Greece
Greece’s TV licence fee is collected through electricity bills regardless of TV ownership and costs €51.60 a year.
Poland
In Poland, there has been a lot of discussion of doing away with the licence fee,
since a high proportion of household do not pay.
The annual fee for TV & radio sets is about €54.
Czech Republic
The licence fee in the Czech Republic costs just under €5 per month, amounting to around €60 a year.
Italy
In Italy, households pay an annual fee of €100, which is paid via electricity bills.
Belgium
The licence fee in Belgium is by far the most complex we have come across.
In the Walloon Region (French and German speaking), separate licences are required for car radios, which cost €100,
but households do not require a radio licence.
However, households with a television receiver require a TV licence which also costs €100.
Belgium has an interesting system whereby the first letter of your surname dictates whether you pay the licence in the first or second half of the year.
In Flemish-speaking regions, including Brussels, TV licences have been abolished.
Croatia
Croatians who own devices that are capable of receiving TV and Radio broadcasts must pay a percentage of the average net salary of the previous year,
which is currently about 1.5% and come to around €137 annually.
France
Our closest neighbours on mainland Europe pay €137 a year if they own a television.
Only one licence is required per household.
Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, the licence fee of €160 is collected by the Irish Post Office.
Germany
In Germany, every household must pay a monthly fee of €17.50 (€210 annually) regardless of whether they own either a TV or a radio.
This fee is hugely unpopular amongst German citizens and there is an ongoing petition to have it abolished.
Austria
The amount an Austrian pays for their TV licence depends on the state in which they reside.
The fee varies from €223-€284 annually.
Norway
Watching television in Norway is quite pricy – viewers pay an annual fee of €318 per household,
however if there are individuals living in the household who are no longer financially dependent on the fee-payer
(ie, students living in the family home) they must purchase a separate licence.
Denmark
TV fans in Denmark have to pay out €332 a year for their media licence fee,
which covers all devices that can receive broadcasts, as well as computers with internet access and smartphones.
Switzerland
If you receive TV or radio broadcasts in Switzerland, you must register and pay a hefty annual fee of €439.90 per household.
European countries with no TV licence
The Netherlands haven’t had a TV licence since 2000,
public broadcasting is now funded by combination of advertising and government funding.
Portugal abolished the TV licence fee in 1992,
however there is a radio licence fee which costs €33 a year.
The TV licence in Cyprus was abolished in the late 1990s,
and has been replaced by funding via adverts and government money.
Malta’s TV licence was discontinued in 2011.
Iceland haven’t had a TV licence since 2007,
but instead fund programming via an obligatory poll tax as part of the income tax, which is collected regardless of TV or radio ownership.
Finland got rid of their licence fee in 2013
and replaced it with a tax that varies depending on individuals’ income.
Rather than being applied per household, each person is required to pay between €50 – €140, low-income earners are exempt.