BBC closing TV licence loophole for iPlayer catch-up service

TV Licensing’s research shows that two in three students watch catch-up TV online, with only 22 per cent taking a television with them to university.

All iPlayer users must now own a TV licence, regardless of whether or not they watch programmes live.

Why is this change being made now?

The Government set out plans to update licence fee legislation, as part of negotiations which saw the corporation agreeing to cover the cost of free licences for the over-75s.

Announced in March, the then-culture secretary said changes were needed because a “loophole” was giving some people a “free ride”.

The BBC said it hoped the changes would help give the public broadcaster “funding certainty”.

Bad news for BBC iPlayer devotees.

You don’t need a TV licence to watch Netflix.

“From tomorrow, a pop-up will appear when you go to play something, asking you to select if you have a TV licence, as you’ll need one to watch live, catch-up and on-demand programmes on iPlayer”.

Those who can make do without iPlayer can still access any other catch-up services including those run by the other main United Kingdom broadcasters, without paying the fee.

On demand also includes exclusive programmes that are only available online.

Do the rules apply to watching shows on mobile phones as well as desktop computers? It is also important to note that other on-demand services such as the ITV Player, Netflix, All4 and My5 can still be watched without a license and this could spell trouble for the BBC, as it is feared that some will simply switch to their rival channels to get their TV fix.

From today (1 September), anyone attempting to use iPlayer will be presented with a message telling them they must have a TV licence even if they are not watching live content.

What are the new rules?

People now risk prosecution and a £1,000 fine if they download or watch programmes on iPlayer on any device without a licence.

However, TV Licensing have claimed that only 2% of households will actually be affected by this change in the regulations, as many BBC users already have a valid TV license.

Do the new rules apply to students?

She added: “I wouldn’t have paid for the TV licence when I was a student, I would have stopped using iPlayer and paid for Netflix because it’s cheaper and has a lot of United States dramas, which is what I watched a lot of at university”.

Do I need a TV licence?

In the future, viewers who wish to use BBC iPlayer will be asked if they have a licence and be told “it’s the law” to have one before proceeding.

But those living in a communal house with separate contracts for each room may need to purchase their own licences.