The TV license was originally introduced to help set up a TV network.The BBC did not just come into existence one day and find itself full of investment.Cameras, Ariel's, Studios etc all had to be built and paid for.
When the BBC was first established it was a far far different world than today.There really was no alternative way of funding it as things like advertising was unheard of back then.
Personally i watch very very little on the BBC.The only programs that i view are Question time and my drama queen wife watches east enders.Now that means that each program costs me around £80 per year to watch. My viewing of the BBC is around 3 hours a week.Multiply that by the amount of weeks per years and my total viewing is around 150 hours per year which means the BBC costs me around £1 per hour.When looking at it this way it does not appear to be expensive.When compared with the cinema or dvd's it works out cheaper per hour.
However i have sky tv at home which costs me around £40 per month.My sky viewing is around 15 hours per week.This means i watch sky around 60 hours per month so it costs me more money per year than the BBC but gives me better value at around 75p per hour.
When looking at these figures it would appear that the BBC is not expensive but it gives me less value for money than sky.
My main gripe with the TV license is that i do not have a choice if i want to receive the BBC or not.It is dictated to me that i must pay for the BBC if i want to watch any television channel.
Since digital television has been launched companies that provide television have the ability to turn channels off and on at the click of a button.I therefore think i should have a choice.If i decide that i don't want to watch the BBC i should have the choice of not having to pay for it.
I do think that the BBc should be forced to advertise for a few reasons.
1 Over recent years the BBC has been showing less and less sport.We have seen things like football, formula one, boxing, cricket all emigrate to sky.The BBC can't compete with companies like sky at their present levels of funding.
2 I view it as being very very wrong to dictate to a customer than he or she has to have and pay for the BBC.The customer should be given the choice.It should not be forced on them just because they have a television that can pick up that particular channel.
3 i have never used radio 2, 3 or 4.I have never used the world service.Yet a portion of my tv license goes to fund these.I never had a say in this.I was never asked if i would like the BBC to set these services up or not.I have never been asked if i would like these services to continue.Now didn't get me wrong i do understand that the BBC needs to try and cater for all tastes.However i don't understand why it needs to broadcast to foreign countries when we no longer have an empire.I understand even less when British people are paying for the BBC to be broadcast to foreigners and those foreigners get that service for free.The only logical reason i see for this is it aids the government in spreading their rhetoric(oppose sorry i meant propaganda)
Channels like ITV, C4 etc seem to make a very good living from advertising.They appear to compete well with the BBC as the viewing figures have shown over the years.Now i personally can't stand advertising.To have to sit and watch 5 Min's of adverts evey 15 Min's or so drives me crazy.So the question i need to ask myself is would advertising on the BBC impinge on my life.The conclusion i come up with is that i just don't watch the BBC enough for it the adverts to have any effect on me.This is even easier to avoid with digital boxes for recording television.I simply fast forward past the adverts
Therefore in my opinion i would like to see the TV license abolished and the BBC privatised.
I truly find it odd that we live in a so called Democracy but that Democracy does not give me the right to choose if i want to receive the BBC or not
The other licenses you have mentioned are fairly self explanatory.
Driving and flying licenses are about safety.
Fishing license is about fish stocks.
Marriage license is about the administration costs involved in becoming married.Tax, name change etc.