Whether you're for or against the idea of taxpayers funding the CBC, at least it's pretty simple. The government gives a certain portion of the money you pay to the Corp. to keep its radio, TV and web services going. Just be glad you're not in Britain, where it's devolved into a convoluted mess.

It was simple in the old days - have a TV there, buy a licence. But new technology has changed things and after reading about the rules, I can't explain how anyone makes sense of whether they legally have to pay or not. 

Here's how it works - I think.

If you have a TV in your house and watch any over the air service, like the BBC or ITV, you're supposed to fork over £169 ($299 Cdn.) a year. Not a small sum. 

But it seems like there's now a catch. If you only watch streaming services like Netflix on that set you're exempt. The same if you're only viewing DVDs or playing a video game. But get this - if you watch anything from the BBC or another over-the-air network live online, you have to pay. But if you're tuned into something other than the BBC on demand you don't. 

Not only that, but you have to declare to the government if you're exempt for the reasons above or they'll come after you. Worse yet, they actually have special vans that go around neighbourhoods detecting whether you're watching over-the-air broadcasts or not, and if they find you are and haven't paid up, you may get a huge fine.

My question - how can they possibly tell what you're watching and when from outside your house? Does such a technology actually exist or is this just a bluff? I'm sure there are a ton of false claims being made by set owners over there. 

The whole thing is incredibly confusing and I wouldn't want to have to try to figure it out. As bad as our system may be, this one would drive me crazy. 

Do You Have To Pay A TV Licence In Britain Or Not?