If there's one thing that drives us absolutely bananas here at the TV Licensing Blog, it's the number of uninformed keyboard warriors rushing to defend the BBC and deny its association with TV Licensing.
For the avoidance of doubt: The BBC is TV Licensing.
The BBC knows fine well that TV Licensing is a despised menace, which is why it goes to great lengths to distance itself from the caustic TV Licensing brand.
You have to drill pretty deep into the TV Licensing website for acknowledgement of that fact, but here it is. Notice how there is no mention of the BBC on the readily available "About us" page of the TV Licensing website.
The BBC has been legally responsible for all aspects of administering and enforcing the TV licence fee for the past 20-years.
Sure, it contracts a series of private companies to do the dirty job of scaring the public and bullying money from them, but be under no illusion that the BBC retains full responsibility for all aspects of TV Licensing.
It inherited that responsibility from the Home Office under the terms of section 180 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. If you don't believe us, you can read the relevant legislation here for yourself.
So the next time someone comes out with "the BBC has nothing to do with TV Licensing" please set them straight. The BBC is TV Licensing. And the next time someone says "the TV Licensing Authority" remind them that legally speaking, it's the BBC that holds that title.