We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Watching recorded programmes after cancelling licence.

I now wish to cancel my tv licence as don't watch BBC, iPlayer or live broadcasts.

However, I have many recordings, made over the years, via my Humax.  So question is can I still legally watch them after I cancel the licence seeing as they were recorded when I had one?

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 120
    100 Posts Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Forumite
    edited 23 February 2025 at 8:49PM
    Yes. You can legally watch them. Cancel that licence!
  • Rodders53
    Rodders53 Posts: 3,024
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Forumite
    No.
    >:) You have broken Copyrights Law by recoding them... a dispensation existed while you had a TV Licence,,,  >:)


  • giraffe69
    giraffe69 Posts: 3,656
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Forumite
    If you had a licence when recording you haven't broken any potential copyright laws. Watching them is a different issue and I agree with the above comment no-one has any way of knowing anyway.
  • It's perfectly legal to watch those recordings. You only commit and offence if you watch or record "live TV"  without a licence. 
    If you recorded whilst you had a licence, you can still watch those recordings even after cancelling the licence. 
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,806
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Forumite
    Copyright is a bit of a red herring, here.   There is no exemption from copyright law simply because a TV Licence is in place.   The Licence is a licence to receive, and nothing else.

★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 355.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 456.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 248.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 605.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 179K Life & Family
  • 263.7K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.