Tv licence to watch iPlayer on own equipment in a hotel room?

iniltous

The hotel license is a red herring, the OP was watching on their own laptop and accessed the BBC Iplayer , unlike watching broadcast tv on the hotel tv ( if the room had a tv ) AFAIK the iplayer explicitly asks if you have a licence , the OP ‘lied’ when they said they did …..wether anything comes of this is unlikely but there isn’t really a moral excuse, they watched something others paid for .

Rodders53

Emmia said:

At universities, students in halls of residence rooms need their own licences (they can't rely on one their parents have), even if the halls of residence they live in has a licence. I would have thought a similar approach would apply to a hotel room.

Nope. 

Hotels,B&Bs etc.,.  tend to have TV sets in rooms and then need to have special TV Licences to cover the number of rooms and their guest's use includes iPlayer...  
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business-and-organisations/hotels-hostels-mobile-units-and-campsites-aud13

OP's error was to log in to their former BBC iPlayer account with a linked e-mail address once used for a TV Licence.  Ignore or respond saying they were staying at the hotel when using it? 

Assuming the hotel holds a tv Licence is a bit the same as any other 'ignorance is no defence' in Law probably; but could be used in mitigation if prosecuted .

Bit odd to watch iPlayer when away, rather than some streaming service they normally use when at home. But nowt as strange as folk.

Detail_Merchant

iniltous said:

The hotel license is a red herring, the OP was watching on their own laptop and accessed the BBC Iplayer , unlike watching broadcast tv on the hotel tv ( if the room had a tv ) AFAIK the iplayer explicitly asks if you have a licence , the OP ‘lied’ when they said they did …..wether anything comes of this is unlikely but there isn’t really a moral excuse, they watched something others paid for .

The OP didn't say whether their laptop was plugged in or not.
From https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/about-bbc-iplayer-and-our-policies/tv-licence
It says:

Do I need a TV Licence to watch iPlayer when I’m away from home?

Yes. You are covered to use BBC iPlayer when you’re away from home as long as you have a TV Licence at your home address and the device you’re using isn’t plugged in. If the device is plugged in at a separate address, there needs to be a licence in place at that address.

So if their laptop was plugged in then the requirement would be for a licence at the hotel, which the hotel may well have (should have if they are providing TVs in the bedrooms).
It doesn't matter whose name the licence is in, the licence applies to a location, not a person.

oldernonethewiser

Rodders53 said:

Emmia said:

At universities, students in halls of residence rooms need their own licences (they can't rely on one their parents have), even if the halls of residence they live in has a licence. I would have thought a similar approach would apply to a hotel room.

Nope. 

Hotels,B&Bs etc.,.  tend to have TV sets in rooms and then need to have special TV Licences to cover the number of rooms and their guest's use includes iPlayer...  
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business-and-organisations/hotels-hostels-mobile-units-and-campsites-aud13

OP's error was to log in to their former BBC iPlayer account with a linked e-mail address once used for a TV Licence.  Ignore or respond saying they were staying at the hotel when using it? 

Assuming the hotel holds a tv Licence is a bit the same as any other 'ignorance is no defence' in Law probably; but could be used in mitigation if prosecuted .

Bit odd to watch iPlayer when away, rather than some streaming service they normally use when at home. But nowt as strange as folk.

Off topic, but curious to know why it would be thought of as odd to watch iPlayer when away from home?

Rodders53

oldernonethewiser said:olk.

Off topic, but curious to know why it would be thought of as odd to watch iPlayer when away from home?

IMHO very odd for someone who hasn't a TV Licence at home and so never watches iPlayer catchup / BBC programmes normally and has (presumably) a TV in the room to watch any live TV from them, if desired...

oldernonethewiser

Rodders53 said:

oldernonethewiser said:olk.

Off topic, but curious to know why it would be thought of as odd to watch iPlayer when away from home?

IMHO very odd for someone who hasn't a TV Licence at home and so never watches iPlayer catchup / BBC programmes normally and has (presumably) a TV in the room to watch any live TV from them, if desired...

Thanks.  I understand now, reading the reference to the OP's lack of a TV Licence.

Exodi

Rodders53 said:

Emmia said:

At universities, students in halls of residence rooms need their own licences (they can't rely on one their parents have), even if the halls of residence they live in has a licence. I would have thought a similar approach would apply to a hotel room.

Nope. 

Hotels,B&Bs etc.,.  tend to have TV sets in rooms and then need to have special TV Licences to cover the number of rooms and their guest's use includes iPlayer...  
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business-and-organisations/hotels-hostels-mobile-units-and-campsites-aud13

OP's error was to log in to their former BBC iPlayer account with a linked e-mail address once used for a TV Licence.  Ignore or respond saying they were staying at the hotel when using it? 

Assuming the hotel holds a tv Licence is a bit the same as any other 'ignorance is no defence' in Law probably; but could be used in mitigation if prosecuted .

Bit odd to watch iPlayer when away, rather than some streaming service they normally use when at home. But nowt as strange as folk.

It's about as clear as mud because they regularly insist that a licence is needed to watch on your mobile devices.

Likewise the common reference to batteries or being plugged into the mains, e.g.:

"watching on a device that’s powered solely by its own internal batteries (like your mobile phone, laptop or tablet) AND it isn’t connected to an aerial or plugged into the mains."
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ32

or

"if you’re away from home and plug one of these devices into the mains and use it to watch TV channels on any TV service, watch live TV on streaming services, or to use BBC iPlayer*, you need to be covered by a separate TV Licence at that address"
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ129

What does that even mean? Is it to suggest that the act of putting a 3 pin plug in the wall transfers the licence requirement to the owner of the plug socket? Is there even any way for the public to check whether their local McDonalds or the departure hall of an airport is covered? If their battery is full and they unplug, does it switch back and they need a personal licence again? How do you qualify mains power? Am I covered if my laptop is plugged into the mains, and I'm charging my phone by USB off it while watching iPlayer? How about if I'm casting BBC iPlayer from my phone to the TV?

I can't imagine they have any way to tell if a device is specifically plugged into the mains or being charged by a power bank (for example).

strawb_shortcake

Rodders53 said:

oldernonethewiser said:olk.

Off topic, but curious to know why it would be thought of as odd to watch iPlayer when away from home?

IMHO very odd for someone who hasn't a TV Licence at home and so never watches iPlayer catchup / BBC programmes normally and has (presumably) a TV in the room to watch any live TV from them, if desired...

I don't have a TV licence, but from time to time will watch the iPlayer at my parents asi do like some of the content available, and option to watch something not available at home. 
I hadn't even considered that watching the iPlayer whilst in a hotel would be an option, or contemplated the legality of it, but now appears it could be an option, so maybe not that odd

Detail_Merchant

Rodders53 said:

oldernonethewiser said:olk.

Off topic, but curious to know why it would be thought of as odd to watch iPlayer when away from home?

IMHO very odd for someone who hasn't a TV Licence at home and so never watches iPlayer catchup / BBC programmes normally and has (presumably) a TV in the room to watch any live TV from them, if desired...

To be fair to the OP they don't mention live TV, so it could be any old program available on the iPlayer.
It might be that they are respecting the law and the fact that they don't have a TV licence when they are at home, so they don't watch iPlayer there (which legally requires a TV licence for on demand as well as live TV, unlike other streaming services which only require a TV licence for live TV). So they could have be taking advantage of the presumed TV licence at the hotel to legally watch something which they otherwise couldn't (legally) watch.

A bit like I don't pay for Sky Sports at home, and I don't watch it at home either (not even via illicit means), but if I am away in a hotel, and the TV in the hotel has Sky Sports on it, I might watch some. Nothing wrong/immoral about that, as I am in effect paying for Sky Sports as part of the hotel stay cost.

dekaspace1

I don't watch live tv at home but I was in hospital a few months back and brought my tablet with me whilst I was in there I watched a few things on streaming services inc iplayer though for the most part I charged the tablet at least once a day.

I wonder if I watched iplayer when there it would count as needing a license.

I myself have a server with all the content I want to read/watch/play on so no need to watch live tv but if I am travelling I don't have access to it.

What also happens if I visit family who have a license and I log in and it asks if I have a license.