The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a publicly-funded organisation in Britain that provides several free-to-air television and radio stations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk
 http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.60.9/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png

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Free?  Don't Brits pay a license to own a TV which supports the BBC? ''No, we buy a licence [BritishCulturalAssumption] for a household to own a TV that is capable of receiving broadcast TV:  a regressive hypothecated tax, in other words''

There is a reduced level of payment for households where there is at least one person visually handicapped or elderly (I think over 75).
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The BBC's free-to-air channels don't carry advertising. (i.e. they don't do commercial advertising - but they don't miss a trick when it comes to promoting other BBC services.)
''Their rival, IndependentTeleVision, however... that's a different story.''
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CategoryCulture