Do I need a TV licence?

Cornucopia

The definition of which activity requires a Licence is buried deeper in the legislation.

In particular, this Statutory Instrument is important:-

The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004

Meaning of “television receiver”

9. (1) In Part 4 of the Act (licensing of TV reception), “television receiver” means any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving (whether by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise) any television programme service, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose.

(2) In this regulation, any reference to receiving a television programme service includes a reference to receiving by any means any programme included in that service, where that programme is received at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public by virtue of its being broadcast or distributed as part of that service.

(1) means that a TV Receiver that requires a Licence is a TV Set that is being used as a receiver.

(2) means that receiving TV takes place when programming is transmitted by a broadcaster to be received more or less simultaneously by the many members of the Public. (As distinct from catch-up where it is transmitted for reception by 1 member of the Public).

(3) "Public" is defined elsewhere as the population of the UK and Channel Islands.

cajef

goral wrote: »

Yes twice. I already pay for licence in Germany and what you say I should pay in UK.

Ok then if you are living in the UK why do you need a German licence cancel it then you are only paying for one, now we are no longer in the E.U. UK law applies if you are resident here, if you go back to Germany tell them you don't need a licence there as you have a UK one and see what they say.

heatherw_01

goral wrote: »

Yes twice. I already pay for licence in Germany and what you say I should pay in UK.

I am not a lawyer, and I do not understand the provisions of this law very much, but there is nothing about licence for any program being received live either by terrestrial or satellite transmission by someone in the UK whether it is from China/America/ Timbuktu or Germany.
Only about licence issue by BBC.

yes you should pay for your licence in the UK if you watch live tv.
Just because you pay for one in Germany doesn't change a thing. That is a total different country.
Why do you even pay for one there if you live here?

Cornucopia

heatherw_01 wrote: »

Why do you even pay for one there if you live here?

The German TV licence (Rundfunkbeitrag) is a universal tax, so it may well be that goral remains within its scope.

You are right, though, that it makes no difference to their liability to the UK TV Licence which is levied for receiving broadcasts.

phillw

If you are watching TV as it is broadcast in the UK, or using the BBC iPlayer then you need a licence.

It is that simple.

Actually that is wrong.
If you receive a TV signal in the UK as it is broadcast, or use the BBC iPlayer then you need a license.
It doesn't matter where or when you watch the broadcast. So no recording and then watching it later, or recording it in the UK & travelling to another country to watch it to avoid the rules.
Like has been mentioned, it doesn't matter where the broadcast originated. It could be a pay per view broadcast from another country for example.

renegadefm

onomatopoeia99 said:

Watching Eastenders or Holby on your computer screen rather than a TV does not exempt you from needing a licence.

This is what I thought. So basically computer active magazine are being missleading and shouldn't be publishing such nonsense. 

renegadefm

pickledonionspaceraider said:

Paying for a TV Licence is an absolute mickey take

At some point BBC is going to have to rethink it's outdated demands for money for rubbish programming.


You are breaking the law If you download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

I do not understand how the BBC have got away with it so long to be honest, pfft - even Richard Turpin wore a mask....these people have been doing people over for decades

Even worse that you don't get a free TV licence until you are over 75. I mean people have retired long since, by then, and even the government give a free bus pass fgs. The BBC are like the gestapo. But with rubbish content

I couldn't agree with you more. I think overall if like me you got Sky TV aswell we are paying far too much for television.  I been saying for years,  I would much prefer to have less channels,  or only pay for what we actually watch,  for example have some kinda smart meter attached to the TV so it monitors exactly what the customer is viewing and charge accordingly. The TV licence is so old fashioned its ridiculous. 
All this recording stuff and catch up TV etc is silly really. I can only watch one thing at a time, if I got dozens of recorded programmes it probably means I am never going to find time to watch it anyway because I am probably going to be busy watching TV in real time. 
I think all these companies like Sky,  Virgin media,  BT TV,  etc etc make a fortune from us, but do we really need it?  When I was younger we had just 3 channels, and to me they were full of family entertainment. Think of how cheaper TV could be. 

JJ_Egan

This is what I thought. So basically computer active magazine are being missleading and shouldn't be publishing such nonsense. 

Depends upon what they actually said .

But that is a magazine that caters to those with little knowledge .

renegadefm

JJ_Egan said:

This is what I thought. So basically computer active magazine are being missleading and shouldn't be publishing such nonsense. 

Depends upon what they actually said .

But that is a magazine that caters to those with little knowledge .

I no longer have the magazine, but they were basically promoting we dont need a licence to watch tv, and the fact we can disguise ourselves by using a VPN, which also enables us to watch foriegn channels online. 

Cornucopia

Computer Active has come up before as purveyors of problematic info.

In their defence, virtually every mainstream media outlet fails to get their heads around all the salient detail - and that includes (bizarrely) the BBC.  

In terms of the overall cost of TV, it's open to each individual household to come up with the most effective strategy for the lowest cost for what they want to watch.

The base level is £0 (including not requiring a TV Licence) which is the cost of watching catch-up TV and video-on-demand content funded by advertising across ITV Hub, All4, My5, UKTV Player and Youtube.   You will need reasonable Broadband and something to stream content to your TV (although the cheapest options cost around 1 month's TV Licence or Pay TV subs).