{"id":199098,"date":"2025-10-14T09:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/199098\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T09:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T09:39:10","slug":"new-tv-licence-advice-issued-to-uk-homes-shows-if-you-can-skip-and-ditch-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/199098\/","title":{"rendered":"New TV licence advice issued to UK homes shows if you can ‘skip’ and ‘ditch’ it"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever been unsure whether or not you need to pay the TV licence<\/a>, Virgin Media<\/a> has just released a very handy guide in a bid to cut down on the \u201cconfusion\u201d. In advice that has just been posted on its website<\/a>, the TV and broadband provider says the \u00a3169.50 yearly fee must be paid by anyone who watches or records any live TV.<\/p>\n

Those using BBC iPlayer<\/a> – on TVs or other devices – also need to stump up for a licence. That includes whether watching live content or tuning in via catch-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s cut through the confusion,” Virgin Media said.<\/p>\n

“In 2025, a TV licence is legally required in the UK if you watch or record live TV on any channel or use BBC<\/a> iPlayer \u2013 whether that’s live, or on catch-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re watching on, TV, laptop or mobile, the same rule applies.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, the advice is clear, all UK homes must legally pay up if they are enjoying EastEnders<\/a>, Coronation Street<\/a>, live sport and films being broadcast on terrestrial channels. However, as Virgin explains, there is a way to avoid paying.<\/p>\n

Those simply streaming content via services such as Netflix<\/a>, YouTube, Disney+ and Prime Video using the web don\u2019t need a TV licence.<\/p>\n

The only thing to be aware of is watching any live content via these players – such as sporting events – as this then means a fee MUST be paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you skip a TV licence if you only stream?,\u201d Virgin asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is you don\u2019t need a TV licence to stream on-demand content from platforms like Netflix<\/a>, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+. So, if you\u2019re not watching live broadcasts or using BBC<\/a> iPlayer, you might be able to ditch your licence altogether.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s where Virgin Media comes in. You can stream your favourite shows, binge YouTube, and chill with Netflix<\/a> – all without needing a TV licence (just don\u2019t hit that \u201cLive TV\u201d button).”<\/p>\n

Finally, to help consumers further, Virgin also has a handy chart, see below, which offers a quick guide to what you can and can’t do.<\/p>\n

Along with Virgin Media, the licence fee website also breaks down the rules.<\/p>\n

Here’s what the service says. “You can cancel your licence and may be eligible for a refund if, before your licence expires, you won’t be: watching TV on any channel, like BBC<\/a>, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels. Watching TV on pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV. Watching live TV on streaming services, like YouTube, Netflix<\/a>, and Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth being very careful before scrapping your licence fee, as anyone caught flouting the rules can be fined up to \u00a31,000 and get a criminal record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve ever been unsure whether or not you need to pay the TV licence, Virgin Media has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,51174,96,391,2996,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-199098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-bbc-iplayer","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-tv-licence","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}