Radio, TV fees fund public broadcasting
I REFER to the letter by Mr Trevor Reginald, 'End TV and radio licence fees' (Feb 5).
Radio and television (RTV) licence fees are applicable to every household that owns any operational broadcasting apparatus which is capable of or designed for receiving broadcasting signals.
Like Singapore, countries like Japan, Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Finland collect RTV licence fees to fund public broadcast programmes. In these countries, the fees range from about $200 (Japan) to $570 (Switzerland).
Worldwide, countries have evolved their own funding model for public broadcast programmes. In Singapore, RTV licence fees collected by the Media Development Authority (MDA) are used to fund about 3,000 hours of public broadcast programmes, including minority channel programmes that are less commercially attractive to produce.
MDA understands that some lower-income families may face difficulties in paying their RTV licence fees. They are encouraged to approach MDA Customer & Licensing Services for assistance by calling our hotline on 1800-478-5478 or sending their request via the MDA Online feedback form (https://mdaonline.mda.gov.sg/onlineservices/Feedback/FBSubmission.aspx).
Dorothy Lai (Ms)
Assistant Director
Customer Licensing Service
Media Development Authority
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Make TV licence fee cheaper and fairer
I REFER to Mr Lee Kwun Lam's letter, 'My property tax is $124 and my TV licence fee is $110' (Jan 30).
In view of the growing number of people switching to watching TV on the Internet and mobile phones, I propose taxing these media instead.
Perhaps the Media Development Authority (MDA) should disclose how many TV licence dodgers were caught last year and the total amount in fines collected. For example, in Britain in 2006, more than 1,000 TV licence fee evaders were caught daily.
A recent Green Paper by the British government raised the possibility of imposing state licensing of personal computers to finance the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This will happen soon if large numbers switch to watching TV on the Internet instead of using
traditional TV receivers.
The BBC spends the £3 billion (S$5.9 billion) of taxpayers' money it collects each year as it wishes. Many say it does so unwisely, earning the moniker 'arrogant state media giant'. The British government will review its licence fee system next year.
In Germany, Internet users and mobile phone subscribers must pay a special TV licence fee of ?5.52 (S$10.75) each month if their computers and handsets can access TV and radio programmes.
To achieve a more equitable system, the MDA should lower the annual TV licence fee to perhaps $50. Users who subscribe to cable TV can receive news programmes free but should pay for other commercial channels. After all, the Government should be able to tax the cable TV
providers at source, to obtain more revenue. Subsequently, the MDA can introduce new rules and regulations to tax Internet-savvy subscribers when the next generation switches to Internet TV.
Heng Cho Choon
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Latest comments
oh, very taxing lah !
Posted by: bumibumi at Fri Feb 13 12:25:20 SGT 2009
To make it fairer, the first thing is to scrap the TV license.
Interestingly there is a movement in the UK to scrap the license fee and allow the BBc to easn its keep from advertising on TV. The BBC sells its programs around the world.
(Can u imagine anyone buying the drivel Media Corp produces?)
The license fee only feeds the whims of Mediacoprp who have no business to be in business if they cannot muster enough advertising revenue. Even their miss goody-two shoes virginal looking newsreaders are sponsored with clothes and makeup.
(I wonder if the advertisers provide them with undergarments too.
After all, that will be a triumph too. But that's another story)
Note:A BBc news producer once said any dog can be trained to read the news from an autocue. Think about it.
Meanwhile,use your off button.
Switch to cable.
Be more discerning in watching (MediaCorp) TV.
Posted by: sharlynrj at Fri Feb 13 10:23:43 SGT 2009
We are supposed to be a low tax country. But are we? We have income tax, TV licence tax, property tax, car radio licence tax, road tax, GST, ARF, COE, maid levy, ERP, petrol tax, alcohol tax, cigaretes tax, foreign woker levy, ...the list goes on.
Posted by: betterment at Fri Feb 13 09:40:43 SGT 2009
if it is for propaganda, then the propagandists should pay out from his own pocket. what is the diff with commercial advertisers ?
Posted by: bumibumi at Fri Feb 13 09:02:45 SGT 2009
why not stop free to air TV? Make all channels now in FreeToAir a package with an annual subscription of $110.
Though I see that with it may be hard to do propaganda if people had to pay for it... lol
Posted by: lobo_respawned at Fri Feb 13 08:43:47 SGT 2009
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ello, the little nonya is more than fully paid by advertisers ! Borges olive oil, london chocoroll....my kids also can memorise liao!
Posted by: bumibumi at Fri Feb 13 12:13:58 SGT 2009
Currently every household that has a TV is required to pay the license fee. Is it possible to give us a choice or does MediaCorp has sole ownership to all broadcasting signals in Singapore? Those who want to continue receiving the MediaCorp channels pays the license, but those who don't and prefer cable TV, pays ONLY for cable. If want both, pay for both.
Posted by: snowjass at Fri Feb 13 11:20:56 SGT 2009
So Little Nonya is considered a "public broadcast programme"? MDA said it part-funded the series. Read on another forum that it provided 50% (almost $2 million) of the funding for this drama series.
Posted by: thegreyguy at Fri Feb 13 10:31:43 SGT 2009
I do hope that Dorothy Lai is NOT placing Mediacorp's broadcasting capabilities on par witt that of the BBC in the UK, where they too pay a license fee.
I object to paying the license fee here when Mediacorp even gets sponsors to pay for the clothes the news readers wear.
The licence fee is an archaic tax.
MediaCorp should earn its money from its advertisers to compete with cable.
We have the option to use our off button.
We should have the option NOT to feed Mediacorp.
Someone once said, we get the local TV we deserve.
So true.
Only now we don't have the choice to not pay the license fee.
Posted by: sharlynrj at Fri Feb 13 10:04:18 SGT 2009
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