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

stu12345_2

when you log in, the iPlayer should ask is your device connected to a plug socket at moment, at a place that may have a licence,
 but it doesn't.

it seems crazy the rules 

do you state, I'm at McDonald's, then I'm at wether spoons, now I'm on a train, whoops the plug fell out

so basically the email was a TV licence fishing email.

Olinda99

a tv licence is for an address, not a person

therefore if you are at a licenced address ( your friend's house or a hotel or wherever) then you are free to watch broadcast TV and use iPlayer to your heart's content even if you don't personally posess a licence yourself

if using iplayer, there is no requirement to log in using any particular credentials

onomatopoeia99

Exodi said:

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,

The stuff about batteries goes back decades to people taking small portable tellies (usually black and white) that would run on 12 volts on holiday with them in touring caravans.  In that situation your battery powered telly with a built in aerial would be covered by the TV licence at your home .  Easy enough to understand, although there was no "internal" requirement for the batteries stated back then because everyone knew they ran off the car's battery or a separate 12V lead acid battery in the caravan.  TBH I imagine this is unchanged as caravanning remains popular but modern caravans and motorhomes have inverters to conver 12v to 240v with a conventional 3 pin plug to use a mains telly that's still ultimately powered from a battery.

With modern technology the same is true for mobiles, you can watch iplayer out of the home on your home TV licence as it's powered by batteries (even if the batteries are being charged by the mains at that point).  What the person asking the question did was watch iplayer on a battery powered device without having a home TV licence.  The licence held by the hotel may or may not cover this scenario, I have no idea.

seatbeltnoob

Oh my sweet summer child.

Haven't paid tv license for 5 years

Cornucopia

If you are a guest in a Hotel, you would be covered for watching/recording/downloading TV of any kind on any device and also using iPlayer on the Hotel's TV Licence.   If the room has a TV in it, I think it would be a reasonable assumption that the Hotel has a Licence.   

A TV Licence covers an address, and everyone currently within it.

There's a separate provision, where a home TV Licence covers anyone "normally resident" for using a portable device (powered by its own internal batteries) when away from home.    The "internal batteries" are a strict requirement of the provision, although you could charge before beginning watching.

TVL do indeed send "gotcha" emails.  They are based on matching email addresses between active iPlayer accounts and an email previous supplied with a "No Licence Needed" form or expired TV Licence.   It's no more accurate than that, and the scenario of watching in a Hotel is exactly the kind of thing that can lead to a false allegation.    I would suggest deleting the iPlayer ID (get a new one with a different email address, if you want one for BBC Sounds).   Other than that, not much else to do, and unlikely that anything will come of it.

Swipe

Let this thread be a reminder to remove/amend your phone number and email address in your TV licensing account after you cancel.

NotArobot24

I am no expert, I don't have a TVL and watch those that inform on the rules, from Chili Jon Carne to Black Belt Barrister and a few in between.

My understanding is that you required to have a TV License under either of two conditions

1. You watch live TV when it is being broadcast live

2. You use the BBC iPlayer app

If I was in a hotel watching a TV they provided I would expect the hotel to provide the TVL.

If I were anywhere in the world using the BBC iPlayer app I would expect to pay for a TVL.

Nick_C

Interesting video posted by Black Belt Barrister today.

The BBC has admitted buying data from a data broker - sagacity Solutions - which attempts to match email addresses with physical addresses.  The BBC are doing data matching against their "no license needed" addresses, and trying to identify people who live at an NLN address, but who have nevertheless watch iPlayer using an email address that the BBC believes might relate to the physical NLN address.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryv_rT41Jks

Nick_C

NotArobot24 said:

...

If I was in a hotel watching a TV they provided I would expect the hotel to provide the TVL.

If I were anywhere in the world using the BBC iPlayer app I would expect to pay for a TVL.

My understanding is that if you are in a Hotel, you can watch iPlayer and are covered by the hotel's license, as long as you not watching it on a battery operated device!  So plug your laptop into the mains, and you are covered by the hotel's licence.

If you are outside the UK, I don't think iPlayer works anyway.

oldernonethewiser

Nick_C said:

NotArobot24 said:

...

If I was in a hotel watching a TV they provided I would expect the hotel to provide the TVL.

If I were anywhere in the world using the BBC iPlayer app I would expect to pay for a TVL.

My understanding is that if you are in a Hotel, you can watch iPlayer and are covered by the hotel's license, as long as you not watching it on a battery operated device!  So plug your laptop into the mains, and you are covered by the hotel's licence.

If you are outside the UK, I don't think iPlayer works anyway.

A VPN can solve that problem