Five households in Banbury still watching black and white TV

Five households in Banbury are still watching black and white television - more than 50 years since colour transmissions began.
A Wimbledon tennis match in 1967 was the first to be transmitted in colour. Photo: TV LicensingA Wimbledon tennis match in 1967 was the first to be transmitted in colour. Photo: TV Licensing
A Wimbledon tennis match in 1967 was the first to be transmitted in colour. Photo: TV Licensing

According to TV Licensing, 30 black and white TV licences are in force in Oxfordshire.

Nationally, 71,611 UK households are still watching television via black and white TV sets.

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The number of black and white licences issued each year has, however, steadily been declining.

In 2000 there were 212,000 black and white TV Licences in force, but by 2003 that number had shrunk to 93,000. By 2015, the number had dipped below 10,000.

Cody Want, spokesman for TV Licensing London and South East, said: “Over half of the UK’s TVs now connect to the internet1, so it’s pretty interesting that more than 7,000 households still choose to watch their favourite shows on a black and white telly.”

“Whether you watch EastEnders, Strictly or Question Time in black and white on a 50-year-old TV set or in colour on a tablet, you need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record programmes as they are broadcast.

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"You also need to be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer, on any device.”

Jeffrey Borinsky, a London-based television and radio technology historian, added: “There are hundreds of collectors like myself who have many black and white TVs.

"Who wants all this new-fangled 4K Ultra HD, satellite dishes or a screen that's bigger than your room when you can have glorious black and white TV!

“Thirty years ago you could still buy black and white TVs, mainly small portables, for as little as £50 and it’s interesting to know that some of people still have them."