Use BBC iPlayer? You'll need a TV licence

[alison]

I'm not sure just how much publicity this has got at present, but as of 1st September UK-based viewers who use BBC iPlayer (and other catch-up TV services?) will be required to have a licence in order to do so legally.  At present, a licence is only required if you watch television programmes as they are being broadcast.

[Ian Macmillan]

Alison:  It may already have started.  On trying to enter iPlayer a couple of days ago, I had to tick a box saying we had  a licence.

[John Mallinson]

A piece in the Guardian doesn't explain how it will work or be policed. This piece in the Mail points out some of the problems.

[alison]

I hope the legislation will also sort out the ridiculous problem of "battery-only" devices.  Currently, your TV licence technically covers you to watch TV at other than the licensed address - but only on a device which is capable of running on battery power only.  Most people's definition of "devices" in this day and age will cover lots of things which they can watch on battery or on mains (although isn't your phone supposed to be switched off when you recharge it?), but very little which is literally battery-only.  So yes, you will be able to watch catch-up on your mobile/tablet on the train or wherever, but unless they change the law you won't be covered by the TV licence (and would need a licence which covers that particular train, technically, is my reading of it!). It's really annoying, because I have one of those digital TV dongle-things that you plug into the computer so you can watch TV, and I thought I'd take it into the office for Wimbledon/the Olympics and so on, but I'm not covered for non-battery-operated devices by my licence there, so have had to disable the TV part of it! 

[Colman]

It'd be nice if us in foreign parts could pay for a license too.

[Quintus]

I have to pay for two TV licenses and would happily forgo the pleasures of the BBC, or put up with adverts on it, in order to avoid that.  It seems an archaic and heavy handed way of collecting revenue.  I  know the Beeb is something of a sacred cow (and maybe even a 'scared cow' as autocorrect just suggested), but it seems to have strayed way from its original remit into very generalist territory and with dubious political objectivity.  I watch a lot of films from subscription services, but only really use live TV for news, so the license really grates.

[Geoff]

only really use live TV for news, so the license really grates.

News is arguably the thing TV does worst (for one thing, it takes the whole of the 10 O'Clock News to read only one mid-length newspaper article, which gives an indication of the ampunt of compression involved) This seems a poor use of your money. Judicious use of the internet provides both more up-to-date and more in-depth news than any TV bulletin, as well as pictures if necessary (and the ability to filter out news - in my case sport - which is irrelevant to you).