EPTDo I need to pay to watch football or other sporting events via livestream even though they are not from the UK. How about Netflix and things like that? Or Stacraft matches?
Help, anyone?
Explain TV Licenses [UK]
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DragoonPK
3259 Posts
Do I need to pay to watch football or other sporting events via livestream even though they are not from the UK. How about Netflix and things like that? Or Stacraft matches? Help, anyone? | ||
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sixfour
England11061 Posts
It's a horrible regressive tax enforced by scumbags that needs to be abolished and then have the BBC funded through general taxation | ||
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DragoonPK
3259 Posts
On September 29 2012 21:12 sixfour wrote: You need one if you have a TV that's receiving content. If you're just watching sc2 streams then no, it's not needed. It's a horrible regressive tax enforced by scumbags that needs to be abolished and then have the BBC funded through general taxation I don't have a tv, I simply use my laptop for streaming stuff like I used to back home. So this is all pretty weird to me :/. Thing is I'm going to be watching live football and maybe TV content but on a PC, does that count in as well? | ||
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Sethronu
United Kingdom450 Posts
They will send you a letter / have someone visit your place even if you don't watch anything TV related at all though, and insist that you should pay for a license - you can just tell them that you don't have a TV, and don't watch TV channels, and that'll be the end of that. I haven't paid for a license in the ~10 years I spent in the UK, but I do get a letter from them every few years telling me how 'if' I watch TV, I 'should' buy a license. | ||
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netherh
United Kingdom333 Posts
On September 29 2012 21:17 DragoonPK wrote: I don't have a tv, I simply use my laptop for streaming stuff like I used to back home. So this is all pretty weird to me :/. Thing is I'm going to be watching live football and maybe TV content but on a PC, does that count in as well? As I understand it, if you're watching live streams from the BBC iPlayer or other UK television channels then yes you should have a license (http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/playing_tv_progs/tvlicence). Otherwise no. Have to say I disagree with sixfour about abolishing the license. Not everyone wants a TV... | ||
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two_sheds
Croatia104 Posts
Last year there was a discussion in parliament to charge that fee to computer and cellphone users too (As they can also reproduce tv and radio signal). There was a simmilar discussion in France i think. Don't know how are things in UK, but in Croatia if you don't pay a fee, randomly a "TV inspector" would come at your door to check that you really don't owe a TV set. | ||
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Lyter
United Kingdom2145 Posts
So for example if you wanted to watch some random sitcom tonight live through the bbc website, you need a license, but you don't need a license if you wanted to watch it on iPlayer the next day. You don't need it for shit like sc2 streams and twitch etc. | ||
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Capped
United Kingdom7236 Posts
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sixfour
England11061 Posts
On September 29 2012 21:49 netherh wrote: Have to say I disagree with sixfour about abolishing the license. Not everyone wants a TV... and i'd like not to have to pay for nuclear defences, but what the government taxes us for isn't really our choice | ||
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calgar
United States1277 Posts
On September 29 2012 21:43 Sethronu wrote: Technically, you need to have a TV license if you watch any 'live' TV content, be it on an actual TV or on your computer. So if you have like a TV receiver thingy in your laptop and actually watch BBC channels live, you're supposed to have a license. They will send you a letter / have someone visit your place even if you don't watch anything TV related at all though, and insist that you should pay for a license - you can just tell them that you don't have a TV, and don't watch TV channels, and that'll be the end of that. I haven't paid for a license in the ~10 years I spent in the UK, but I do get a letter from them every few years telling me how 'if' I watch TV, I 'should' buy a license. Is this actually a law or is it kind of like a debt collector who just harasses you? Could you go to jail if convicted? | ||
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RookUK
United Kingdom283 Posts
A television licence is required for each household where television programmes are watched as they are broadcast, irrespective of the signal method (terrestrial, satellite, cable or the Internet). A licence is not required, however, if you use your television only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch programmes on your computer after they have been shown on TV. Apparently if you get prosecuted the maximum fine is £1,000 but it's normally a lot less than that. I used to get hassled a bit about it at university, but I only ever streamed things after the fact. As long as this is the case and you let TV Licensing know, it's fine. Incidentally, a license is required per "household", but if you're in a student room on a university campus that is counted as a household under the rules. It's possible that, even if you inform TV Licensing that you don't need a license, they'll still send an inspector round - it's pretty unlikely, though. | ||
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adwodon
United Kingdom592 Posts
I havent had a licence in several years, I've had people come round to visit. I show them my TV is plugged into just an xbox and a dvd player, and in my last house I didn't even know where the aerial for TV was, he had a look and couldn't find it either. They know TV isn't popular with our generation so they don't bother pursuing it. You can own a TV and not require a licence, its only for |terrestrial TV or iPlayer (technically), as mentioned. If the only thing you would ever use is iPlayer they wont know, maybe if you do it lots, I did it for the olympics but thats the only live TV ive watched in my house ever, besides GSL, which they obviously wouldn't count. If you watch things over the internet they will never know, they can't track it because the ISP would never give them that information and frankly it would be an outrage if they spent licence fee money on enforcing it because most people pay anyway. | ||
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netherh
United Kingdom333 Posts
On September 29 2012 23:45 Capped wrote: Its because of the BBC, period, not any live content. Well, obviously it's only UK-based television broadcasts, but you only need a license for live streams though, not "catch-up" streams. I think there's more to it than just the BBC, since Channel 4 say the same thing on their website - that you need a license for watching things live. I guess it's something to do with the license also paying for TV broadcasting infrastructure. On September 30 2012 01:03 sixfour wrote: and i'd like not to have to pay for nuclear defences, but what the government taxes us for isn't really our choice True, but I think that's more reason not to integrate the license fee with taxes. Though I guess there's other taxes that remain separate (fuel / road taxes for example), so I suppose it could be done through TV sales or something. *shrugs* | ||
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