Do I need a TV licence?

[Calamityspice]

I don't own a TV, I don't watch BBC iplayer or listen to BBC sounds.

I do however listen to BBC R4 & use the BBC news app on Android.

Do I need a licence?

[thebraketester]

No

[WonkeyDonkey]

Not for radio.

Only for the app if you stream BBC news as its being broadcast on TV.

[Funk]

What they both said.

Even if you owned a TV you wouldn't need a licence as long as you weren't watching or recording live TV as it's broadcast or using iPlayer on it (assuming a smart TV).

[Calamityspice]

I don't stream any news. The moment I discover that an article is a video rather than text, I exit.

I want to read my news, not watch it.

[48k]

Calamityspice said:

I want to read my news, not watch it.

If you're keen on reading, why not start with the TV Licensing website?

[voicey]

This thread has given me the opportunity to ask a (very minor) question that has been occasionally on my mind. I live alone and do not need a TV licence - on the odd time that I am home and watching TV, I only watch Netflix, Prime or Youtube.

My daughter stays with me regularly - she lives with her Mum and they have a TV licence. She has iPlayer on her iPad. Is she allowed to watch iPlayer when she is at my house? If she were anywhere else then her licence would cover her to do this but I'm not sure if her walking into an unlicensed home voids this.

[Floydey]

Not sure of the situation today, but a colleague joined a firm I worked for around 10 years back direct from TV licensing
She worked in an admin team and spent most days sending letters out chasing people who didn't have one, they would send several letters before it actually had anything other than a generated response
Allegedly the actual prosecutions (not necessarily successful) in Bristol per year was double digits on a good year

[A Winner Is You]

voicey said:

This thread has given me the opportunity to ask a (very minor) question that has been occasionally on my mind. I live alone and do not need a TV licence - on the odd time that I am home and watching TV, I only watch Netflix, Prime or Youtube.

My daughter stays with me regularly - she lives with her Mum and they have a TV licence. She has iPlayer on her iPad. Is she allowed to watch iPlayer when she is at my house? If she were anywhere else then her licence would cover her to do this but I'm not sure if her walking into an unlicensed home voids this.

I would assume not as the licence would only cover their property, but it does go to show how archaic the whole system is.

[Jakg]

voicey said:

This thread has given me the opportunity to ask a (very minor) question that has been occasionally on my mind. I live alone and do not need a TV licence - on the odd time that I am home and watching TV, I only watch Netflix, Prime or Youtube.

My daughter stays with me regularly - she lives with her Mum and they have a TV licence. She has iPlayer on her iPad. Is she allowed to watch iPlayer when she is at my house? If she were anywhere else then her licence would cover her to do this but I'm not sure if her walking into an unlicensed home voids this.

Yes - but only if she's using her iPad on battery. If it's on charge, it's not ok.

See - https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-on... - "Do I need a TV Licence if I watch on a mobile device?"

[Funk]

voicey said:

This thread has given me the opportunity to ask a (very minor) question that has been occasionally on my mind. I live alone and do not need a TV licence - on the odd time that I am home and watching TV, I only watch Netflix, Prime or Youtube.

My daughter stays with me regularly - she lives with her Mum and they have a TV licence. She has iPlayer on her iPad. Is she allowed to watch iPlayer when she is at my house? If she were anywhere else then her licence would cover her to do this but I'm not sure if her walking into an unlicensed home voids this.

Bizarrely she is allowed to watch iPlayer on her iPad as long as it's not plugged in to charge when she's watching (yes, really). If she plugs it in at your house it ceases to be covered by the licence at her mum's house. Welcome to the ridiculous, pointless and out-dated model of the 'TV licence'; it's a legacy of the rule which originally covered a 'portable device' such as a TV in a caravan away from home. As long as she charges it up and watches with it disconnected from the mains it would be covered.

Your own usage as described would not require a TV licence unless you were to watch Sky News' live feed on YouTube for example, at which point you WOULD require one (because you would be receiving a live TV feed as it was being broadcast).

[voicey]

Thanks guys. What a crazy situation! I shall let her watch iplayer on battery (I’ve previously said she can’t).

[Mr Pointy]

voicey said:

Thanks guys. What a crazy situation! I shall let her watch iplayer on battery (I’ve previously said she can’t).

Honestly, no-one is ever going to find out if she's watching while it's plugged in. She has a licence so it's not as if she's not contributing to the BBC running costs.

[V1nce Fox]

Mr Pointy said:

Honestly, no-one is ever going to find out if she's watching while it's plugged in. She has a licence so it's not as if she's not contributing to the BBC running costs.

what about those bullst fking empty vans the BBC use to pretend not to lie about being able to detect you with? the lying s.