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According to the Norwegian Law of Broadcasting of 1992 everybody with equipment capable of receiving TV signals have to pay a broadcasting license. This includes TVs, video-recorders, satellite receivers et cetera.
Added: 2006-08-02 18:53:52 - Modified: 2006-09-23 23:19:02 - Level: Beginner
This document is marked as a draft and information is subject to change at any point. Once moved to a PUBLISHED state, this notice will be removed.
According to the Norwegian Law of Broadcasting of 1992 everybody with equipment capable of receiving TV signals have to pay a broadcasting license. This includes TVs, video-recorders, satellite receivers et cetera.
The actual fee is decided by the Norwegian Congress every year, and for 2006 it was set to be 2039,04 Norwegian Kroner (NOK), including an eight percent Value Added Tax (VAT). Roughly converted this is 330 US Dollars (USD) annually.
A broadcasting license has been required since 1924, and aims to finance program creation and broadcasting infrastructure. When it was enacted in 1924 the license was 20 NOK for listeners within the broadcasting's option-area and 5 NOK outside these areas.
In the chart, the blue line signifies number of payees for the broadcasting license due to having a radio, which ceised to be a reason to pay the license in 1976. The broadcasting license on Television was introduced in 1957. The red line signifies black and white television receivers, and the green line the number of licenses for color-TV.
The license mark from 1925 to 1941. 
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has information about the British TV-license at its website. The annual cost (set by the Government) is currently £131.50 (about 246 USD). A black and white TV licence is £44 (82 USD). There is no radio licence. There are regulations governing the licensing of second homes, residential homes, hotels, students or special situations.
The BBC is paid for directly through each household TV licence. This allows it to run a wide range of popular public services for everyone, free of adverts and independent of advertisers, shareholders or political interests. 94.3% of the UK population used the BBC every month in 2005/2006.
In Ireland one can get information about the TV license from OASIS
Every household, business or institution in Ireland with a television or equipment capable of receiving a television signal (i.e., an aerial, satellite dish, etc.,) must have a television licence. A television licence is a certificate that states that you have paid the appropriate fee to the government and contributed to the cost of public service broadcasting in Ireland. Your television licence in Ireland is issued for 1 year, after which it must be renewed again.
Since 1 April 2005 it costs 155 euro (198 USD) for a television licence. Conviction for non-payment of a television licence (first offence) is a fine of 634 euro (809 USD).
The TV license is an indirect tax, and should be considered as such, id est a tax.
Today most program creation is either sponsored or financed through advertisement. And it should, this allows the market to control what gets created, and it optimizes the resource usage according to cost/benefit evaluations by the consumer.