The license is to watch T.V not for the T.V ownership. -It pays for the BBC chanels which have no adverts. The other chanels theoretically do not need the license though explaining that you only watch these chanels to the court probably wouldn't hold up too well. Now by law all sellers of TV's and digital set top boxes have to take your details on purchase -this I imagine is used to keep a better track on who has TV's and isn't paying their dues. On the flip side, now that television has gone full digital across the country, it's much easier to say you only watch dvd's or play on consoles if you have an older TV and digibox.