The TV licence is democratic, dont wanna watch, dont pay.
The bbc being a public service, information service, must be funded somehow, being funded by the viewer ensures the impartiality of the content in relation to that.
....I don't find the BBC to be wholly impartial and you have to pay the BBC licence fee even if you don't watch BBC progs.
I don't have Sky TV but at least you do have a choice not to pay if you don't want to watch Sky progs.
What is both ridiculous and totally wrong in my opinion is that you risk a
Criminal Record if caught without a TV licence. Do you risk a
Criminal Record if caught without a Road Tax licence?