Whether you like taxpayer dollars being sent to the CBC, you have to admit at least the system here is relatively simple. A certain amount of your revenue goes to support the Corp., like it or not. 

Now consider the way they fund the BBC in Britain. It's enough to make your head spin. The UK recently went through a mini-revolt when the government tried to hike the fees they have to pay. Unlike us, you're required to have a "TV Licence" if you own a set. 

And it's not cheap, although you only pay once a year. It costs the Canadian equivalent of $302 annually. But that's for a colour set. Believe it or not, they still have a fee for those whose TVs are in black and white. (Do they still sell those and how would you watch an HD broadcast on it?) That will set you back $101 Cdn. every calendar change.

But wait, as they used to say in those infomercials, there's more! To quote the linked article:

"A TV licence is also necessary if you watch live broadcasts on streaming services including Amazon Prime, ITVX, All 4, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and My5. However, if you only stream on-demand content from these services, a TV licence is not required."

So you can watch a regular TV show free, but only if it's not live. Huh?

And if you're a student who's away from home but your parents have a licence, you don't need one. Unless of course, you watch TV on a laptop, tablet or phone - which most students today do. Then you have to pay up for that privilege. 

At this point, I might be willing to give up on television altogether. At least until I turn 75. Those seniors are exempt. 

What a weird system!

BBC TV licence fee full breakdown of people who do not have to pay