LoweyPages - The Next Inevitable Step

Why I Switched Off My TV

"Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked 'Brightness,' but it doesn't work."

[Gallagher]

The TV-L expect us to pay Ł110 a year to receive broadcasts on a colour television. Ł110. That's quite a sizeable chunk of money. Okay, so it's spread across the entire year, but it's still a lot of money. I could make various comparisons to other things I could buy for that money but will refrain - you can imagine for yourself.

That Ł110 pays for channels BBC 1 and BBC 2. ITV, Channel 4 and Five do not get any of this money. They make money by putting adverts into their programmes. You are however still required to have a license to watch them. So when you watch TV, three thirds of the channels you are watching contain adverts - and you are paying the BBC for the privellage of watching them. This seems ludicrous to me.

If you should happen to decide that cable is the way to go then you are still required to pay the Ł110 TV license. The fee you pay for your cable or satellite box includes a fee which goes to the BBC, so you essentially pay for those channels twice. Ludicrous.

Regardless of the money aspects there are very few channels available that do not have adverts. I protest having to watch adverts on moral grounds. My opinion of advertising is not very high at the best of times. Adverts which depict small children on the toilet exclaiming "Poooo! That smells bad!" do not do much to raise my opinion of them.

Worse still are the adverts for debt consolidation that seem to feature on TV so much these days.

"We paid off all our debts and had enough left over to go on holiday!"

What?! What kind of moron gets themselves into more debt this way? What kind of idiot falls for this ridiculous advertising? Why do they even allow this kind of advertising?

Then there are the adverts that try to define the life that I "should" be leading. The ones that tell me what clothes to wear, the sort of drink I should buy and the alcoholic bevearages I should assault my liver with. The adverts that try to tell me where to shop, what to buy while I am there and how doing so will benefit my life.

And then there are the down-right annoying adverts, such as the current assault of Argos adverts. They try so hard to be funny, but are just annoying. If only they could see how annoying they are.

After paying for two years of TV license just to watch "The Simpsons" I cracked. I cancelled my TV license and switched my TV off for good, except to watch videos, DVDs and play games.

And how do I feel now? Nothing.

I'm not trying to suggest that you will receive spiritual enlightenment in any way from not watching TV, all I am saying is that it will give you a chance to do better, constructive things with your time.

[The End]

Last updated 28th of April 2004 at 09:33

For web design go to Shoestring Websites!

LoweyPages - The Next Inevitable Step
Why I Switched Off My TV "Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked 'Brightness,' but it doesn't work." [Gallagher] The TV-L expect us to pay Ł110 a year to receive broadcasts on a colour television. Ł110. That's quite a sizeable chunk of money. Okay, so it's spread across the entire year, but it's still a lot of money. I could make various comparisons to other things I could buy for that money but will refrain - you can imagine for yourself. That Ł110 pays for channels BBC 1 and BBC 2. ITV, Channel 4 and Five do not get any of this money. They make money by putting adverts into their programmes. You are however still required to have a license to watch them. So when you watch TV, three thirds of the channels you are watching contain adverts - and you are paying the BBC for the privellage of watching them. This seems ludicrous to me. If you should happen to decide that cable is the way to go then you are still required to pay the Ł110 TV license. The fee you pay for your cable or satellite box includes a fee which goes to the BBC, so you essentially pay for those channels twice. Ludicrous. Regardless of the money aspects there are very few channels available that do not have adverts. I protest having to watch adverts on moral grounds. My opinion of advertising is not very high at the best of times. Adverts which depict small children on the toilet exclaiming "Poooo! That smells bad!" do not do much to raise my opinion of them. Worse still are the adverts for debt consolidation that seem to feature on TV so much these days. "We paid off all our debts and had enough left over to go on holiday!" What?! What kind of moron gets themselves into more debt this way? What kind of idiot falls for this ridiculous advertising? Why do they even allow this kind of advertising? Then there are the adverts that try to define the life that I "should" be leading. The ones that tell me what clothes to wear, the sort of drink I should buy and the alcoholic bevearages I should assault my liver with. The adverts that try to tell me where to shop, what to buy while I am there and how doing so will benefit my life. And then there are the down-right annoying adverts, such as the current assault of Argos adverts. They try so hard to be funny, but are just annoying. If only they could see how annoying they are. After paying for two years of TV license just to watch "The Simpsons" I cracked. I cancelled my TV license and switched my TV off for good, except to watch videos, DVDs and play games. And how do I feel now? Nothing. I'm not trying to suggest that you will receive spiritual enlightenment in any way from not watching TV, all I am saying is that it will give you a chance to do better, constructive things with your time. [The End] Last updated 28th of April 2004 at 09:33 For web design go to Shoestring Websites!	\| Home \| --- \| Blog \| \| Serious \| \| Software \| \| Linux \| \| Humour \| \| Tunes \| --- \| Disclaimer \|