Giving up on broadcast TV

dosh37

Another Easter holiday full of TV repeats on Freeview…

Hidden Figures, The Green Mile, The Imitation Game, Top Gun, Toy Story, Bigbang Theory, Top Gear, Porridge, Repair Shop etc, etc. Surprisingly no Sink The Bismark or Crocodile Dundee.

Expecting viewers to pay over £175/year for endless repeats plus adverts is a joke.

The name Freeview (and Freely) is ironic given that it isn't free.

I don't think I will be renewing my license this year - although I may get a Raspberry Pi plus tuner HAT. Let's see the licence goons figure that out if they decide to pay a visit.

grandadgolfer

Well done for breaking free you’ll be amused at all the letters they’ll send you

MynameisMichaelCane

My understanding is that if you don't watch any 'live' TV or BBC Iplayer, then you don't need a licence. I stopped paying and got several letters, some rather threatening, but when I worked out how to confirm that I didn't need a licence the letters stopped.

Peter999_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951616#Comment_81951616

You also can't record live TV either. This means using a Raspberry Pi with a tuner HAT (in the OP) to record TV would mean you are committing a criminal offence. That's enough for me to pay for a TV licence - even though I don't watch much live TV I still do occasionally.

Cornucopia

A TV Licence is required to watch or record TV broadcasts, or to view BBC content on iPlayer.

Everything else (commercial catch-up and on-demand, anything on physical media) doesn't require a Licence.

I don't know what the MSE position is on this, but I would have thought that giving up the Licence legally was the way to go.

Also, the idea of using a Pi to defeat detection or inspection doesn't really work, because there isn't generally detection or inspection happening.

Ayr_Rage

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951315#Comment_81951315

I'm up to letter 5 since 18 December, my last declaration apparently expired 18 November 2025 although there isn't even a legal requirement to submit one.

First 2 arrived at the same time, one to Mr X Y ZZZZZ, another to Mr X ZZZZZ with different reference numbers, both dated 18 December.

The next 2 were dated 21 January and 18 February and were addressed to the Present Occupier, a different reference to the 2 with my name on.

The latest dated 18 March giving me a 10 DAY WINDOW to get correctly licensed was addressed to The Legal Occupier, same reference as the middle 2.

The window closes 8 April, I'm trembling in my boots.

grandadgolfer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951644#Comment_81951644

You could of course just refuse to pay / cancel etc in protest the disgraceful way the BBC spend the licence fee money, and still watch live tv as the tv licence fee will be dead in the water soon

Peter999_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951817#Comment_81951817

Yes, and I would be then committing a criminal offence which I would not do. You can't just pick and choose your laws.

In my career you just cannot do things like this, I cannot have a criminal record if I want a new contract. It's similar to celebrities being cancelled - it can happen whether they do anything wrong or not so I have to be squeaky clean.

Cornucopia

TV Licence evasion is a non-recordable offence.

The letters from BBC/TVL are a curious combination of hollow threats, dressing up administrative processes as if they were law (they aren't), and generally misusing marketing gimmicks to mislead the Public.

Anyone receiving them should apply a large pinch of salt to what they say, or they can be binned or returned unopened.

Ayr_Rage

@Cornucopia not correct, in Scotland criminal law applies.

grandadgolfer

The only criminal thing is the BBC and all the coverups