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From: brendan@otc.otca.oz (Brendan Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Television detection.
Message-ID: <1276@otc.otca.oz>
Date: 29 Jan 90 22:41:50 GMT
References: <8ZkkfpG00Uh780mlR=@andrew.cmu.edu>
Lines: 21

in article <8ZkkfpG00Uh780mlR=@andrew.cmu.edu>, bb1v+@andrew.cmu.edu (Barry Lowell Brumitt) says:
> The reason is quite simple, BBC I and BBC 2 have no commercials. Their
> funding comes entirely from the licensing fee.  I am sure I would pay $80
> a year here for good channels with no commercials.

In Australia the funding for the two public stations (neither of which shows
commercials, although they have a lot of 'in house' promotion) comes directly
from Government general taxation revenue.  Both stations (ABC and SBS) are
excellent and have nationwide coverage.

Australia also has three major national commercial networks plus a myraid 
of regional ones.

I would have thought the bureaucracy required to administer a licencing body
plus equipment and people to detect 'unauthorised' use of TVs would be a very
inefficient way of funding a public TV station.
-- 
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