AMAZON Fire Stick owners could face a nasty £1,000 fine for not having a TV Licence.
Rules dictate that any device or service used to watch live streams require a TV licence in the UK.
AlamyYou need a TV licence to access anything on BBC iPlayer[/caption]
You also need one if you use BBC iPlayer whether it’s live or not.
In the digital age of streaming, it’s left some households confused about whether they need a TV licence or not.
But with any device – not just Amazon Fire Sticks – it really depends on how you use apps.
Conversely, some households may have a TV licence when they can do away with it if they’re not watching any live TV or accessing BBC iPlayer.
One person explained on Reddit how they were asked about any streaming gadgets.
“At the door the guy identified himself and I jumped right in to say that we don’t have a licence because we watch Netflix, not live TV and his response was,” they said.
“I answered his questions to say we don’t have an aerial, we definitely don’t have one plugged in to the TV and we don’t watch live TV and I said “no thank you” when he asked to come in and look at the TV.
“Before leaving he asked if I had a firestick because they “could” be used to watch live TV on, at that point the dogs barged through so I just shut the door and he left.”
How much is the TV Licence?
The TV licence is currently £159 for standard colour per year.
A discounted black and white licence still exists and costs £53.50.
But the main TV licence fee is going up by £10.50 from April, 2024.
It’ll be the first fee increase since April 2021.
The new price will be £169.50.
TV Licence rules for streaming
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”.
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.
How to cut streaming bills with top FREE TV
Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime don’t come cheap – and year on year subscription costs seem to go up.
Fortunately there are loads of free streaming TV alternatives not everyone knows about.
Here are some free alternatives worth trying:
Hidden streamed channels on your TV from Samsung and LG
Pluto TV with more than 100 extra channels
Amazon’s free alternative Freevee
The free streaming service with more than 30,000 movies and no ads – and all you need is a library card