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BBC:
Video streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime now have more subscribers than traditional pay TV services in the UK, new data from Ofcom has revealed.
The media regulator says British TV will have to change the way it operates if it wants to compete with the internet giants.
Sharon White, Ofcom's chief executive, says: "We'd love to see broadcasters such as the BBC work collaboratively with ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 so that they have got that scale to compete globally, making shows together, co-producing great shows that all of us can watch.
"I think it would be great to see a British Netflix."
BrexitFlix?
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'Netflix Effect' Poses Challenge to British TV
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
poverty, n.:
An unfortunate state that persists as long
as anyone lacks anything he would like to have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:02AM (11 children)
Effectively it's a tax on receiving equipment [tvlicensing.co.uk] since it applies to all broadcast TV.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:16AM (10 children)
Prove I'm wrong.
No, you may not enter my house. Yes, I'll break your jaw if you try. And then I'll call the REAL Bobbies and press charges.
Any more questions? Good.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:39AM (9 children)
You can do that, they'll get a warrant. I genuinely do not watch TV, I'd be more interested to hear what I could possibly be interested in watching.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:57AM (8 children)
A warrant? Really?
Under what pretext? Issued by what court?
Can you point me to a single relevant precedent or instance?
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @10:21AM (7 children)
Many. [licencefree.co.uk] They can force their way in but don't as they fear the public outcry. [crimebodge.com]
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday July 19 2018, @10:41AM (6 children)
So from your link, warrants are sometimes being issued when they should not.
Still, they're quite limited in scope.
So, let me elaborate my script ever so slightly.
"No, I haven't watched broadcast tv on my own equipment for over 10 years."
"No, you may not enter my house, nor my property. Not without a warrant. Tis a nation of law after all."
"Oh, you, have a warrant do you? Let me see that."
(I'll point out at this point, for the benefit of some possible readers, that unlike in the USA they are still expected to show you the warrant and give you a reasonable opportunity to read it rather than just shooting you in the face. I don't often give the old country props, because it doesn't often deserve it, but I'll happily go on record as saying that in this particular respect they are doing it right. At least part of the time.)
"OK, let me see your ID."
If there is anything obviously wrong with the ID, I deny him entrance and call the cops, er, bobbies. If he tries to force the issue I hit him good and hard with something heavy and wait for the bobbies. If he isn't suicidal he waits for them.
"OK, show me the warrant."
Again, for the benefit of my friends and neighbors, this doesn't actually get you designated KOS by the national guard in the motherland. Though they are absolute unconscionable DICKS about my sporting arms. I'm not sure I can give any net points here.
Moving on...
Ok, this jackass actually has a warrant, and showed it to you, and you couldn't see anything obviously wrong with it. Don't panic! Tell him your lawyer^wbarrister needs to look at it. Make some phone calls. Tell him to come back next week. See if you can't provoke him into assaulting you. Preferably in front of your camera.
Worst case, let him in. If you're not an absolute idiot, there's nothing in the world in plain sight that will prove his case anyway.
If even 10% of the male public cared about the general welfare enough to do their part when their time came... there would be no one left willing to even attempt to do 'inspections' for these sons of bitches.
"Dying ain't much of a living, boy."
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2, Disagree) by c0lo on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:14PM (2 children)
And all of this circus, for what?
£150.50 [wikipedia.org] which is 0.6% [wikipedia.org] of the post tax median annual income in 2014? You reckon the lawyer will come cheaper?
Get a life, man, and stop drinking cheap booze. You sound like a deranged US libertarian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:21PM
150 pounds is 300 bucks, which is not insignificant. I'd throw the TV out the window before I put up with that. Some things you can't do without, but TV is not one of them. So holding on to it and thereby enabling petty tyranny is inexcusable.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday July 19 2018, @05:50PM
These are private citizens, poorly trained and not properly overseen, going around bullying people into doing things they don't have any obligation to do, in order to extract rent they are not entitled to, often from people so poor that paying it means a real hardship. No one respects that, and no one should respect that.
Any and every decent person in the country will monkeywrench them, one way or another. That's just how it works in a healthy society - we don't tolerate bullies, not everyone has to confront them head on but everyone in the block WILL work together to support whoever does. When we're the targets of bullying, we resist. When it's that nice old lady next door, or old Joe that came back from Korea with no legs, well then we start to really get angry.
Quit being so myopic. Not everything has to be justified in terms of short term individual gain. Sometimes we take on extra work, for the benefit of the community.
If you sent one of these 'inspectors' around over here, he'd be quickly surrounded by community watch and asked to leave.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:29PM
Hey, it's almost like we're back in the U.S.! :P
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @07:24PM (1 child)
Sorry, but here's the SOP re the men from Crapita and their warrants.
If it has gotten to the warrant stage, then they'll show up with the police, present you with the warrant, and the police are there to make sure that the men from Crapita are allowed to execute the warrant, if you physically interfere, then they (the police) might arrest you under the good old 'breach of the peace' catch-all, yes, the indications are that if you still refuse them entry then they'll go away, but they can legally force entry to your property armed with the warrant.
'(6) A person authorised by the BBC, or by OFCOM, to exercise a power conferred by a warrant under this section may (if necessary) use such force as may be reasonable in the exercise of that power.'
The warrant allows for them to inspect all TV receiving equipment, bear in mind the definition of what that now means ' TVs, desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, games consoles, digital boxes, DVD, Blu-ray and VHS recorders, or anything else.'
Let that sink in, especially the '..or anything else.'.
The warrant, issued under Section 366 of The Communications Act 2003 [legislation.gov.uk]. allows them to
(2) A warrant under this section is a warrant authorising any one or more persons authorised for the purpose by the BBC or by OFCOM—
- (a) to enter the premises or vehicle at any time (either alone or in the company of one or more constables); and
- (b) to search the premises or vehicle and examine and test any television receiver found there.
If you refuse to give them assistance
(7) Where a person has the power by virtue of a warrant under this section to examine or test any television receiver found on any premises, or in any vehicle, it shall be the duty—
- (a) of a person who is on the premises or in the vehicle, and
- (b) in the case of a vehicle, of a person who has charge of it or is present when it is searched,
to give the person carrying out the examination or test all such assistance as that person may reasonably require for carrying it out.
(8) A person is guilty of an offence if he—
- (a) intentionally obstructs a person in the exercise of any power conferred on that person by virtue of a warrant under this section; or
- (b) without reasonable excuse, fails to give any assistance that he is under a duty to give by virtue of subsection (7).
(9) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (8) shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
Now, I don't know if refusing to give the men from Crapita passwords to allow them to access you computer equipment would be an arrestable offence, the police would probably do nowt if you've been polite etc. , but you never know.
I should point out here that a level 5 fine on the standard scale is now potentially unlimited (as of Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, Section 85)...
Yes, they're fuckwits, but fuckwits with the law on their side (the worst kind of fuckwits)
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday July 19 2018, @07:35PM
This is exactly the sort of tyranny that civil disobedience works best against.
Peaceful resistance. Refusal to cooperate. If one person in 10 took that path, the whole thing would become so unprofitable it would be abandoned.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?