TV Licence article Discussion 18 March 2008 at 12:39PM edited 14 June 2010 at 4:08PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 3.8K replies 390.2K views

cw18

I'm totally confused by what's meant by "public service broadcast catch-up TV". It's either a broadcast or it isn't. To me public service means things like news and weather, not the soaps.

Cornucopia

Assuming they mean PSB as in the OFCOM definition, then its BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, C4 and 5.

GingerBob_3

ScoobyZ wrote: »

Just on the news they are closing the live TV loophole. You will have to pay again soon. I'm pleased to see that, too many people expecting something for nothing these days.

It'll be interesting to see how they propose to "enforce" that one.

ScoobyZ

"It would involve changing the law so that people who watch TV via the iPlayer and other online catch-up services would have to have a TV licence."

Cornucopia

Mr Whittingdale also confirmed plans to bring forward legislation to modernise the licence fee next year "to cover public service broadcast catch-up TV"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33414693

As a very general rule, the more detailed coverage tends to be the more accurate. It's because the non-detailed coverage has been hacked around by unintelligent sub-editors to make it "easier for people to understand".

roddydogs

ScoobyZ wrote: »

"It would involve changing the law so that people who watch TV via the iPlayer and other online catch-up services would have to have a TV licence."

All very well, but the Genies now out of the bottle, how would you prove that anyone with internet connection (or even with data) is watching the I.Player?

cw18

By asking the ISP for details of sites that have been visited. So the big question is whether the BBC will be allowed to apply for that information.......

Cornucopia

roddydogs wrote: »

All very well, but the Genies now out of the bottle, how would you prove that anyone with internet connection (or even with data) is watching the I.Player?

You can't, and that's why the most plausible scenario for enforcement is this:-

- the BBC will lock iPlayer to a Licence by requiring a Licence Number as part of a user profile. There will be various checks to ensure that a Licence Number is restricted to X number of user profiles (maybe 5 or 6).

- the TVL doorsteppers will continue as now, but when they ask if you watch TV, that will also include catch-up services of PSBs.

- nothing else, because there is nothing rationally and practically that can be done.

cw18 wrote: »

By asking the ISP for details of sites that have been visited. So the big question is whether the BBC will be allowed to apply for that information.......

Extremely unlikely, IMHO. And it would only be part of the picture, anyway.

roddydogs

So youll only need 1 licence between 6 "Friends", cant see that bringing in much.

cw18

Another scenario I just thought of....

Sometimes when I visit the BBC news pages (which isn't often), there's a video clip from the news broadcast. Will watching that count as watching catch-up TV?