Netflix subscribers face being slapped with £1000 fine over little-known streaming mistake
NETFLIX fans may not realise they fall foul of TV Licensing rules and could be slapped with a nasty £1000 fine.
The streaming service has long been considered a safe-haven from the fee, which recently went up to £169.50 a year.
That’s because the popular platform predominately has on-demand content which doesn’t need a TV Licence.
But Netflix is increasingly branching out into the world of special live events.
The firm broke into live broadcasting for the first time last year with a Chris Rock stand-up show.
And this summer Netflix is planning another one-off live, in the form of the Paul vs Tyson boxing match.
It’s the streamer’s third live sports event, following The Netflix Cup – a crossover competition between Formula 1 drivers and professional golfers – and The Netflix Slam with tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal.
Any live broadcast, whether it be on a traditional TV channel or online, require a TV Licence.
So Netflix users who thought they were fine without a Licence will legally need one whenever they watch live specials on the site.
The BBC reportedly reiterated to Cord Busters that any live event such as Paul vs Tyson will require a TV Licence.
It’s a subject that has been a source of confusion for some time among viewers.
And it’s a matter Disney+ subscribers will have to watch out for too amid reports of new live channels coming to the platform.
“If you’re watching Netflix through a monitor (not a TV), do you need to pay for a TV licence?” one user wrote on Reddit.
“I looked it up, but the only answers I can find are for watching Netflix on a TV.”
Another said: “I rang them and told them I only use my TV for Netflix, Prime etc that I use on my PS4 and they said it’s fine as long as I’m not watching live tv like on iplayer.”
It’s also an issue Amazon Fire TV Stick owners have not been sure about.
The TV Licensing website states that live TV means “any programme you watch or record as it’s being shown on any channel, TV service or streaming service”.
How much is the TV Licence?
The standard TV Licence is currently £169.50 a year.
A discounted black and white licence still exists and costs £57.
The fee jumped by £10.50 at the beginning of April – the first fee increase in three years.
But there is a little-known TV Licence rule that could save over one million households £170 a year – find out about it here.
And that doesn’t mean simply live events like football, cricket, news and music, but anything at all as it’s broadcast.
TV Licensing say an online TV service is “any streaming or smart TV service, website or app that lets you watch TV programmes over the internet”.
So this can include services like Channel 4, Sky Go, Now, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and ITVX IF you watch live content on them.
If you only use them to watch on-demand content, you don’t need a TV licence.
Those caught and found guilty for watching live TV without a TV Licence can receive a maximum fine of up to £1,000.
What are the TV Licence rules?
Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun, explains…
Some people mistakenly believe that you only need a TV Licence if you have a TV or watch BBC channels.
You aren’t breaking the law if you own a TV without a licence, as long as it’s not hooked up to an aerial or other live broadcasting equipment – so you can use it to with your PS5 for gaming for example.
The basic principle is, if you are accessing any live broadcast from any channel, whether it be through a TV or online, you must have a TV Licence.
If you are recording a live broadcast to watch later, you also need a TV Licence.
Watching on-demand content does not require a TV Licence – except if you’re watching BBC iPlayer.