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‘Monochrome renegrades’ enjoy their black and white TVs
Entertainment News
For those of you watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green...
They may not be able to fully appreciate the snooker but more than 400 households in Manchester still have a black and white TV licence, it has emerged.
The famous gaffe by the late BBC snooker commentator Ted Lowe came at a time when colour TVs were only just gaining ascendancy in the 1970s.
But figures released by TV Licensing today show some 13,000 households across the UK have a black and white licence.
Manchester is behind London and Birmingham as the city with the most (413) homes having a black and white telly licence.
Other towns and cities in the north west like Bolton (65), Salford (37), Warrington (29), Oldham (24) and Rochdale (24) also have significant numbers of ‘monochrome renegades’.
It seems that despite the switch to digital television last year, and an increase in the sale of flat screen televisions, tablets, laptops and smart-phones over the Christmas period, some homes just cannot bear to part with their trusty black and white television sets.
Iain Logie Baird, associate curator at the National Media Museum and grandson of John Logie Baird, the inventor of the television, said: “The National Media Museum has hundreds of black and white television sets in its collection and I’m not surprised that people are still using them.
“The cabinets on many of these are retro in their design, making them conversation pieces even when they aren’t switched on.
“The television set has acted as a family gathering place in the home for decades and, for a few who appreciate this fact, the old set can still hold a deep sentimental value.”
The cost of a black and white TV licence remains frozen at £49 until BBC Charter Review in 2016. A colour licence costs £145.50. There is a 50 per cent concession for people who are registered blind.
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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