17-March-2010

No television in this house

Leave a comment

Related Gripes

Random Gripe

Gripes by email

I am in a minority group of people in this country in that I am one of those rare individuals who happen NOT to own a television. I currently rent my house (property prices is another gripe!) and when I moved here I was bombarded by letters from the TV licensing people who more or less demanded that I buy a TV licence. Naturally I ignored all of these letters for months and months with the vague idea that I could perhaps paper a wall with them one day.

Who needs a tv, no television in this house!

Eventually however, I succumbed to the torment and decided to tell these morons that I didn't own a television and therefore had no intention of buying a TV licence. I did all of this online of course; there was no way on earth I was going to waste money on a stamp or a phonecall to tell these people that I didn't have something!

Anyway, to the point of the gripe. It's not the constant harassment from the TV Licensing people that annoys me. It's the attitude of other people that I find quite incredible and a bit irritating.

If you work in an office (as I used to) there is the usual banter about what was on the box the night before and when the conversation swings round to you with "Did you see that last night?"; you get the usual sea of dumbstruck faces when you explain that you don't have a TV and you don't really want one. People just can't cope with the fact that you don't own a television.

It's as if you have just spent most of your "life on mars", because they just don't understand how you can live without a TV. For example my girlfriend has a daughter by her ex-husband and he seriously believes that her development is going to be stunted because we don't have a telly, therefore she wont be able to watch "CBeebies" like all the other kids. I think the more likely scenario is that she will grow up a little bit smarter because she'll have spent more time reading, playing and communicating instead of being dumped in front of the box as so many parents are apt to do.

So there you have it. It is possible to live in a television free environment and still be normal - really it is! By the way, it's not that I don't enjoy movies and television programmes. It's just that I prefer to watch what I want, when I want. Hence we have that wonderful thing called the Internet, a PC, a DVD player and a projector. Video on demand is in fact here now for those of you who don't want to be passive consumers of commercial junk. By the way, I really can't stand the adverts and that was another good reason to toss the goggle box in the bin!

By: Kenny

Other Related Gripes

Watching TV on the Internet
What's coming up next on TV?
TV on-screen logos are annoying
Need a TV licence to watch BBC1 online
Why is digital television slower than analogue?
TV Licensing send threatening letters
Sky Movies a waste of money
Sky Movies PIN number annoying
Fed up with celebrity TV shows
Sky - No Satellite Signal Received
Breaking news from the BBC
Celebrities that endorse charities
Problems with Sky HD
New BBC weather maps
TV commercials that denigrate men
Broadband problems with Sky Plus
Adverts on television and radio
The Oscar nominations, who cares?
IPTV and the threat of a PC tax
Reality TV shows aren't real life
BBC not worth the cost of a TV Licence

I havent got tv in my property. you can come and check anytime thank you

M.patel 12-Mar-2010 12:40

Here it is kids, Freeview over the internet and the quality ain't half bad either. Some would say you need a TV licence for this but I say bollocks to that. Put it into full screen mode for smooth streaming and use the aspect ratio button at the bottom to adjust. There's also a channel picker overlay so you can channel surf!

http://www.tvguide.co.uk/tv_channel_streams.asp

Enjoy....

Flatcap 02-Oct-2009 09:05

Hey Zanna, ditch the TV and do other stuff instead. You'll be two hours a week better off. To be honest it's not something I think much about these days as you can watch whatever you like on the Internet anyway.

Dumbed down but not out 29-Sep-2009 16:53

haha - brilliant. I have to admit that we have a TV, however for the 2 hours a week we watch is it possibly one of the most pointless items in the house.

Zanna 29-Sep-2009 15:41

Hey, shouldn't that be down as Theo C Cupier. Quite an amusing name though.

No television here either 19-Aug-2009 19:40

keep your aerial unpugged and you can say you dont use it even if you do let them into your home. I tell them my name is Theo Cupier (The Occupier).

Theo Cupier 19-Aug-2009 19:16

An Excellent gripe essay kenny.I do own a set but only use it to record Prime ministers questions and university challenge.

Mr Hicks 15-Jul-2009 08:46

Smart thinking, not spending money on a television or licensing fees. It's just completely unnecessary (almost obsolete) now that we have the internet. (Another gripe said that internet TV is ridiculous, but with torrents, there are basically no movies that you *can't* find on the internet for free -- and I quite honestly don't give a rip about whether or not that's legal. It's foolish to buy prime time when you can download a few movies overnight for free and watch them whenever you want.)

I also find it rather obscene that people *expect* those of us without TVs to pay fees. No thank you, I'd really prefer not to spend money on entertainment that I have no interest in enjoying. I also think tax-funded television is a ridiculous waste of tax money.

Besides, gaming is 10x better than watching TV. :D

Marshun 09-Jul-2009 01:32

You Choose

The licence fee in the Netherlands was abolished in 2000 due to the excessive collection costs..Public television in the Netherlands is now funded by government subsidy. In order to pay for public television from government funds, income tax was increased.

Pay Up 07-May-2009 15:34

Surely in this digital age, the BBC channels can simply be blocked for those who haven't paid their license? I'd be more than happy for BBC channels to be blocked from my TV, although life would be tough without watching endless dancing, singing, ice skating, and general rubbish, I think I'd probably cope.

TV owner 07-May-2009 12:13

Pay Up, it's the jobsworths like you that keep this stupid TV license thing in existence in the first place. If enough people put their foot down, didn't get a licence or got rid of their television then they'd have no option but to change the system. So carry on buying your TV licence Pay Up!

Don 07-May-2009 11:22

Kenny (write of this gripe), I admire you for not owning a television. You're really not missing much. For the price of TV lisence we get sweet F.A. for it really. The quality of programmes has plummeted since the so called digital age began. I watch more DVDs than actual tv broadcasts on mine. If I were single I'd be able to live without the thing, but my missus can't bear to live without her daily fix of women oriented trash.

TV owner 07-May-2009 11:07

View more comments on this gripe

No television in this house

Other Related Gripes

Visitor Comments