THOUSANDS of British families still watch TV in black and white — 58 years after the introduction of colour.
There were 3,101 mono set licences in force on July 31 this year, granting viewers the right to watch greyscale telly only.
The number has fallen by 50 per cent since 2020, when 6,400 were snapped up.
Black and white licenses cost only £58, making it 66 per cent cheaper than the £174.50 colour pass.
But they still only make up less than 0.01 per cent of all active UK licences.
Almost all are renewals and not actively policed by the BBC, a Sun Freedom of Information request revealed.
They are instead given out in good faith, with the BBC and TV Licensing authorities accepting that most are pensioners or hobbyists.
Colour TV was launched in the UK on BBC 2 in 1967, with Wimbledon tennis the first event to be broadcast.
It took until 1976 for colour licenses to outnumber black and white ones, as ‘full-spectrum’ TVs were far more expensive than standard mono sets.
Almost 1,000 Brits are prosecuted every week for ignoring the annual fee.
We previously told how Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was “concerned” by the disproportionate number of women who are fined.
Bosses believe women are more likely to be poorly paid, coping with single-parent families or taking charge of household bills, and also more likely to be at home when investigators call.
A TV Licensing spokeswoman told The Sun: “The use of black and white televisions has been falling steadily for years, and black and white licenses account for 0.01% of all of the licenses currently in force.
“If there is any reason to believe someone’s licence is not valid for any reason, we will investigate.”
Thousands of British families still watch TV in black and white — 58 years after the introduction of colour[/caption]