You need a TV Licence to watch commercial channels?

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 20:22

Yes, you can watch Corrie to your heart's content :-).  We watch Sky Arts - Freeview channel 11, it has some great shows and series like Tales of the Unexpected. Also, Talking Pictures on channel 82 for old films. 

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 20:12

Thank you, Jackie.  I guess that means I can still watch 'Classic Coronation Street' (from the 1990s, I think) without breaking the law.  Even if it is a bit sad.

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 20:06

Hi Clive, you need a licence if you watch sport or other live events as they are happening.  You don't need a licence if you are watching recorded programmes on channels other than the BBC.  The BBC lobbied for the licence fee to be applicable when watching live programmes on any channel and the government agreed even though people pay subscriptions for some channels - eg. Amazon Prime, which shows live sports. It was a way for the BBC to receive income as the number of people now paying the licence fee has reduced enormously. 

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 19:21 (last edited on Mon 3 Jul 2023, 20:03)

James, I hope I didn't give the wrong impression.  I'm totally in favour of the TV licence, and only stopped having one because I didn't have a TV.  And you're right, the services it provides are worth every penny (if you have a TV).

What I don't understand is why I can't watch old programmes on ITV3, which is part of the ITV Hub.  Since the ones I might watch are over twenty years old, does that still count as 'live TV'?  It's also the fact that ITV programmes were always funded by their adverts, and not from the licence fee, so why can't you watch them without a licence?

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 19:06

What your TV licence pays for:

Nine national TV channels plus regional TV services 

Radio stations - 10 pan-UK, six national and 40 local

BBC website - including News, Sport, Weather, CBeebies, CBBC, Food, Bitesize, Arts, BBC Three

BBC iPlayer - 1000s of live and on demand programmes (including news, sport, dramas, comedy, documentaries, entertainment), box sets and exclusive content

BBC Sounds - a huge range of musical genres, radio stations and podcasts

BBC World Service - TV, radio and online

Other apps and online services like Bitesize, CBeebies, BBC Three, Food, News, Sport and Weather

Radio stations - 10 pan-UK, six national and 40 local

BBC website - including News, Sport, Weather, CBeebies, CBBC, Food, Bitesize, Arts, BBC Three

BBC iPlayer - 1000s of live and on demand programmes (including news, sport, dramas, comedy, documentaries, entertainment), box sets and exclusive content

BBC Sounds - a huge range of musical genres, radio stations and podcasts

BBC World Service - TV, radio and online

Other apps and online services like Bitesize, CBeebies, BBC Three, Food, News, Sport and Weather

You don’t need a TV Licence if you never watch live on any channel, TV service or streaming service, or use BBC iPlayer.  But it's pretty good value to be honest.

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 14:40

Been like that for years

Mon 3 Jul 2023, 13:37

About six years ago I lost TV reception overnight. I was told that I would need to have my aerial moved, but chose instead to get rid of my TV, and cancel my TV Licence.

I realized that I was no longer allowed to watch BBC or BBC iPlayer, but blithely assumed I was still allowed to watch commercial channels, such as ITV, Channel 4, or Channel 5, on my computer.

This morning I got an email from TV Licencing, telling me that “You’ll need a TV Licence if you:

Watch or record live TV on Sky, Virgin Media or BT

Watch or record live TV on any terrestrial channel, such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5

Watch or stream live content through online services like Amazon Prime Video, ITV Hub, All 4 and YouTube

Watch or download BBC programmes on iPlayer”

I had no idea you need a licence to watch TV programmes on commercial stations. Is this some recent legislation?

Anyway, I thought I’d bring it up just in case any of Charlbury’s good residents find they have been unwittingly breaking the law by, for example, watching ITV Hub or Amazon Prime on their computer without a TV licence.