My TV license is due for renewal - AIBU to think that I don't need one?

[Prontoe]

So I'm wondering what I need a TV license for.
For some reason, I have it in my head that I need it for BBC (never watch).
I do watch live Sky TV.
Do I need to renew it?

Why not just not watch your shows live, get now TV to save money on sky and only pay £3 a month instead of god knows what you pay for sky and licence?

Anyone paying for sky now is being ripped off massively.

I don't think the OP pays for Sky, Aly News is free to watch and available on most freebies boxes

If all you use it for is Sky News then I'd just find some other medium for keeping up with current affairs.

Tootletum

Channel four also gets some licence payer money I thought. So 4od would already put you in the frame.

This is not true. You only pay if you watch any TV live.

Watching 4od, itv player and 5s online service do not mean you need a TV licence. These channels are funded by ads and always have been.

Ok, well that's 170 gone then it seems

It’s £157. And you can play monthly, which is what I do.

Yes you have to have a licence if you watch any live TV on any channel.

If you don't use BBC or iplayer then no, you do not need a license.

However ,you'll be harassed relentlessly by letters and potentially visits, if you don't have one.

I didn't have one for 20 years (never watched TV nor iplayer). Got letters about monthly. They won't stop, it doesn't matter what you do. Irritating, and a real waste of paper.

If you don't use BBC or iplayer then no, you do not need a license.

As a 101 previous posters pointed out, this is wrong. If you watch any live TV then you need a licence. Even if the only live TV you watch is Sky news or BT sport, you need a licence. You also need a licence for iplayer, as you said. But for the live TV you watch, it's got nothing to do with what channel it is or who the provider is.

Or you could decide not to bother and risk a £1,000 fine/

Haha - you've hit a sore spot there because Sky have taken £31 this month, so I'm screwed I think. I got a good rate with a Sky mobile, on the proviso that I stayed with SKy TV. Fuck. I've been screwed.

And of course you can't talk to Sky these days

£31!! I guess if you have good a good deal on your phone maybe it's not quite as bad as it sounds.

Re the relentless letters if you don't have a license. I went on the website and completed info in an online form to say I don't need a license and got one letter a year confirming this, reminding me if my viewing changed I would need one.

Yeah sorry you've been screwed. You could have now TV for £3 a month (just keep saying you will cancel, the cancellation process usually offers you a discount to stay, I paid £1.20 for 3 months once). Then Netflix for £8 a month and amazon prime for £8 a month. So £19 total if you're lucky for more shows than sky alone will give you. You could add movies on now TV too for £7 (that's the discount they offered me at least after the free trial).

If you don't use BBC or iplayer then no, you do not need a license. That simply is not true!

I too spent over a decade without a television and got a letter once a year, to confirm I still had no need of a licence.

Prontoe £31? And you only watch the news channel that is free to watch anyway? Cancel it! You can get better phone rates. Mine is £5 a month tacked onto my broadband! Now you have time, shop around!

Your TV needs to be licenced if it is "Installed" and "Capable of receiving live TV Broadcasts."

You can avoid the need to pay a licence fee if you have a smart TV that has no aeriel attached and on which you watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITV Hub, All4, My5 etc, but only to stream recorded programmes.

There is so much woe about paying a TV licence which works out at less than a pound per day! For this you get some very good Drama without commercial breaks ,and a great deal of news programmes as well . I would wager most people spend a great deal more on their phones each month!

Okay, apologies. I haven't had a TV since I was about 19, so haven't watched live TV in my home in that time. I presumed if one didn't have a TV one wouldn't need a license. Mea culpa!

I have a license now, just to watch iPlayer.

There is so much woe about paying a TV licence which works out at less than a pound per day!

I cancelled my license when I had about £100 disposable income a month! I disagree about the quality. The news/investigative programmes are rubbish. Their online news isn't great either. Some good drama but not a patch on Netflix - for a lot less.

The only thing BBC does (fantastically) well is radio. Which you don't need a licence for.

Well I'm trying to cancel contract with Sky, but apparently I'm locked in until January of next year.
I just won't watch anything and then I won't need to pay the damned thing. I just can't justify the cost for something that I never watch!