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

mta999

Additional.addendum - you need a licence to record live programs as broadcast, even if you watch them later on.

You need a colour TV licence even if you record in black and white

Cornucopia

When a lot of people, including (probably) some from MSE are ditching their Licences, it's important for everyone to have access to accurate information about the law, and how BBC/TV Licensing interpret it.

a) You need a Licence to watch or record TV broadcasts via traditional reception methods (Terrestrial, Satellite or Cable TV). They use the word "live" but it's unhelpful since it already has a different meaning to the one they intend.

b) You also need a Licence to watch the programs in (a) when they are streamed over the internet concurrently to their broadcast. (There is some lack of clarity over this in TVL verbiage that people viewing e.g. live sport on Amazon should be aware of).

c) You also need a Licence to watch or download BBC TV content from iPlayer.

Anything else either doesn't require a Licence or it doesn't affect whether a Licence is needed or not.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/tv-licence/

If there's any evidence of the BBC/TV Licensing or the government saying something different to this I would definitely like to see it.

Inevitably, the legislation is somewhat more complicated, but the offence TV Licensing prosecute is receiving TV broadcasts or BBC content on iPlayer without a relevant licence.

grandadgolfer

To be honest and I could be wrong but I think people are just refusing to pay regardless of whether they watch live tv or not, and have clearly had enough of the BBC with their shocking behaviour / lies / misinformation & rubbish programmes

mta999

I don't think.you are wrong.

brewerdave

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881512#Comment_81881512

Yup, and as more people move over from watching via dish or aerial to online ………….

IOWJJBTM2025

Just to add to my previous post where my Father in Law's empty property gets letters from TV licensing. Here is one of the recent letters where it details the circumstances that you need a TV license.

I did not know that to watch You Tube on an Ipad you need a TV License?

I should re-state - my father in laws property is empty and nobody lives there. Once the solicitors sort out the Land Registry issues the property will finally be sold. I have a TV License and live three miles away.

Cornucopia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881751#Comment_81881751

You don't need a Licence to watch Youtube, as such. The key phrase in the letter is "live TV", by which they mean TV broadcasts.

TimeLord1

Since they seem to be transferring future content to YouTube, you might eventually be required to pay them a new license fee for viewing YouTube. Copyrighting anything BBC owned that is used on YouTube they're all over that.

grandadgolfer

People are just cancelling or requesting refunds regardless even if they are watching live tv / iPlayer as they’ve had enough of the BBC

Cornucopia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881795#Comment_81881795

It would require a change in the law to make BBC content on Youtube licenceable - even more so to make Youtube itself licenceable (and that might be difficult given that YT is an American enterprise).