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Original poster

TV license to watch iplayer!

120 replies

flutterbybutterflies · 03/09/2016 16:27

I can't believe it! Haven't had a tv license for over a decade (refuse to pay for Mostly crap telly so use catch up.
But now can't access iplayer without a license!
Thank God the Olympics & Fleabag have finished. Am I missing out by ditching the iplayer?
There's no way I'm getting a license. Is there a way around paying for a license I wonder? Hmm

OP posts:
KP86 · 04/09/2016 07:59

Actually, I've got that confused. It's the other way around.

If you have a licence at your residential address, you are allowed to watch BBC somewhere without a licence on your own device as long as you aren't plugged in.

But if you don't have a licence at home there is nothing stopping you from watching (plugged in or not) at someone's house who does.

MrsJamin · 04/09/2016 08:12

I think it's bad how people have been able to watch iplayer for years without paying a licence. Why should you get something for free? So bloody entitled. Pay up or stop watching.

kittyjewel · 04/09/2016 08:20

Thank you KP86 for the knowledgable info! I have a licence, but seriously for people that don't & who continue to watch, on tablet, how on earth can they catch them? Unless they catch them in the act? There will be so many not adhering to the rules even now.

kittyjewel · 04/09/2016 08:26

They should make you sign in now on the app, with licence details etc to prove & verify that you have one. People saying people are watching it for free while we pay for them to do so, well we're not really. We are paying for our own. The licence covers one household, but like KP86 said if you have a licence you can watch iplayer elsewhere as long as it's not plugged into the mains.

HermioneWeasley · 04/09/2016 08:31

I am bloody delighted they've closed the loophole.

Quality TV isn't a human right - if you want it, you need to pay in

Anybody who has spent any time in th US can see what the alternative is when all TV is commercial and funded by advertising and sponsors

GinAndSonic · 04/09/2016 08:34

Channel4 doesn't get any of the licence fee
www.channel4.com/4viewers/faq/name/does-channel-4-get-any-of-the-licence-fee/id/400286880

I've deleted iplayer.
If the morality police could refrain from the "LISTENING TO THE RADIO AND READING THE NEWS IS FREELOADING" in response to that I'd be most obliged, as I don't use BBC news, coz it's shite, or listen to BBC radio, because it's also shite. Cheers.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 04/09/2016 08:36

Gladly pay it to watch TV and listen to radio without adverts. We occasionally stream sports from American TV and it's painful/impossible to watch for all the advertising.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/09/2016 08:36

What a PP said- just watch it on your iPad.

OurBlanche · 04/09/2016 08:46

The TV licence fee funds all BBC services, including the radio and website which you can continue to use without paying.

There is usually lot of misunderstadnig about what the licence fee is for. Broady speaking this is what happens:

It is a licence that allows the holder the right to watch ALL live broadcast televison, EVERY station.

The BBCs remit included the fact hat they had to collect the licence fee. They pay all the associated costs with doing it! They have a legal obligation to do so.

They give ALL of the collected money to the DCMS. Every year a sub department of the DCMS decides how much money the BBC will get, it has always equalled the amount raised via the licence.

(I wonder if/when that will change?)

So, whist it is true that no other broadcaster gets any of the licence money, technically , neither does the BBC!

kittyjewel · 04/09/2016 08:48

Even watching it on your iPad you need a licence if you haven't already got one. What about people that don't have licences who watch it while commuting say on a long train journey etc? It's impossible to catch them. So you can still get away with it. Even at home, if you don't have a licence, watching it on iPad, I don't see how they can prove you watched it, or physically catch you in the act. They can hardly take your tablet to be analysed, checked? Unless it transmits a signal from iPad which I doubt, but I'm no tech! The only possible way to try stop it is to give licence details, address etc in order to access iplayer. There will be so many people not obiding by the rules. But why risk it? For the sake of £12 a month? Coz if you get caught it's a grand fine. Not worth it in my eyes.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2016 08:51

What a PP said- just watch it on your iPad.

Which is illegal.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2016 08:59

There will be so many people not obiding by the rules.

As there are now and as there have been for many years. There will always be people who think rules/laws don't apply to them.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/09/2016 08:59

But only the live telly bit plugged into the ariel, otherwise it isn't.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2016 08:59

Yes it is.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2016 09:04

The only loophole is if you are a student. You can watch provided your permanent home address (parents) has a license. But if you plug something in then the address needs a license.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2016 09:06

Most of the time, if you are watching iPlayer on any portable device (a laptop, smartphone or tablet), no matter where you are, you need a license covering your permanent address.

But if you plug in that device, then the home or other building you are plugging it into must be covered by a licence. This is most relevant for students living in halls: if they want to watch iPlayer on a device without plugging it in, then they would normally be covered by their parents’ licence. But as soon as they begin charging, they need a separate one covering their own room at university

The home license covers anyone out of the house, not just students.

kittyjewel · 04/09/2016 09:09

They need to be crystal clear on the rules, as it's quite obvious some people are confused, and don't know if they are breaking the law or not. But we don't enforce the law, & neither are we paid to monitor it to do so. So to be honest I don't care what other people choose to do, as long as my ass is covered I'm not bothered. But I do recommend that people read up on the rules if unsure. We're not paying for their privileges, we are paying for our own. If they want the bayliffs round or want to cough up a grand knowing they are doing wrong, then that's up to them.

OurBlanche · 04/09/2016 10:25

The home license covers anyone out of the house, not just students. Not if there is someone at the home address watching at the same time. Students are a caveat. The original idea was that it alloedd the householder to watch TV in their summer caravan... but not if there was someone at home using the same license...

It is a collection of now quite quaint ideas enshrined in laws that haven't really kept up with the times.

I suspect there will be a wholesale revision at some point. When the BBC haters may well get their wish... which will probably prove the old saw: Be careful what you wish for....

Gmbk · 04/09/2016 10:25

Just freaking pay if you watch the BBC. It's that simple.

Why is everyone trying to find a loophole! It's £12 per month.

IAmNotAMindReader · 04/09/2016 12:07

I am not trying to find a loop hole. I didnt use iplayer when you didnt need a license. I dont now. I dont listen to radio either. I dont view the bbc news site and I dont watch bbc content even if it has been syndicated to anither provider. The Jimmy Saville scandal left a bad taste in my mouth so I refuse to support them in any way. Does that satisfy the holier than thou here? Or do they think everyone should legally have to pay to support an establishment quite happy to cover up illegal activity performed by its employees?

IAmNotAMindReader · 04/09/2016 12:29

Oh and I do not watch live tv either.

Gmbk · 04/09/2016 14:27

Well if you don't want to give money to any establishment who covers up scandals then it's time you stopped paying tax, supermarkets, online retailers (the list is endless). Funny how Jimmy Saville is wheeled out as an excuse.

IAmNotAMindReader · 04/09/2016 17:31

I beg your fucking pardon Angry. What an imbecilic puerile and childish view Angry.
Did Apple or Amazon CEO's molest children? Did they molest ill children in hospitals? Did they then ignore repeated complaints about it? No, so climb down off your own fucking high horse. Tax evasion does not in any way equate with destroying children's lives in the way this was done and then employing a conspiracy of silence about it. I don't shop online and I do use local businesses wherever possible, so stick that one in your pipe and stop treating people who don't wish to use the BBC services and therefore not pay for them as granny mugging scum.

cashmoneyhoney · 04/09/2016 17:31

GMBK
Do you work for the BBC? Wink

cashmoneyhoney · 04/09/2016 17:34

What Iamnotamindreader said

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