TV Licence article Discussion

Watchkeeper

shahnina said:

What if i only watch netflix on my ipad - do i need a tv licence?

The TV licence is only needed if you watch or record TV programmes at the time of transmission, so-called "live programmes", or any programmes on the BBC's iPlayer. If you only watch on-demand programmes, catch-up programmes, box sets, video sharing sites like YouTube etc then you don't need a licence even if you do these things using your TV set.

This information is available on the BBC's own TV licensing Website. I'm not allowed to post links so please alter these accordingly:

h t t p s : / / w w w . t v li c e n s i n g . c o . u k / f a q s / F A Q 9 9
h t t p s : / / w w w . t v li c e n s i n g . c o . u k / f a q s / F A Q 1 0 4

wymondham

Watchkeeper said:

shahnina said:

What if i only watch netflix on my ipad - do i need a tv licence?

The TV licence is only needed if you watch or record TV programmes at the time of transmission, so-called "live programmes", or any programmes on the BBC's iPlayer. If you only watch on-demand programmes, catch-up programmes, box sets, video sharing sites like YouTube etc then you don't need a licence even if you do these things using your TV set.

This information is available on the BBC's own TV licensing Website. I'm not allowed to post links so please alter these accordingly:

h t t p s : / / w w w . t v li c e n s i n g . c o . u k / f a q s / F A Q 9 9
h t t p s : / / w w w . t v li c e n s i n g . c o . u k / f a q s / F A Q 1 0 4

One thing I would add, which also makes the licence terms ridiculous, is that on YouTube, you can't watch anything live that is also simultaneously being broadcast on terrestrial TV, such as Sky News, but other sites such as the Sun, which don't have a 'TV' presence are fine and outside of the licence. Its becoming obvious the licence is struggling in the modern age!

Deva2005

I am having HUGE battles with TV LICENCING at the moment. 
We have a foreign satellite dish, we only watch this,  you tube and other streaming apps.
Therefore, we should be excluded from the license, we don't watch ANY UK TV live at time of broadcasting. 
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

wymondham

david.richards27 said:

I am having HUGE battles with TV LICENCING at the moment. 
We have a foreign satellite dish, we only watch this,  you tube and other streaming apps.
Therefore, we should be excluded from the license, we don't watch ANY UK TV live at time of broadcasting. 
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks to the lovely progressive terms of the licence, if you watch ANY live broadcast via the dish you need a licence, UK or foreign content it makes no odds... a dish can only receive live broadcasts, so a licence is needed..... can you view the satellite content on catchup via the internet to bypass the licence requirement?

Watchkeeper

wymondham said:

One thing I would add, which also makes the licence terms ridiculous, is that on YouTube, you can't watch anything live that is also simultaneously being broadcast on terrestrial TV, such as Sky News, but other sites such as the Sun, which don't have a 'TV' presence are fine and outside of the licence. Its becoming obvious the licence is struggling in the modern age!

According to The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 we have the following:

Meaning of “television receiver”

9.—(1) In Part 4 of the Act (licensing of TV reception), “television receiver” means any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving (whether by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise) any television programme service, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose.

(2) In this regulation, any reference to receiving a television programme service includes a reference to receiving by any means any programme included in that service, where that programme is received at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public by virtue of its being broadcast or distributed as part of that service.

For me, the phrases "by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise" and "broadcast or distributed" indicates "broadcast 'over the air' or distributed by any other means e.g. the Internet". It's all very murky, and the present chaos is the result of trying to keep up with the onward march of technology and failing miserably.

wymondham

Watchkeeper said:

wymondham said:

One thing I would add, which also makes the licence terms ridiculous, is that on YouTube, you can't watch anything live that is also simultaneously being broadcast on terrestrial TV, such as Sky News, but other sites such as the Sun, which don't have a 'TV' presence are fine and outside of the licence. Its becoming obvious the licence is struggling in the modern age!

According to The Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 we have the following:

Meaning of “television receiver”

9.—(1) In Part 4 of the Act (licensing of TV reception), “television receiver” means any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving (whether by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise) any television programme service, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose.

(2) In this regulation, any reference to receiving a television programme service includes a reference to receiving by any means any programme included in that service, where that programme is received at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public by virtue of its being broadcast or distributed as part of that service.

For me, the phrases "by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise" and "broadcast or distributed" indicates "broadcast 'over the air' or distributed by any other means e.g. the Internet". It's all very murky, and the present chaos is the result of trying to keep up with the onward march of technology and failing miserably.

Makes me laugh that the licence still has the term 'telegraphy' in it...... you can tell it was written in the 40's!

Cornucopia

If we get one thing out of this review, it should be a definitive statement (ideally made by Government) as to what requires a Licence and what doesn't.   It shouldn't rely on people like us to advise others on whether their intended use requires a Licence - it should be clear, easy to understand and written in plain English.

Watchkeeper

wymondham said:

Makes me laugh that the licence still has the term 'telegraphy' in it...... you can tell it was written in the 40's!

Yes, I always think of Western films with the new-fangled telegraph and the operator wearing one of those peculiarly American eyeshades tapping out Morse code. Einstein famously said something along the lines of "telegraphy is like a cat with his tail in New York and his head in San Francisco. You pull his tail here, he meows there. Wireless telegraphy is exactly the same - except there is no cat."

cw18

Britbox.....

Someone has just suggested (in a FB group I'm a member of) that subscribing to Britbox enables you to watch BBC shows on catchup without needing a licence (she watches Eastenders and Holby City).     Is that really true?   Is there now a way to access BBC catch-up outside of iPlayer and not need one?

Cornucopia

cw18 said:

Britbox.....

Someone has just suggested (in a FB group I'm a member of) that subscribing to Britbox enables you to watch BBC shows on catchup without needing a licence (she watches Eastenders and Holby City).     Is that really true?   Is there now a way to access BBC catch-up outside of iPlayer and not need one?

I don't know what's on Britbox, but whatever it is doesn't require a TV Licence.   Same with the BBC programs on Netflix, Amazon, Youtube and UKTV player.   (The last one actually being owned by the BBC makes no difference).