This post is a collaboration with TV Licensing (a trademark of the BBC), but all thoughts and experiences are my own. 

Throughout the years, television has played a big part in my life. I was born in 1989, so I remember what it was like to only have 4 channels and how big of a deal it was when a fifth arrived. We didn’t spend a lot of time watching TV when I was young, it was always a treat and something I looked forward to. When I was at university it gave us a chance to watch live sport on TV while we were away from home. As an adult, I still like to keep up to date with my favourite programmes. I also see it as a great way to connect with other people.

Childhood TV memories

Kids programmes back in the early 90s were iconic, especially the ones on CBBC. I loved watching Playdays in the mornings before nursery and my favourite character was always Why Bird. Tots TV, Rosie and Jim, Brum and Huxley Pig were also well-loved by me and my brother. 

We were always promised that we could eat our tea in front of the television on Sunday evenings if we behaved over the weekend. It was the perfect way to wind down after a busy weekend! My brother and I would always choose to watch The Simpsons on a Sunday, which is still one of my favourite programmes now. It was something that we both enjoyed, and we didn’t have to argue about what we were going to watch. This is one of my fondest memories from my childhood. Sitting in our little chairs with our names on, eating our sandwiches and laughing at Bart and Lisa. 

As I got older, I remember rushing home from school and doing my homework as quickly as I could so that I could have my hour of TV time before bed. We only had one television in the house at that time, so there were always arguments between me and my brother about what was going to be on. My personal favourites were The Queen’s Nose which had me collecting 50p pieces for years and Jungle Run. 

My first television

The first time I got a television in my room, I was ten years old. I asked for money for my birthday that I could put towards one. The weekend after my tenth birthday, my dad took me shopping and I chose a neon green television. I remember that there was a huge range of portable televisions available for my budget, but I was adamant that I wanted the green one. I even ended up having my bedroom decorated yellow and lime green to match the TV! This ended the arguments between me and my brother because it meant that I could watch whatever I wanted.

That little green TV was my pride and joy – it lasted around 7 years before ironically, the screen turned green. I was gutted and carried on trying to watch it as best I could. Luckily, my great-nan decided to treat me to a new one for Christmas that year. This was one of the last presents she chose for me, so it will always be a really special memory.

Having a TV at University

I chose not to take my television down to university with me when I started in 2009. However, one of my flatmates had one in her room and had paid for a TV licence. There were times when we all crammed ourselves into her little student room in the university halls to watch iconic TV moments. One that sticks out for me is watching the live Eastenders episode in 2010! As a long-time Eastenders fan, I was excited about this, and I watched it with all my flatmates.  

When I chose to go back to university in 2017 to do a Master’s degree, I decided that I didn’t need to take a TV. I had a good enough laptop that I could watch all the streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime. My flatmates and I all put towards the TV Licence for the year so we could catch up between studying. I would take part in the university pub quiz on a Wednesday evening and would always rush back to my flat afterwards to watch the Great British Bake Off before anyone could spoil the results for me!

Your TV Licence lets you enjoy a huge range of live TV. It covers you for: 

• All TV channels, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Dave and international channels – but you don’t need a licence if you only watch non-BBC channels on-demand
• Pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media, and BT – but these are platforms that could have both live and on-demand services
• Live TV on streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
• Everything on BBC iPlayer. This includes recording and downloading. On any device.