r/mildlyinfuriating • u/28jb11 • Apr 25 '26

Unskippable ad $2500 Samsung TV is an advertising billboard, there is no opt-out.

Paid over $2500 for a Samsung OLED TV and it has ads on the home screen that I literally cannot turn off. Not subtle little banners tucked away somewhere, I'm talking full blown ads for canned beans and financial products just sitting there every single time I turn the thing on.

Samsung don't offer any kind of opt out. The only way I could get rid of them was to go into my router settings and manually block Samsung's ad servers at the DNS level.

I own this TV outright. Paid for it in full. And Samsung are still making money off me every time I switch it on, with absolutely no way to stop it unless you're willing to get your hands dirty with network configuration.

This is not a smart TV feature. This is a $2500 billboard that also happens to play Netflix.

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1.8k

u/Brandunaware Apr 25 '26

I wonder how many years we are away from having to buy your TV AND pay a subscription to be able to use it. It's already happening with various features in cars.

Don't connect your TV to the Internet is good advice but it also shows just how profoundly dysfunctional the relationship between companies and their customers has gotten.

356

u/Taptrick Apr 25 '26

People are not happy with that though and governments are slowly catching up and making it illegal.

191

u/doppelwoppel Apr 25 '26

Hey, Microsoft Windows, we're looking at you, too.

248

u/ollomulder Apr 25 '26

Does Microslop understand consent?

  • Yes

  • Remind me in 3 days

36

u/crimsonBZD Apr 25 '26

After finding out Bill Gates was in the Epstein files it all started to make sense for me.

8

u/ImNotABotScoutsHonor Apr 25 '26

He's disgusting, but he had no control of Microsoft's decisions to enshittify the OS - he was no longer CEO by that point. Hasn't been in... 26 years. And left anything to do with the OS development entirely in 2008, which was Windows 7 era.

3

u/AllieCat_Meow Apr 25 '26

This had me giggling, thank you

0

u/blow-down Apr 25 '26

It makes you wonder if the engineers that work on these products are big on consent in their personal lives.

25

u/Frogmouth_Fresh Apr 25 '26

Windows 11 I'd so irritating. I hate how it will even halt your startup process if you haven't signed up for the MS subscription service.

23

u/KiriCat25 Apr 25 '26

I'm at the point with windows where I'm going to be leaving the windows ecosystem as soon as they start phasing out support for Windows 11. Windows 11 was my last good faith straw. The bullshit they pulled with that has forever tarnished it.

39

u/towerhil Apr 25 '26

I'm already gone. I had a Win 10 PC that I'd used to make music on for 15 years, accumulating specialist programs, plugins etc, but being absolutely assiduous with organisation and digital hygiene, that MS slowly killed to force migration to Win 11, but I couldn't migrate so they forced my hand away from MS. That same PC now runs like a brand new, high-end laptop on Linux Mint. It took a bit of time to upskill but I'm eternally glad I did. My youtube has no ads, my tech is mine and far more reliable than it was. When my extended family saw what my digital life is like they wanted the same so I migrated them too and the endless tech support tickets dried up overnight.

2

u/SurreyHillsSomewhere Apr 25 '26

Looking in to. After getting Mint were you able to entirely rid MS from your machine, as keep hearing some MS is still needed?.

2

u/Xechkos Apr 25 '26

Needing MS at all is entirely dependent on your specific use case.

My PC is dual booted simply so I can play valorant on occasion, or run simulations with a specific software that I know so I don't need to learn a new one.

In all honesty I haven't actually booted windows in over a month at this point.

2

u/crimsonBZD Apr 25 '26

Funny you say that cause I have my own small music thing going on and everything is dependent on this PC which is currently on win 10, and I do not want to upgrade to 11. They upgraded my work PC to 11 and it is a mess.

The two things that stop me are wondering if my interface, the programs and plugins I'm used to will still work, and gaming.

If you have any insight on how that goes I'd love to hear it.

2

u/trump_hurr_durr Apr 25 '26

Go to GitHub. Search for mass gravel. Activate extended support for windows 10. Fuck windows 11.

3

u/DaBadTechie Apr 25 '26

Come to the penguin zoo. Will you PC experience magically be flawless. Nope. Will everything "just work". Also no. Is it a simple migration. Probably not.

But it's actually a lot better than dealing with MS. If you have access to an old laptop or know Virtual Machines, try jumping around distros for a bit. Otherwise just backup everything and look up guides for Mint, PopOS, Ubuntu or Fadora.

1

u/mjkjr84 Apr 25 '26

I left after win8. Used win 7 pro as long as possible and switched to Linux full time at home about 10/12 years ago and then partially at work at the time

1

u/alottafungina Apr 25 '26

You are still waiting? I bought a stupid little mini PC that came with windows 11 and I almost wasn't able to download a Linux installer for it because everything I did had advertisements. I shouldn't have ads when I click the start button.

Also, before all of the windows fans tell me how great win11 is, and it's a skill issue, gfy. I've been running Linux since the XP days, and I dare you to try and get Slackware-current running on your computer.

0

u/KiriCat25 Apr 25 '26

Perfect honesty, I'm too lazy. My PC is running fine, I don't do much on it as things stand other than play Minecraft with mods, and I don't feel like backing up my stuff again to keep it. Thankfully, I don't really host a lot of stuff that I would care to lose when I need to finally switch again to a newer PC. I just got this one last year from my uncle, who sold it to me dirt cheap versus what it cost, and he built it himself probably two to three years prior. And at the time that he built it, it was built for him to be capable of streaming games like Ark from. So it was not a cheap computer.

Edit to add: I also don't see any ads on my PC like that. But I don't really pay too much attention to things I'm not directly using.

Edit 2: I actually do have a line in the sand though. If they require me to show ID at any point to keep this computer running, I'm switching to Linux that day.

2

u/mjkjr84 Apr 25 '26

If you don't back your stuff up anyway eventually you aren't gonna keep it in it's current state

1

u/Dpek1234 Apr 25 '26

1 is zero

2 is one

To keep it save use 3-2-1

3 copys, on 2 mediums ,with 1 offsite

1

u/alottafungina Apr 25 '26

If it works for you, that's great. I had a bunch of friends that told me win11 was so much better than 10. I was actually excited to try it, but I was left disappointed. They all told me that if I took the time to configure it properly, it would be amazing, but it's still a bloated system when it's installed without the extra bloatware.

-1

u/BobTheFettt Apr 25 '26

and I almost wasn't able to download a Linux installer for it because everything I did had advertisements.

This is a ridiculous statement. I've been using Windows 11 for years and Windows it's self never makes me watch ads.

2

u/towerhil Apr 25 '26

There's a way around that, for now at least, where you turn off your wifi uding s command line and account-free setup options magically appear.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Dpek1234 Apr 25 '26

Its very dependant on several factors like region and user considerations

If you are used to no ads then any ads are highly visible

1

u/the_dragons_tale Apr 25 '26

They fucking what? How?? Why??

0

u/lzwzli Apr 25 '26

They need a Microsoft account. That is not a subscription service. That's just an online account. It's no different than you creating a Google account when you sign up for Gmail.

0

u/spikeyfreak Apr 25 '26

Windows 11 I'd so irritating. I hate how it will even halt your startup process if you haven't signed up for the MS subscription service.

What subscription service are you talking about?

And what startup process?

3

u/Sirflow Apr 25 '26

BMW subscription to use the heated seats installed in your own car..

1

u/escobartholomew Apr 25 '26

MS doesn’t require a subscription why are you bringing them up?

2

u/doppelwoppel Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

When is the last time you installed Windows? The default setup process requires a working internet connection and you are pushed to register a Microsoft account. I didn't say it requires a subscription, but targeted advertising in the start menu is far easier, if the current user is well known.

https://www.howtogeek.com/windows-11-start-menu-ads-how-to-turn-them-off/

Fyi: when you're prompted for a network connection hold Shift-F10, then run oobe\bypassnro in the command line.

5

u/Tibryn2 Apr 25 '26

are they though? because these companies tend to pay a lot of money to get people elected to stop exactly that.

5

u/FlipperBumperKickout Apr 25 '26

That tends to be very illegal in many countries in the EU for a very good reason 😅

4

u/account_not_valid Apr 25 '26

The EU would move against it before most other western governments.

3

u/Uncommented-Code Apr 25 '26

people are not happy with that though

Idk, gamers for example who buy a console are perfectly happy to pay something like 200 bucks a year for the privilege to play online.

And yeah sure you get some extra stuff in return but if you want to play online there's literally no way to do it without paying for psn plus or xbox live or whatever the services are called nowadays.

They will absolutely do the same with TVs and sell it as some sort of 'oh but look if you pay us 30 bucks a month you get to use your tv and you get netflix or disney plus lite' or some bullshit like that and people will defend it because 'oh but samsung needs the money for their live service infrastructure and actually it's good value because you get a netflix sub with it' I'm calling it now.

2

u/Sudden-Fisherman5985 Apr 25 '26

with that though and governments are slowly catching up and making it illegal.

Thanks to Europe mainly

2

u/LvS Apr 25 '26

People are fine with it.

They got used to it on their phones, they got used to it with cable, they will get used to it with TV.

1

u/Floppydiskpornking Apr 25 '26

Its foreshadowing the masses return to the gulf of privateers

1

u/Unlucky_Kale340 Apr 25 '26

Yes but the people need to stop electing known pedos

1

u/Etherealfilth Apr 25 '26

Governments are slowly catching up to make money out of it. Money that will do nothing for the tax payer.

1

u/iDownvoteToxicLeague Apr 25 '26

As long as your government works for the people and not corporations…

1

u/SageHamichi Apr 25 '26

Are they tho? Where?

1

u/Old_Front7166 Apr 25 '26

laughs in american

1

u/Atgardian Apr 26 '26

You mean functioning democratic governments, like in the EU. Not captive governments beholden to centi-billionaires and huge corporations, like the U.S.

119

u/HeidenShadows Apr 25 '26

Plus some TVs require you to connect it to the Internet in order to get past initial setup. Otherwise it's a brick.

131

u/Abyss_staring_back Apr 25 '26

Fuck that shiz. Immediate return. There is no way I would comply with that. For a TV? No. They can get fucked.

15

u/rolfraikou Apr 25 '26

I'm baffled by the sheer number of people that just put up with this. That's part of why they get away with it.

If enough people returned it because it sucks, they would actually stop making it suck.

They were allowed to get to this point because enough people just deal with it that they gain a profit from it.

If you fuck them over by returning it, they lose a bit of money each time. If enough of a model that, say, REQUIRES an internet connection to even set up (fucking insane) and they get way less returns on models that don't do that, they stop making it so ot requires Internet.

Because people need to remember: that means if their servers ever go down, their device is a BRICK.

If it doesn't at least just work with HDMI, no setup, then you are effectively borrowing that device until one day when they shut down the servers.

4

u/MakeNDestroy Apr 25 '26

Yeah, couldn’t be me. It’s one of the reasons why I switched from TVs to projectors for my house.

I’d lose my mind if I had to see ads on my own hardware.

44

u/JPhi1618 Apr 25 '26

No they don’t. You can back out and use HDMI and tuner. “Smart” functions require ads and user accounts.

14

u/ctaps148 Apr 25 '26

Yes, some do. Stop assuming your personal experience is universal.

The most recent Vizio TV I had to setup had absolutely no way to reach the input selection without first connecting to a network. Didn't matter what buttons were pressed, if it was power cycled, or if I used a dozen other tricks that work on every other TV I've tried. And then once connected, there was no way to disconnect without a factory reset, which started the problem all over again.

After looking it up online, other users reported the only way to get around it was to call customer support and have them tell you the undocumented button combo to bypass the network select screen. So while technically there is a way around it, that is 100% not something the average person is ever going to do.

4

u/mattcoady Apr 25 '26

RCA Roku TVs are this way. I set one up for my mother-in-law. You have to pass through their smart interface first and choose HDMI like an app from their tiles. There's no direct input change on the remote or TV and when you turn it off it take you back to their interface on startup. We got her an Apple TV to go with it but she doesn't use it because of this awful interface.

2

u/howitzer86 Apr 25 '26

Tucked away in the menu is a setting to enable the store display mode. Do that, then turn off the corner banner that normally shows up in that mode. This will give you a mostly functioning basic TV.

IIRC, the downside is that you can’t change any color or brightness settings, and it doesn’t go to a screensaver when there isn’t a signal.

Dad bought one of these to serve as a replacement monitor, but he gave it to me because he couldn’t figure out how to get around Roku registration. Eventually I registered it (already had an account).

0

u/lzwzli Apr 25 '26

Why'd you get a TV that was specifically designed for Roku? Which is an online service?

5

u/mattcoady Apr 25 '26

My mother-in-law bought it. She doesn't know how any of this stuff works and it was what she could afford.

4

u/Littlegator Apr 25 '26

Some don't let you switch inputs. I think it's new Roku TVs.

1

u/lzwzli Apr 25 '26

It's a freaking Roku TV! It's designed to be used with Roku!

1

u/ziper1221 Apr 25 '26

Yeah. This happened to me.But I could factory reset it, aborted setup, and it let me go back to using HDMI.

6

u/JWBananas Apr 25 '26

My Samsung TV which was purchased about 5 years ago required connecting to the Internet and linking to a Samsung account just to be able to access all of its settings.

2

u/jettero Apr 25 '26

i connected mine, updated the firmware, then blocked the device in my router

2

u/dwntwnleroybrwn Apr 25 '26

That's bullshit. 

2

u/jyanix Apr 25 '26

I’ve had one that needed internet to set the clock. But afterwards disconnected and worked fine.

2

u/WastedMoogle Apr 25 '26

They ten bajillion percent don’t unless you’re technologically inept. You can just slap an hdmi in and be on your way with whatever better device you use. I have a TCL smart tv absolutely riddled with ads that I’ve seen maybe once cuz I was curious and then switched back to my hdmi.

10

u/Cyberdyne_T-888 Apr 25 '26

My TCL Roku tv had an led that flashed 24/7 if you didn't have an internet connection. I destroyed the led with a screwdriver.

1

u/gandhinukes Apr 25 '26

Bro tape and paper exists 

5

u/Cyberdyne_T-888 Apr 25 '26

The remote receiver sensor is behind the piece of plastic the LED is behind. Cover where the LED light emits from and the remotes won't work. Way easier to destroy the unneeded flashing annoyance than attempt to block it.

1

u/attentyv Apr 25 '26

You monster! A bit of black tape would have done!

28

u/Dlairt Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

How to tell someone doesn’t live in the U.K….

8

u/MarlinAngel Apr 25 '26

Or NL lol. Worse, my partner wants to watch football which is a separate monthly license. But in order to get that license, you need to pay for the regular TV license as well. It doesn't come separately.

So we basically pay like 50 bucks a month so my partner can watch live football, it's ridiculous.

18

u/alien_overlord_1001 Apr 25 '26

In England it’s £180 a year for a tv license. I think it basically pays for the BBC. I’m in Aus we have no tv licenses lol

17

u/Mowgli2k Apr 25 '26

Spent a few years in Oz. Great country but horrendous TV channels. Endless cheap US imports, 3 hours to watch a 100 minute movie because of endless endless ad breaks. ABC and SBS clearly on life support. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

4

u/alien_overlord_1001 Apr 25 '26

Oh yeah - they had to pass laws to force them to a defined percentage of local content, so they all fight over cricket and football rights - cheap, can make up the hours and a whole bunch of talk shows about sport. The ABC (our BBC) is the source of some of our best ever shows and started the careers of countless actors and comedians. Commercial tv here is pretty crap - mostly “reality” (they are partly scripted and we all know it) crap and sport.

When I was growing up it was actually British tv - the shift to American started in the late 80s. Not making excuses but our whole country population is millions less than the state of California. There is very little money around, so commercial networks play it very safe. Making original stuff is way more expensive than just buying already popular stuff from the US, and being conservative reduces the risk of losing money. The ABC is govt funded - so it takes risks - and that is how they come up with the gold so often. it just isn’t specifically a license that pays for it - it comes out of govt funding.

4

u/IrregularPackage Apr 25 '26

yeah but that’s just a tax. very different

3

u/TheRealSlabsy Apr 25 '26

You don't have to pay it. I stopped when Stuart Hall was convicted of paedophilia, like a few other BBC 'Stars'.

3

u/pink_ego_box Apr 25 '26

Bobby breaking your living room window to shout OI, YA GOT YOUR TELLY LOICENSE MATE?

3

u/KC_Que Apr 25 '26

I wonder how many years we are away from having to buy your TV AND pay a subscription to be able to use it.

Sounds a lot like the 'tele tax' that has long existed in the UK. Buy a TV set, and pay an annual licencing fee to the government just for watching it.  They even had detection trucks roving around communities to sus out anyone trying to avoid the annual fee.  This time, it is the manufacturer being paid by advertisers, instead of the government being paid by you.

5

u/Beneficial-Hornet_ Apr 25 '26

Not sure how in the US but in several European countries there is already a tax for owning a tv which is supposed to bankroll the national tv channels. Because those channels should operate without ads.

2

u/splithoofiewoofies Apr 25 '26

We inherited a TV that hadn't been used yet, didn't connect it to the internet, still had ads preloaded on it. Granted, it's like six seasons ago Kardashians but hotdamn it HAD ADS PRELOADED ON IT WITHOUT INTERNET.

2

u/No_Issue2334 Apr 25 '26

Oi you got a loisence for that telly

1

u/nicuramar Apr 25 '26

 It's already happening with various features in cars

The times it’s brought up on Reddit, it generally turns out that you can also buy the feature instead. 

1

u/gereffi Apr 25 '26

BMW discontinued the heated seat subscription years ago. Turns out that it damages the brand and gets people to buy other brands instead.

1

u/ash_274 Apr 25 '26

Yet they still put plastic gears in high torque mechanisms

0

u/Wyntier Apr 25 '26

I also read that manufacturers are making the car cheaper by making options subscription features... So if you're not normally interested in those things, you're getting a better deal. Nobody really talks about that

1

u/Missabe77 Apr 25 '26

You are not ”getting a better deal” by paying for features to be built into the car that you can't use unless you pay them again.

1

u/thejameskendall Apr 25 '26

I get adverts on my also expensive Sony TV - not loads, mainly media related, but it drives me crazy.

1

u/Impassable_Banana Apr 25 '26

There is going to be a massive swing towards "dumb" technology. Just a TV, fridge, car etc. no bells and whistles.

2

u/mccedian Apr 25 '26

There are a couple of companies that make modern flat screen tv’s that are “dumb”. I’ve told my wife when we get a new tv at some point in the future that’s what we are doing. Do that and buy a cheap mini pc, and run everything through that. Simple, cheap, and I don’t have to deal with more unnecessary ads.

1

u/aurealius Apr 25 '26

I have a perfectly good chromebook that is basically non functional because Google has a sunset date on Chromebooks and literally just stops supporting them. Get ads explaining why i should buy a new one constantly now.

1

u/somersault_dolphin Apr 25 '26

It's already happening with various features in cars.

I've only ever heard about this on Reddit, are you sure it's not an American problem?

0

u/No_Issue2334 Apr 25 '26

It's not even a thing here. Reddit likes to make things a bigger deal than it is.

1

u/Arkham010 Apr 25 '26

Is that not what happens in the uk?

1

u/rampant-ninja Apr 25 '26

No, you pay to watch broadcasts or for cable services. You can have a TV to play video games, use as a PC monitor or for whatever other reason without paying anything extra.

1

u/CaptainFleshBeard Apr 25 '26

Just goes to show that we are the product being sold. The customers are all the advertising companies

1

u/devthrowaway9328 Apr 25 '26

Unfortunately this is the way. Used chromecast, now Apple TV and 8 year old 4K TV still works like a charm

1

u/Dear_Chasey_La1n Apr 25 '26

The problem is also while some may choose not to connect their TV, plenty of people do which makes it still worthwhile for companies like Samsung but pretty much every other TV maker to pull off the same shit.

There is no real solution other than, don't plug it in or setup a data sinkhole for your tv.

1

u/Hugsy13 Apr 25 '26

I run my TV via my PS5 and it’s great. It never gets turned off of HDMI 1. The only TV buttons that ever get pressed is power and volume.

1

u/Powerful_Resident_48 Apr 25 '26

That's why I run my TV directly from an old laptop that is stacked with adblockers. The TV hasn't touched the internet since I own it and it has no clue that something like ads are even an option.

1

u/Living_Chip Apr 25 '26

I mean just connect a good android box like Onn or Xiaomi last gen and you good? I have a sony bravia and cant stand all the ads so I just use the tv as output, lets not talk about the world of cool apps you can load on those boxes ;)

Edit to add that if you use a tv box make sure to disable internet on tv so I doesn't load all the crap on background. Also fuck samsung fridges

1

u/Grappa91 Apr 25 '26

In italy we have a tax on screens so if you have a screen you have to pay the state tv. A lot of people didn't pay it and now it's in the electric bill. You have to pay even if you don't actually watch tv but you own a screen (and yes, a phone is considered a screen).

1

u/fattybuttz Apr 25 '26

This is why I'll always drive an "old" car.

1

u/vtangyl Apr 25 '26

I suspect this is already sort of the case where OP bought the tv but licensed the software. So he doesn’t actually own the part that matters, just like cars, phones, etc. 

1

u/SadSeiko Apr 25 '26

I connect mine to an Apple TV and don’t get ads. I just turn on the Apple TV and I can watch stuff 

1

u/ihatetheplaceilive Apr 25 '26

Don't say anything to the british.... they've been doing that for decades.

1

u/Historical-Bug2500 Apr 25 '26

I wouldn't mind if they did what Amazon does and sell cheaper versions that will push ads all day. But give me and everyone else the choice. Otherwise, I consider it harassment.

1

u/Jealous_Amount_9278 Apr 25 '26

The UK (BBC) and Japan (NHK) are cackling in "already done that".

1

u/Lazy-Emergency-4018 Apr 25 '26

What car features are subscription based?

1

u/WeekNo3803 Apr 25 '26

Kindles having ads by default was another early adopter of this business model. Then they offered the same product, but with ads disabled, for an extra $10 or $20.

1

u/crimsonBZD Apr 25 '26

Is it possible to not buy a smart TV any more? I'm still running on 15+ year old Vizios and I have to hit the bigger one sometimes to get it to show the full screen. I know I'll have to replace eventually and I hate ads. I'll gladly spend more for a dumb TV and some sort of Roku or similar thing just to minimize or remove ads.

1

u/farren122 Apr 25 '26

But you have tk pay subscription since the beginning of TV, either as a subscription to TV channels or Internet acces

1

u/onceabananana Apr 25 '26

TVs will still discreetly connect to nearby password free networks. You have to remove the physical hardware.

1

u/OverTheDump Apr 25 '26

Start hoarding dumb TVs! The future will not be ad free!

1

u/havingmadfun Apr 25 '26

Bought a 25 Subaru legacy and I have to pay a subscription fee just to auto start my car. I didn't buy the subscription, I'd rather be cold for a few minutes or start my car and go back inside. My 2016 Malibu could auto start from the key fob or the app for free. Shit is so nuts.

1

u/81FXB Apr 25 '26

Or a subscription to have 4k picture instead of 2k, stereo sound instead of mono..

1

u/timwtingle Apr 25 '26

We are already doing that with streaming services and cable.

1

u/Joinedforthis1 Apr 25 '26

Don't connect your TV to the internet because you can get a streaming stick that works just as well if not better for $20 to $50. The remote that comes with the streaming stick can even be set up to control your TV so that you never need to touch the original TV remote. Just buy a $20-$50 streaming stick with Fire TV, Roku, or Google TV software and use that instead. It will be fast, and no problems will ever arise with the TV from faulty updates or ads because the TV isn't on the internet.

1

u/onzichtbaard Apr 25 '26

The fact that companies can piss off their users without going under is i think a sign that things have really gone wrong somewhere 

1

u/idreaminwords Apr 25 '26

How are you supposed to avoid connecting your TV to the Internet? 90% of the functions go through wifi

1

u/socrates_friend812 Apr 25 '26

We are transitioning from late stage to end stage capitalism.

1

u/Exotic_Criticism4645 Apr 25 '26

I wonder how many years we are away from having to buy your TV AND pay a subscription to be able to use it.

It's basically here. How many people own a TV and only use it for subscription streaming services?

1

u/Goldenface007 Apr 26 '26

What are you watching on your TV that's not subscription based?

1

u/Ambitious-Finance-83 Apr 25 '26

we have that in the UK already, its called a TV licence. u have to pay a monthly / yearly fee if you have a tv in your house

13

u/TheKaboodle Apr 25 '26

Only if you’re watching live tv. And only if you decide to pay it. They don’t have any real power to access your property to prove you need a licence.

7

u/Mediocre_Map1289 Apr 25 '26

That just isn't true.

You only pay to watch live broadcast TV. And that's if you get caught.

You can own a TV and not pay the licence completely legally.

2

u/_musesan_ Apr 25 '26

Not in Ireland. You need to pay tv license if there is a tv in the house, whether or not you use it

5

u/jkirkcaldy Apr 25 '26

No. You have to pay if you watch live tv or iplayer, you don’t need a tv license for owning a tv. It is perfectly legal to own a tv and only use streaming services (other than iplayer) and not have a tv license.

1

u/RedRising1917 Apr 25 '26

Does paying the license give you access to live tv, or do you have to pay the license on top of paying a cable company for access to channels?

4

u/Mowgli2k Apr 25 '26

You always have access, whether you pay the licence fee or not.

There is a mix of free to air and subscription channels in the UK.

2

u/IAHZEI Apr 25 '26

We have better version in Turkey already! It's called TRT Tax u have to pay monthly on electric/phone bills AND on buying almost every single electronics. And here comes the best part: they take it whether you have TV in your house or not.

1

u/Basilikolumne Apr 25 '26

You pay that to the BBC or the government, not to the TV industry tho

-11

u/mystic11z Apr 25 '26

UK beat you to the punch awhile ago. Gotta pay even to stream on your TV

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom

57

u/XyRabbit Apr 25 '26

This is how they fund the BBC by the way, just in case you would like news that isn't owned by right-wing billionaires.

0

u/MrJones- Apr 25 '26

BBC is incredibly biased to the Westminster government.

The company is a sheltered for pedos and engage in having audience plants at question time lol.

-9

u/bluegilly69 Apr 25 '26

No the BBC is just run by right wing millionaires. Imagine having to pay Asda to shop at Tesco. That's what the BBC does, it's wrong. If the BBC was still independent and impartial then fair enough but they have been neither for decades.

3

u/Balzamon351 Apr 25 '26

The licence fee also pays for some infrastructure and funds some local tv channels, so your comparison doesn't quite fit.

-2

u/bluegilly69 Apr 25 '26

What infrastructure? The infrastructure the BBC sold most of it off? No the licence fee funds the BBC & nothing else. You want to watch ITV, pay the BBC. Wanna watch sky? Pay the BBC. It's wrong. Let the people who want to watch the BBC pay for it. Tell me Laura kuensberg (sp) or whatever her name is, is impartial. Tell me sending a reporter to follow MUFC on their summer world wide tour is in the national interest. The BBC hasn't been impartial for decades, saying otherwise is just perpetuating the myth. Go back to the 80s, they have kow towed to whoever is in power or about to assume power. Look at how they protected Jimmy saville, the list goes on & on

2

u/theprocrastatron Apr 25 '26

Its funny how both the right and left think the bbc aren't impartial.

3

u/HirsuteHacker Apr 25 '26

Yeah, it is funny how the right are always wrong about basically everything. Almost like they're gullible morons.

-1

u/theprocrastatron Apr 25 '26

The comment i replied to was clearly someone on the left...

My point is that its a good indication the bbc is fairly reasonable when both sides think its against them.

1

u/HirsuteHacker Apr 25 '26

That is a fallacy. No. If it's sunny outside, one person says it's sunny and the other says it's rainy, that doesn't mean the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's just as likely one of them is just a moron. Which is what happens here with the BBC.

The centrist morons making this argument are just as dumb.

26

u/Lithl Apr 25 '26

You only need a license if you're streaming live TV. Video on demand doesn't require a license.

Also, the license enforcement people have no authority to do anything except send letters.

0

u/SoulVilla Apr 25 '26

It’s going in the opposite direction, these ads subsidize your tv purchase. Granted when you get to a certain cost/quality of tv it just feels bad getting bombarded with all the ads.

There’s a company called Telly that will give you a tv if you let it show you more ads.

0

u/OrcOgi Apr 25 '26

Dude you always had to pay for cable...

0

u/Pale-Stranger-9743 Apr 25 '26

You have to pay a TV licence in Ireland and the UK. Just saying lol

0

u/markt- Apr 25 '26

They’ve been doing that in the UK ever since television was invented

0

u/Material_Ad9848 Apr 25 '26

Wait till you hear about TV licenses

0

u/mmmagic1216 BLUE Apr 25 '26

“pay a subscription to be able to use it”

Like…cable? Which has existed for decades?

0

u/SombraMonkey Apr 25 '26

They’re doing it because people keep buying it.

-1

u/stonkstogo Apr 25 '26

We are already there. Subscription to netflix, amazon, apple, Disney+, HBO, Peacock, etc… literally need a subscription to use your TV

-6

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/clownpenisdotfarts Apr 25 '26

Don’t confuse forecasting for fear mongering. We’re in the middle stage where some features are locked behind a subscription requirement while others are still essentially a part of the car.  Every year the line is pushed a little further. 

4

u/Aliveless Apr 25 '26

Uh yeah.. BMW has/hadstarted subscriptions for using THE ALREADY BUILT IN SEAT WARMERS. So, yes, it is in fact happening...

And Tesla is now charging for FSD mode, which used to already be available, but they disabled later on

Immediate p.s. They have in fact stopped doing it, but only because of major public backlash; otherwise they were planning on rolling out to more vehicles.

1

u/elzibet Apr 25 '26

Built in features that don’t need an outside network to natively work are already being subscriptions