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Anonymous User
Not applicable

BBC TV Licence

I am thinking of cancelling my TV Licence.

Apart from the BBC iPlayer on NOW TV, is there anything else on the NOW TV service that would require a BBC TV Licence.

The BBC Licence website states that I only need a licence if I watch TV LIVE feeds and/or use the BBC iPlayer.

"You need to be covered by a TV Licence to

watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service
download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.
This applies to any provider you use and any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder."

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one

Thank you

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Andy
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User The rules are fairly clear -you don’t need a TV Licence if you never watch or record live TV programmes on any channel and you never download or watch  programmes on BBC iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

Regards NOW TV specifically, if you don't have a TV licence you need to avoid the live channels on the entertainment, cinema and kids passes, and you can't watch sports passes at all (as they only provide live channel streams). If you use a NOW TV box/stick you also need to avoid any live channel feeds in any of the other available apps (for instance ITV Hub and some of the music apps provide live channel feeds - you can watch on-demand/catch-up content in those apps but not the live channels). 

NOW TV's official help page is here

https://help.nowtv.com/article/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-watch-now-tv

With regards the BBC's use of the term 'TV receiving equipment' I think it's specifically designed to confuse people, but their definition of 'TV receiving equipment is 'any apparatus used or installed for licensable activity'. But the 'licensable activity' only refers to watching/recording live TV and using BBC iPlayer. Actually owning a TV or any other device capable of watching live TV is irrelevant - it's what you do with it that counts!

If you (really!) want to read their official policy then make yourself a strong cup of tea and see here!

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/ss/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=content-type&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1370006350329&ssbinary=true

View solution in original post

15 REPLIES 15
RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous Userseems to be trying to prove the old saying that the internet is a write-only medium Smiley Sad

 

But as I have said before, and obviously been completely ignored by him, though hopefully not by anybody relying on the incorrect definition of ‘live’, in this context, that he is using:-

 

The definition of ‘live’ (i.e. not recorded) that you are using is not the definition of ‘live’ (i.e. currently being broadcast) used in TV Licensing parlance, and this is made crystal clear by my posting three above this one (in the earlier thread), which presents a specific contradiction to what you assert, taken from the information in the link that you yourself gave.

 

It is not often that incorrect advice on here can expose someone to a hefty fine, or even a jail sentence, but this can.

 

So you owe it to your fellow NowTV users to go back, carefully reread everything in the document you linked to as if it was a love letter, and come back with a revised opinion.

 

Didn't work, did it? Smiley Sad

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
Jason-C
Community Administrator

Hi all,

 

Thanks for getting in touch.

 

We have an article on our Help site which aims to make this as clear as possible.

 

If you watch any live TV channels, or use BBC iPlayer, you need to have a TV licence.

 

@Anonymous User: Unfortunately your suggestion is incorrect, as mentioned by @RoyB. The "live" doesn't refer to events happening right now, but to the type of broadcast.

This is also made clear on the TV Licensing website: "Live TV means any programme you watch or record as it’s being shown on TV or live on any online TV service. It’s not just live events like sport, news and music. It covers all programmes on any channel, including soaps, series, documentaries and even movies."

 

@Anonymous User: If you're sure you don't watch any live TV, or use BBC iPlayer, you're well within your rights to cancel your TV licence. And I do like your idea of potentially separating things to avoid accidental viewing, although this would also impact people who are happily watching a mix of live and on demand.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks,

Jason

chai
Scholar 3

I can't see how a TV license would be needed when using “Watch from the start” option, as all that feature does is to play the episode from the NOW TV library (and these episodes are completely different from the live streams - no adverts/trails/channel idents...)

Mark_Weinreb
Legend 5
Legend 5

@chai Let me play Devil’s Advocate for a moment. A program starts at 8pm and finishes at 9pm. You don’t switch on until two minutes past 8 and get the option to watch from the start, which you take. Until the first commercial break you’re watching two mins behind. From then on until the next break, you’re probably watching (nearly) live. After the next break you will be watching ahead of anyone else watching the live broadcast and for you the program will stop at around 8:45.

I’m sure that the authorities would see this as the same as watching a Freeview/Freesat recording from the buffer as it is being recorded with a one or two minute delay. That is, you are watching it live.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

The watch from start bit would be an unnecessary risk anyway, you might as well just wait the 24 hours and watch the catchup version. It isn’t like you are missing out on anything by doing so. In our case we would quite happily go without the license, but my partner likes football, so of all things we can’t get away with is Match of the Day. We can even buy episodes of Strictly come dancing digitally if I must or what have you, but there’s no other legal way of getting Match of the day without a license.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

It doesn't matter if you cancel your tv licence if you subscribe to the Movies channel you can still get Sky Sports News when you go to TV Guide.

The detector person will know this and try to catch you out, even if you dont have the sky sports app on your app list, for the Sky Sports News you dont need it.