MSE News: TV licence fee to rise to £180 a year from 1 April 2026 – here's what you need to know

MSE_Abby

The annual cost of a standard colour TV licence will rise to £180 from 1 April 2026 – an increase of £5.50 on the current price of £174.50 a year – the Government has announced…

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https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/02/tv-licence-fee-rise/

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IOWJJBTM2025

Only 3.15% increase - Out of all the cost of living rises this is not the highest.

ButterCheese

It might not be as much as the CPI, but it certainly still offers very poor value for money compared to other streaming services, who might I add also have no adverts. I also object to the lies they tell about "detecting your aerial receiving a signal" and other such scare tactics.

£14.50/month when half their content is drab sitcoms and golden oldies. "Competing" with Netflix and the like for ~£8/month for single subscription. But the main difference is every other platform doesn't threaten you with court just for owning a TV

Cornucopia

There are scare tactics, but I don't think they've spoken about detecting "things" from your aerial for at least several decades.

You also wouldn't go to court for simply owning a TV (and they don't say that you would).

Kim_13

I suspect they would raise more revenue if they had different types of licence - iPlayer only, Live TV only or both. When they still sell a black and white licence (surely none of these sets are still working by now, and even if they were, they are far more out of date than the phones people are being forced to upgrade) it seems strange in the extreme to not offer such options.

IOWJJBTM2025

I just see the TV license as just another bill we have to pay. Is TV value for money? - not in my opinion.

£15 per month for repeats. I impressed the wife last week when we sat down to watch the one percent club. I got all the answers correct - even the one percent question. Afterwards I confessed that it was the third time I had seen it.

My father in law passed over 4 years ago and his flat is still in probate. After his passing my wifes family emptied the property and donated remaining unwanted furniture to the hospice charity where he passed away. I took the liberty of storing my scooter in the ground floor garage over the winter last year. We used to get very aggressive letters from TV Licensing indicating all sorts of threats because there is no TV license for the property. Last year just before the summer I was fitting a new battery to my scooter with the garage door open and all of a sudden a chap from TV Licensing presented himself. He told me that he had information that someone has been watching TV at the property and he needed to check. I explained that the property was empty and in probate for over 4 years. I even showed him all the letters from TV licensing that are on the shelf in the garage. (The letter box is in the garage door) I made a deal with him - If I let you into the property will you cease sending letters to the address?

I showed him around - the place is empty as explained. The chap was apologetic and agreed that no person was living in the property and left. He sited that there must have been some mis information and confirmed that he would rectify the file on the system.

Seven months later my wife called in last week to check the property She looked at the mail and we have received two letters addressed to my father in law again from TV Licensing. The flat is still empty and still in probate.

oldernonethewiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81879841#Comment_81879841

Your mistake was letting anyone from TVL into the property.

When a relative died I cancelled their licence and was refunded the remainder of the year without any issues.

I get letters from them every month which all go in the recycling. Don't have a TV and don't watch live TV on any device.

ButterCheese

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81879146#Comment_81879146

Of course I was paraphrasing. They do say that owning a TV or device capable of watching BBC content without a license could result in a £1000 fine and possibly prison if you don't pay it. So yes, they do

oldernonethewiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880031#Comment_81880031

I wonder why on earth they would say that as it isn't true.

mta999

You don't need a licence to own a TV

You don't even need a license to watch a TV

What you do need a license for is to watch live broadcasts on TV (and to.use iPlayer)

oldernonethewiser

Addendum to the above - you need a licence to watch live programmes as broadcast, not necessarily on a TV.