2 ms·

It's unhelpful to disagree with someone on a point of fact and to decline to provide a decent source. The result is that you've given the reader no reason to ta

It's unhelpful to disagree with someone on a point of fact and to decline to provide a decent source. The result is that you've given the reader no reason to take your word over the other person's. From what I can tell, your account of things is accurate. On the website [0][1][2] the requirements aren't concerned at all with what equipment you own or with how it's set up, only with the act of watching or recording live television broadcasts over any technology, including over the Internet. I imagine it still wouldn't hurt to disconnect your TV from the means to show live broadcasts, for the tiny off-chance things end up in court. I think spuz's account may have been accurate in pre-Internet days, but this seems harder to verify. [0] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/Live-TV-and-how-you-watch-it https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/L... [1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ99 https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ99 [2] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9#refund1 https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-A...

nailer 6y ago
> Live TV means any programme you watch or record as it’s being shown on TV or live on an online TV service. I find the wording here fascinating. Is watching a live stream over the YouTube app on my TV 'live TV'? Is watching a UFC event on the UFC app? What about the website? What is TV? Is a monitor? A monitor with an aerial? Video content transmitted over certain bands?
- M2Ys4U 6y ago
  >I find the wording here fascinating. Is watching a live stream over the YouTube app on my TV 'live TV'? Is watching a UFC event on the UFC app? What about the website? If it's broadcast simultaneously by other means (e.g. satellite, cable, terrestrial transmitter etc.) it counts as "live TV".
  - nailer 6y ago
    What if an event is on YouTube but also shown by satellite, cable, terrestrial transmitter etc? Does that mean I owe a license fee for YouTube? Am I obliged to check before every video? (Obviously these are ridiculous hypothetical questions, and I don't expect answers, but the policy itself is ridiculous)
    - gambiting 6y ago
      Yep, it technically does. If there is a live channel on Youtube showing say a football match, then yes, technically you have to pay a TV licence for watching it, since the same match is broadcast on a TV channel. I don't think the policy is that ridiculous, it's just that it's one of these where certain edge cases like this one can be safely ignored. You will be tracked and found if you use the BBC iPlayer without having paid the licence, you will not be found out for watching some random live youtube channel. It's an imperfect rule for a complex world.
      - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
        > If there is a live channel on Youtube showing say a football match, then yes, technically you have to pay a TV licence for watching it Sky offer a streaming service in the UK called NowTV which includes live TV streaming of their channels, as well as Netflix-style on-demand streaming from their library. They're very upfront that a TV licence is needed if you wish you watch their live channels over NowTV, [0] but one is not required for on-demand streaming. [0] https://help.nowtv.com/article/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-watch-now-tv https://help.nowtv.com/article/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-wat...
spuz 6y ago
Thanks for the clarification. It's possible that what I said used to be true but looks like it is no longer the case. It's also possible that in the pre-internet days, the fact that you had your TV connected to an aerial was used as strong circumstantial evidence that you actually watched live TV but it was never actually used as the sole basis to fine you.

nailer 6y ago

> Live TV means any programme you watch or record as it’s being shown on TV or live on an online TV service. I find the wording here fascinating. Is watching a live stream over the YouTube app on my TV 'live TV'? Is watching a UFC event on the UFC app? What about the website? What is TV? Is a monitor? A monitor with an aerial? Video content transmitted over certain bands?

M2Ys4U 6y ago
>I find the wording here fascinating. Is watching a live stream over the YouTube app on my TV 'live TV'? Is watching a UFC event on the UFC app? What about the website? If it's broadcast simultaneously by other means (e.g. satellite, cable, terrestrial transmitter etc.) it counts as "live TV".
- nailer 6y ago
  What if an event is on YouTube but also shown by satellite, cable, terrestrial transmitter etc? Does that mean I owe a license fee for YouTube? Am I obliged to check before every video? (Obviously these are ridiculous hypothetical questions, and I don't expect answers, but the policy itself is ridiculous)
  - gambiting 6y ago
    Yep, it technically does. If there is a live channel on Youtube showing say a football match, then yes, technically you have to pay a TV licence for watching it, since the same match is broadcast on a TV channel. I don't think the policy is that ridiculous, it's just that it's one of these where certain edge cases like this one can be safely ignored. You will be tracked and found if you use the BBC iPlayer without having paid the licence, you will not be found out for watching some random live youtube channel. It's an imperfect rule for a complex world.
    - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
      > If there is a live channel on Youtube showing say a football match, then yes, technically you have to pay a TV licence for watching it Sky offer a streaming service in the UK called NowTV which includes live TV streaming of their channels, as well as Netflix-style on-demand streaming from their library. They're very upfront that a TV licence is needed if you wish you watch their live channels over NowTV, [0] but one is not required for on-demand streaming. [0] https://help.nowtv.com/article/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-watch-now-tv https://help.nowtv.com/article/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-wat...

spuz 6y ago

Thanks for the clarification. It's possible that what I said used to be true but looks like it is no longer the case. It's also possible that in the pre-internet days, the fact that you had your TV connected to an aerial was used as strong circumstantial evidence that you actually watched live TV but it was never actually used as the sole basis to fine you.