As you may or may not be aware, all citizens of the UK who own or operate a television set are required to pay a yearly license and have a license certificate on hand. The TV Licensing web site gives details about licensing requirements, exemptions, and enforcement. The web site makes it very clear:

bq. There is no excuse for watching TV without a licence – it’s a criminal offence.

A person caught watching without a license can be fined up to £1000. How are they caught, you ask? Why, by the TV license enforcers and their special, top-secret detector vans, which can pinpoint on errant television signals in as little as 20 seconds. Anyone purchasing or renting a TV or other similar equipment is also required to submit their name and address, and the retailer is required to report that information.

* Information about detection
* Some excuses people have given for not having licenses

Oh, in case you were wondering, the TV license fees pay for the operations of the BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation).

Clearly they’re a little more serious about this than we are with PBS(Public Broadcasting System), which Congress is once again trying to de-fund.