The cost for a UK TV licence is due to increase causing uproar across the nation, at the same time the BBC is facing the biggest crisis in its history, with some calling for the licence to be scrapped altogether. All this leads us to ask the question – “Is the UK TV licence value for Money?”
It is almost unbelievable how a well-respected institution such as the BBC can in such a short space of time, attempt to dismantle almost a century of admiration? People up and down the country have and are losing faith and respect for the worlds-greatest national broadcaster. Given a large amount of animosity currently facing the British Broadcasting Corporation, we must ask the obvious question – “Is the UK TV Licence value for money?”
To help us with this, our friends at Howsy have put together some helpful statistics highlighting what other countries are paying for their licences and let us say, we’re glad we’re not needing a licence in Switzerland!
Currently, the UK is home to the fourth-highest TV licence cost when compared to 17 other European nations, and even with the impending increase, this will remain the case.
While £154.50 a year does seem steep for the occasional bit of prime time Attenborough, Howsy has looked at how this ties into the overall cost of renting and how this cost of living compares to other European nations.
The research shows that all things considered, the UK is far from the most expensive place to live and actually ranks 13th out of the 17 nations included with 51% of income required to cover these basic outgoing.
Only Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland saw these costs account for a lower percentage of income, with Switzerland the most affordable of the lot coming in at just 33%.
So if an increase in TV license costs is making you want to tune out, spare a thought for those renting in Montenegro. In contrast, the price of a TV licence is one of the lowest, couple it with rent, utilities and internet and the basic cost of renting eats up 83% of the average salary.
These costs also equate to between 70%-79% of income in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Albania, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece, and Portugal, with the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ireland and Italy also home to a higher cost of living as a percentage of monthly income when compared to the UK.
Founder and CEO of Howsy, Calum Brannan, commented: “There is certainly an argument to be made about the relevance of a TV licence in an age where the majority of media consumed is done via additional channels to both live TV and more specifically the BBC.
However, when you consider it within the wider cost of living and what it equates to in relation to the earnings available, the UK is actually one of the more affordable places to get by in the rental sector.
While this still doesn’t make it easy, spare a thought for those renting in the likes of Montenegro where a much vast proportion of income goes on getting by despite the cost of a TV licence coming in about £120 cheaper than it does here.”
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