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I'm not sure that's ever been true. You need a licence to watch any broadcast TV because it also pays for the infrastructure the other channels use.

• maccard 7y ago
  You need a license to watch broadcast TV, or to watch content on BBC iPlayer. If you're watching archived content on 4od or itv player, you don't need a licence, but if you're watching on iPlayer you do
• DanBC 7y ago
  You need a licence to watch any live tv service. The law was changed in 2016(?) to add BBC iPlayer catchup services. It doesn't include other channel's catch up service, so you don't need a licence if you only watch catch up on 4OD.
• ben_w 7y ago
  I think you may have misunderstood me. Broadcast TV does indeed require a license, but catch-up services are not broadcast TV, and I’m referring to that. To quote from the TV licensing website: ””” Do I need a TV Licence for all on demand programmes? No. You don’t need a licence if you only ever watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer* (and you also never watch live TV programmes on any channel, including on iPlayer). You don’t need to be covered by a licence to watch any films or TV shows that you buy online. *You don’t need a licence to watch S4C TV on demand or listen to radio on iPlayer. You also don’t need one to watch films or TV shows on iPlayer that you’ve bought on the BBC Store.””” https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/bbc-iplayer-and-the-tv-licence https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/b...
  • SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
    It's an interesting situation because Channel 4 are also classed as a public broadcaster and do benefit from some (albeit small) percentage of license revenue.
  • sleavey 7y ago
    My mistake indeed, thanks for clearing that up.