Tv License



I’m a fan of the license fee, but can’t see how they can force everyone to pay it.
There is now ways to encrypt channels, to stop people viewing it, so why hasn’t this been challenged yet.
The radio is different mind, not sure how this would work.

You don't need a license for the radio anymore, I discovered a couple of weeks ago.
 
Its a funny one this, I haven't had a tv for years and kept paying the fee, but 3 years ago I decided as money was getting tight I would stop.

So I checked it out, if you watch any live program on any device from anywhere in the world you need to pay the fee, if you watch any BBC made program on any platform ( youtube, Netflix etc ) you need to pay the fee.

Luckly I don't watch anything the BBC makes and haven't watch a live tv show in years, I have broken the rules when I watched the lads play football on as stream, but haven't done that over the last year anyway.

But I do watch some shows on amazon prime on my laptop now and then, but since its not live and since its not made by the BBC I don't have to pay, but by god you have to jump through hopes to prove it when they bang on the door!
 
Its a funny one this, I haven't had a tv for years and kept paying the fee, but 3 years ago I decided as money was getting tight I would stop.

So I checked it out, if you watch any live program on any device from anywhere in the world you need to pay the fee, if you watch any BBC made program on any platform ( youtube, Netflix etc ) you need to pay the fee.

Luckly I don't watch anything the BBC makes and haven't watch a live tv show in years, I have broken the rules when I watched the lads play football on as stream, but haven't done that over the last year anyway.

But I do watch some shows on amazon prime on my laptop now and then, but since its not live and since its not made by the BBC I don't have to pay, but by god you have to jump through hopes to prove it when they bang on the door!

That's not true.

The only online VOD platform that you need the licence for is iPlayer, regardless of who made the show.
Its a funny one this, I haven't had a tv for years and kept paying the fee, but 3 years ago I decided as money was getting tight I would stop.

So I checked it out, if you watch any live program on any device from anywhere in the world you need to pay the fee, if you watch any BBC made program on any platform ( youtube, Netflix etc ) you need to pay the fee.

Luckly I don't watch anything the BBC makes and haven't watch a live tv show in years, I have broken the rules when I watched the lads play football on as stream, but haven't done that over the last year anyway.

But I do watch some shows on amazon prime on my laptop now and then, but since its not live and since its not made by the BBC I don't have to pay, but by god you have to jump through hopes to prove it when they bang on the door!

Proof:

Do I need a TV Licence to watch subscription services like Netflix, Amazon or Now TV? - TV Licensing ™
 
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Not what the guy who came to my door said, told me if you watch any BBC program live or not you need to pay up.

He's either just wrong, lying, or misspoke.

If you watch any program live on any channel, or anything on iPlayer, then you need one. You can watch what you like on Netflix or YouTube without having one.

And as I discovered a few weeks back, you can even listen to the radio now without needing one, whereas at some point in the past you did (although it was cheaper for a radio-only one than a normal TV-and-radio one).
 
Just checked up and it seems a little confusing as I found this on the TV licence web page.

You need a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use, including:

  • Freeview, Freesat or YouView
  • Sky, Virgin Media or BT TV
  • Apple, Roku or Amazon

then it says, On demand means any programme you download or watch that is not being shown as live TV, including catch up TV.
He's either just wrong, lying, or misspoke.

If you watch any program live on any channel, or anything on iPlayer, then you need one. You can watch what you like on Netflix or YouTube without having one.

And as I discovered a few weeks back, you can even listen to the radio now without needing one, whereas at some point in the past you did (although it was cheaper for a radio-only one than a normal TV-and-radio one).

it seems the TV faqs say different things depending what part you read, no wonder most people just pay up, unless I am just thick and reading it wrong, but does seems imo to be a grey area when it comes to catch up / on demand services with other providers?
 
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Just checked up and it seems a little confusing as I found this on the TV licence web page.

You need a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use, including:

  • Freeview, Freesat or YouView
  • Sky, Virgin Media or BT TV
  • Apple, Roku or Amazon

then it says, On demand means any programme you download or watch that is not being shown as live TV, including catch up TV.


it seems the TV fags say different things depending what part you read, no wonder most people just pay up, unless I am just thick and reading it wrong, but does seems imo to be a grey area when it comes to catch up / on demand services with other providers?

Weird.

But the fact they have both contradicting rules on there would mean they would lose in court if they tried to sue you for watching Doctor Who on Netflix.
Just checked up and it seems a little confusing as I found this on the TV licence web page.

You need a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use, including:

  • Freeview, Freesat or YouView
  • Sky, Virgin Media or BT TV
  • Apple, Roku or Amazon

then it says, On demand means any programme you download or watch that is not being shown as live TV, including catch up TV.


it seems the TV faqs say different things depending what part you read, no wonder most people just pay up, unless I am just thick and reading it wrong, but does seems imo to be a grey area when it comes to catch up / on demand services with other providers?

From the main "check if you need one" page:

"
Do I need a TV Licence for all on demand programmes?
No. You don’t need a licence if you only ever watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer* (and you also never watch live TV programmes on any channel, including on iPlayer).

You don’t need to be covered by a licence to watch any films or TV shows that you buy online.

*You don’t need a licence to watch S4C TV on demand or listen to radio on iPlayer. You also don’t need one to watch films or TV shows on iPlayer that you’ve bought on the BBC Store.
"

BBC iPlayer and the TV Licence - TV Licensing ™
 
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Just checked up and it seems a little confusing as I found this on the TV licence web page.

You need a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use, including:

  • Freeview, Freesat or YouView
  • Sky, Virgin Media or BT TV
  • Apple, Roku or Amazon

then it says, On demand means any programme you download or watch that is not being shown as live TV, including catch up TV.


it seems the TV faqs say different things depending what part you read, no wonder most people just pay up, unless I am just thick and reading it wrong, but does seems imo to be a grey area when it comes to catch up / on demand services with other providers?

Right at the top of the main "Check if you need one" page:

"
You need to be covered by a TV Licence to

  • watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service
  • download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.
This applies to any provider you use and any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.
"

This looks like a rewritten version of what you posted. Perhaps yours is an old page? Could you post a link to the page where you found that text you pasted?
 
Weird.

But the fact they have both contradicting rules on there would mean they would lose in court if they tried to sue you for watching Doctor Who on Netflix.


From the main "check if you need one" page:

"
Do I need a TV Licence for all on demand programmes?
No. You don’t need a licence if you only ever watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer* (and you also never watch live TV programmes on any channel, including on iPlayer).

You don’t need to be covered by a licence to watch any films or TV shows that you buy online.

*You don’t need a licence to watch S4C TV on demand or listen to radio on iPlayer. You also don’t need one to watch films or TV shows on iPlayer that you’ve bought on the BBC Store.
"

BBC iPlayer and the TV Licence - TV Licensing ™

yes read that as well, its a strange one, like i said when the guy came to the door I dont watch BBC programs anyway so I was fine, I was shocked when he said youtube is covered, but that seems to be a lie, but the catch up on demand thing is a bit fishy and can see what he was quoting, very grey area and needs any outdated stuff removed.
Right at the top of the main "Check if you need one" page:

"
You need to be covered by a TV Licence to

  • watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service
  • download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.
This applies to any provider you use and any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.
"

This looks like a rewritten version of what you posted. Perhaps yours is an old page? Could you post a link to the page where you found that text you pasted?


Do I need a TV Licence for on demand services? - TV Licensing ™ second paragraph

that's the bit the guy at the door quoted to me and showed me on his little handheld device when he was trying to get me to pay up as I needed to.
 
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yes read that as well, its a strange one, like i said when the guy came to the door I dont watch BBC programs anyway so I was fine, I was shocked when he said youtube is covered, but that seems to be a lie, but the catch up on demand thing is a bit fishy and can see what he was quoting, very grey area and needs any outdated stuff removed.

Perhaps the BBC's YouTube channel(s) have the facility to watch some shows live? And perhaps their AmazonTV page(s)? Speculating there, but it might explain the weirdness.

As someone that also doesn't have a licence, I try to keep up on the rules for this. Don't want the TV detector van parked outside my house. :)
Do I need a TV Licence for on demand services? - TV Licensing ™ second paragraph

that's the bit the guy at the door quoted to me and showed me on his little handheld device when he was trying to get me to pay up as I needed to.

That's crazy!
 
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Perhaps the BBC's YouTube channel(s) have the facility to watch some shows live? And perhaps their AmazonTV page(s)? Speculating there, but it might explain the weirdness.

As someone that also doesn't have a licence, I try to keep up on the rules for this. Don't want the TV detector van parked outside my house. :)

yea, we just play it safe and avoid BBC programs, we watch tons of stuff from the USA networks, so are pretty safe imo, to be honest only been once or twice I have missed the fact we dont use the BBC.
 
yes read that as well, its a strange one, like i said when the guy came to the door I dont watch BBC programs anyway so I was fine, I was shocked when he said youtube is covered, but that seems to be a lie, but the catch up on demand thing is a bit fishy and can see what he was quoting, very grey area and needs any outdated stuff removed.



Do I need a TV Licence for on demand services? - TV Licensing ™ second paragraph

that's the bit the guy at the door quoted to me and showed me on his little handheld device when he was trying to get me to pay up as I needed to.

Ah, hang on, i think I've got it.

The "Apple, Roku and Amazon" will be devices upon which you can install and run iPlayer. It's talking about the Amazon Firesticks etc. You can watch iPlayer on those.

It's just saying you need a license to watch iPlayer regardless of whether you're watching it on your computer, smart TV, or a device that plugs into your TV made by other companies.

The wording doesn't include watching BBC shows on other VoD services where iPlayer isn't involved. So Netflix, Amazon, YouTube etc. is fine as long as you're not using it as a portal to iPlayer in some way.
 
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Ah, hang on, i think I've got it.

The "Apple, Roku and Amazon" will be devices upon which you can install and run iPlayer. It's talking about the Amazon Firesticks etc. You can watch iPlayer on those.

It's just saying you need a license to watch iPlayer regardless of whether you're watching it on your computer, smart TV, or a device that plugs into your TV made by other companies.

The wording doesn't include watching BBC shows on other VoD services where iPlayer isn't involved. So Netflix, Amazon, YouTube etc. is fine as long as you're not using it as a portal to iPlayer in some way.

ahh right never had a firestick so no idea what that does, maybe they better train the officers that check at house about that then, as soon as I said I use amazon he pulled out that FAQ and said i needed to pay, I said I dont use bbc programs and can prove that on my watched history and I have heard nothing since, so alls good.

cheers
 

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