movie or docu once or twice a week.
ReplyDeleteLast night I was very tired and watching a drama with the laptop on my lap in bed. I got such a fright at one stage that the laptop ended up on the floor. That would never have happened in the good old days.
About TV licenses - I can't remember when they were scrapped but I do remember reading how many license fees were outstanding at the time, something like 100,000. Wonder how much of that the govt. got back?
I'm sorry, Pauline, but I did laugh about your fright. I wonder if these will ever be the 'good old days'.
DeleteI've never heard a single argument for abolishing the BBC that stands up to scrutiny, but the licence fee ought to go because it is expensive to collect. Like Dawn says, it could be funded out of gebneral taxation.
ReplyDeleteTasker, I would not abolish the BBC but I think it's present form with a license fee is anachronistic. We need a public service broadcaster in both television and radio (in my humble opinion) because then it's not run by moneyed political or other interests. Having said that all Parties have always argued about perceived bias which, I would submit, rather shows that the BBC is getting something right. As you say a license fee is very expensive to collect. I could use other arguments too.
DeleteHere in NY cable prices are ridiculous... I just pay for the very basic service (no movie channels, no sports channels) and we bought a ROKU box (think it cost about $100, we've had it for years) which allows us to access Netflix (we pay for that service because it's got a lot of stuff we like to watch). My biggest moan is that there are too many "pay for" services. Some of the series(eseses) I would like to see only come on "Starz" or "haich BO" and I have to wait aeons for those programs to eventually end up on Netflix. Most of them do. Eventually.
ReplyDeleteIt's my considered opinion that this is 2021 for godsakes, we have the technology, why do we have to sign up for anything at all? Why can't all the programs just be "out there" and let us pick and choose what we want to see? Make it a dollar a program, or whatever, like a menu, and we can pay for exactly what we want to watch? It's exhausting juggling all these damn memberships and passwords and stuff. Everything should be a-la-carte!
Marcheline, I think with Amazon and Apple it is possible to pay per view although I've never done it and I'm not sure if a subscription is needed as well. For me pay per view wouldn't work I'd get really pissed off if 5 minutes into something I couldn't stand it. I'm very much a sit down at 8 o'clock or whatever and see what mood I'm in and then if I'm going to write I'll put on a QI or YouTube music concert or something that I needn't concentrate on too hard. I'm very definitely an 'assess my mood and look for something' on other occasions. If I want a film then I have hundreds of DVDs as well as anything on the 100 or so of free channels plus all the rest of the stuff on free TV. I do have Netflix as I said but I don't use it very often. Once I've signed into something here the TV remains signed in until I sign it out.
DeleteI don't have a TV .. and haven't had one for maybe 10 years. In Australia, we don't pay a license fee for the two national broadcasters .. ABC & SBS. All free to air channels can be accessed online either in Live TV mode or catch up mode. I periodically binge-watch Nordic Noir drama over a weekend, while doing school work. I am also fascinated with the concept of Slow TV, not that I have ever watched a full episode of anything. Have you heard of it?
ReplyDeleteHi Carol. WE don't actually have Slow TV here but we do have channels which run similar programmes. There are dozens of programmes about rail journeys (oddly I watched one about the Ghan the other evening) which may even be edited versions of your Slow TV journeys/programmes. I assume that you watch everything on a laptop/tablet?
DeleteA good topic, Graham, and interesting to read the subsequent comments. We do not pay for any subscription TV service, yet can get over-the-air major stations in the U.S. which for us are NBC, CBS, ABC and the local PBS (public broadcasting channel) and a lot of other channels as well. We do not use the internet provided for other than wi-fi service. That said, we do have a Netflix subscription and also one for AcornTV streaming. The annual cost of those too is less than what some people may monthly for cable/satellite TV service for so many channels they admit to not watching. And, of course, there is also YouTube for which I do not have a subscription...why would I?
ReplyDeleteBeatrice, it would appear that some in the US have free to view stations and some have to access them via cable or pay-to-view. I haven't quite sussed it all out. Like you I don't have a YouTube subscription and so far I've been able to watch all the classical concerts free and there is usually just one advert at the start. I suppose that's because the demand for the concerts is tiny compared with pop music videos.
DeleteWe are finding it quite remarkable how many wonderful documentaries from all over the world are on Youtube. Also had a look at "Touching the Void" feature film which is there. We also watched "Dough" a very funny Jewish film from https://ukjewishfilm.org/ had to pay a couple of quid. One thing this pandemic has done is made me more of a film watcher.
ReplyDeleteJenny, YouTube is absolutely amazing but I had no idea just how much stuff there is there until very recently.
DeleteWe have netflix, and a basic satellite package that provides more channels than we need. We spend about $80 a month on it, which seems like a lot of money. I know people who spend over $200 a month. For television. My son and his family gave up television for that reason. They are now trying out streaming 'sticks'. I guess that I'm just not that interested to learn more about these things. When we move into our retirement home, we won't have television at all. Because it is so far 'out', our options become limited and expensive. We'll just do without, and probably be the better for it.
ReplyDeleteDebby, you've made a few very points there which I find intriguing. A move to a retirement home that will be so far 'out' (I presume for the city) that your options become limited and expensive. I would have thought that the great majority of people in a retirement home would need those facilities more than many and that it would be worth the companies putting cable or whatever in. I'm very confused because the options in the US seem to be hugely varied both in availability and cost.
ReplyDelete