The IRS collects your license fee for the tax-supported part of NPR.
"Free" TV is 1/3 commercials. The BBC has no commercials. Cable TV is where you pay for TV, the networks still sell commercials and you get to enjoy the same 1/3 commercials, while the network makes money on both ends. Movie theaters are places where you buy a ticket to watch commercials, and a license to be robbed at the refreshment counter.