Danmarks Radio (DR) and their bloody bills…

Skrevet - Saturday, July 29th, 2006 kl. 11:43 | Kategori - Rants, Underholdning

As some of you may know, Denmark has a public non-profit TV-channel. It is operated on the premise that everyone chips in to get quality non-commercial television and radio. Previously it has been organized so that everyone with a TV paid the same amount - and if you did not have a TV, but had a radio - you paid a reduced fee. This is all well and dandy… except for some minor details… Even if you were unable to actually view/hear the channels - you were still required to pay. It’s politics and hence does not have to make sense. The idea is that you have the theoretic or practical _possibility_ to view/hear the programs - not the ability.

This was all decided back in the day of black and white television (they still have different rates for full-colour and b/w TVs…) - and now… along comes the internet and TV-tuners making it possible to view TV programs on the computer. For some time, politicians has come up with different ways of approaching the ‘free-loaders’ - i.e. the ones that have forsaken TVs in favour of computers - none of them very good and all very controversial. But now a broad majority of the Folketing (kinda like the senate) has decided on a bill making every computer connected to the internet liable to pay the same fee to Danmarks Radio as people with TVs. If you pay for having a TV already, no extra fees are added - it only hits the ones with only a radio license or no license at all.

DR has for some time broadcasted limited versions of some of their shows to the internet. Allegedly to ’see if it was possible’ and as an ‘added bonus’ for their viewers. And they have lobbied for the past few years for this legislation - they knew that they were ‘loosing customers’ to this internet craze - and had no way of getting them to pay except for the viewers sense of dignity…

Now comes the issues - and there is a handfull as I see it. It’s all well and dandy that everyone has to pay for a public service. That, I have no problem with. The problem comes with Desk-Jockeys deciding how the bill is to be put into effect. The premise is that to be liable to pay - the following conditions has to be fullfilled: You have to have a device able to show motion pictures (ie. TV/computer/x-box/iPod/3G-phone etc) and you have to have internet connectivity. Remember, we’re not talking actually plausible ways of viewing TV - we’re talking the theoretical possibility to do so. And we’re talking full TV-fees - so you pay the same amount as the one with a TV and an antenna.

Next issue - DR is in no way ready to publish their entire programme to the internet in any quality even remotely comparable to a standard TV format. What they have is grainy, low-res crap… even at the highest setting it broadcasts at maybe 0,5 - 1mbit/s. The danish internet backbone is no where near able to handle the pressure of just the select few receiving HD TV specced internet TV.

Third issue - DR can never publish their entire programme to their website… they can never afford to put any of the movies online… to an unlimited audience (gotta love Hollywood)… Oh, and not to mention sporting events… That costs gazzillions which they do not have. And even the stuff they do publish is as we speak delayed about 2-4 hours… how is that for live broadcasts…

Fourth issue (I know, I know.. this will never stop) - now that they think they have stuffed the elephant through the keyhole… They have used a scatter gun approach… thus hitting the innocent and letting the guilty go in many instances. Let me explain: Since every computer connected to the internet is liable… this means every web-server hosted privately, every fridge connected to the local grocer (hey, it’s a computer!) and everyone having a company-issued workstation at home. Some call it the new internet-tax… and I tend to agree. Oh and the guilty: There are loop-holes, and they will be exploited… all you have to do is be connected to cable without internet. Then connect your computer to the cable via a TV-tuner… voil? - free TV (uhm… at least from the public license).

My last issue (only counting this legislation, of course) is that I have lost the only option to express my anger of re-runs, poor programs, bad customer-handling and overall crappy product. I have lost the ability to say ‘No!’ by tossing the TV (which I actually did). I cannot do the same with my computer - it is a requirement for my job.

Just to clarify - I have no problem with everyone paying for quality, commercial-free TV. I have a problem with poor legislation. Why in the nine hells don’t they just go: “Okay, everyone has to pay - every one living in a building pays!” That is easy to administer - ‘Hey, you got an address - pay up!’. People will still moan (when will that ever seize?) - but it will at least get people like me off their back. And another bonus is that what they get in extra income from having every citizen paying - they could use this to reduce the fee for the poor, the students and so on. This new system once again makes it a hurdle run for consumers trying to avoid paying for something they do not want.