TV licensing

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
We used to use a Humax freesat box as the LOTH was insistent on watching her soaps, however she's down to just one on ITV now so about six months ago we disconnected and removed the box to see if we could manage with just our streaming services. Sure enough we've been able to.

BBC iPlayer has been the one fly in the ointment, previously you didn't need a licence for catch-up / streaming, however the BBC moved the goalposts by requiring one for iPlayer. The BBC can naff right off if they think I'm going to give them £150 for iPlayer so this evening I have deleted my BBC account and requested the licence be cancelled. It's more expensive than Now TV!

Has anyone else sacked off the BBC and the attendant licence?
 

Rowlers

Massive Member
Staff member
Not yet, but I can see it snowballing. Lots of publicity about the increase this years and the removal of the free licence for the over 75s. Simply go to the advertising model and scrap the licence fee. I would cancel tomorrow, but the Mrs loves her Eastenders..
 

mbarno

Forum GOD!
Barring a bit of kids tv and the F1, didn’t watch regular TV.
Moved in to a new build, where all cables and setup is ready to just plug an aerial in, but I didn’t bother. Spending the £15/m on Netflix and amazon, and watch a lot more stuff than I used to do.

Whilst I declared it, should the tv license people come round, no aerial makes it quite easy to prove.




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Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
We don't have an aerial either, we do have a satellite dish but it's not connected to anything. We have Netflix and Amazon, I'm also considering Now TV as the monthly Entertainment or Movies pass is cheaper than the TV licence with the advantage that you can cancel it at any time.

Edit - Just realised that Now TV Entertainment includes live channels, so that's out.
 
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Benz3ne

Forum GOD!
We don't have an aerial either, we do have a satellite dish but it's not connected to anything. We have Netflix and Amazon, I'm also considering Now TV as the monthly Entertainment or Movies pass is cheaper than the TV licence with the advantage that you can cancel it at any time.
The following excerpt from the Tv Licensing website, from the 'Do I need a licence?' page - "An online TV service is any streaming or smart TV service, website or app that lets you watch live TV over the internet. This includes services like All 4, Sky Go, Virgin Media, Now TV, BT TV, Apple TV, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and ITV Hub."

Interesting/sneaky that they've included Now TV, Amazon Prime Video and, of all things, YouTube?!
 

Francorelli

Forum fella
Has anyone else sacked off the BBC and the attendant licence?
Not yet, but it's increasingly hard to justify the BBC charging £150 a year when the TV broadcasting climate has changed so much in recent years.

My only regular BBC consumption is radio (Radio 6 mostly, and 4 sometimes in the car). Once the kids are too old for CBeebies, I can't think of any reason to tune in to their TV output when there is such a range available from alternative streaming services.
 

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
The following excerpt from the Tv Licensing website, from the 'Do I need a licence?' page - "An online TV service is any streaming or smart TV service, website or app that lets you watch live TV over the internet. This includes services like All 4, Sky Go, Virgin Media, Now TV, BT TV, Apple TV, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and ITV Hub."

Interesting/sneaky that they've included Now TV, Amazon Prime Video and, of all things, YouTube?!
That is not only sneaky, it's wrong. Amazon Prime, and YouTube do not let you watch live TV and I'm pretty certain All 4 and ITV Hub don't either. We'll see what they say in response to the cancellation request, but we only ever watch stuff on catch-up which as it's not live should mean we don't need one.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/televisions/article/tv-licence-explained
 

Benz3ne

Forum GOD!
That is not only sneaky, it's wrong. Amazon Prime, and YouTube do not let you watch live TV and I'm pretty certain All 4 and ITV Hub don't either. We'll see what they say in response to the cancellation request, but we only ever watch stuff on catch-up which as it's not live should mean we don't need one.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/televisions/article/tv-licence-explained
They seem to be including 'streaming services' into the requirements for TV Licences, which in some cases unfortunately involve ITV Hub, All 4 etc. Some media allow you to download to watch later but some involve streaming... It's certainly a crap one though, very convoluted.
 
S

Steve Bowles

Guest
It's extortion. The BBC makes the rules and the government of the day accedes to their theft.
 

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
They seem to be including 'streaming services' into the requirements for TV Licences, which in some cases unfortunately involve ITV Hub, All 4 etc. Some media allow you to download to watch later but some involve streaming... It's certainly a crap one though, very convoluted.
If I was being cynical I’d suggest that they were doing it on purpose to make it harder for people to work out whether they need one or not in the hopes that they just get one.

I’d rather the BBC raised money through advertising, there’s precious little on there I want to watch.
 

Benz3ne

Forum GOD!
If I was being cynical I’d suggest that they were doing it on purpose to make it harder for people to work out whether they need one or not in the hopes that they just get one.

I’d rather the BBC raised money through advertising, there’s precious little on there I want to watch.
Hear, hear. That being said, I'm happy enough to pay the licensing fee and have the option to chuck in a Freeview box down the line, or watch something live in due course.
 

Futurerabbit1

Forum GOD!
Paying for a TV licence is the bain of my life ! I hate it and considering doing the exact same thing . It's a big payment especially as it's increased for the past 3 consecutive years ! [emoji36]

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