Anyone fully familiar with iPlayer TV licence law?

[Slo-mo]

Without going into too much detail, I've had to move house in a hurry and am in perfectly reasonable Monday to Friday digs, staying with relatives at the weekend. However there is no broadband or TV licence where I'm staying during the week.

How do I stand legally with downloading iPlayer content at the weekend ( my folks have a TV licence) and watching it in my bedsit during the week. That is to say, do you need a licence at the location where you download, or at the location where you view, or both?

Are the rules even clear on this?

 

[N_igma]

Think it’s live broadcasts you need a license for

 

[Slo-mo]

Think it’s live broadcasts you need a license for

You definitely need a licence for iPlayer, that much is clear. It's just a question of where the licence needs to be.

I'm possibly being paranoid here but better safe than sorry given how big the fine is.

 

[hippogriff]

The FAQs say:

"You can download programmes from BBC iPlayer to watch anywhere, whether you're at home or on the go. So even if you're miles from Wi-Fi, or your broadband's buffering, you can still enjoy your favourite shows"

It even says you can watch downloaded content if you're overseas, so that's pretty clear.

 

[xenon]

Nope they changed the law recently.

"You need one to
You must be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use."


Official TV Licensing website - BBC iPlayer and the TV Licence

I spose technically they'd argue in the maddingly unlikely event you were caught, that you weren't covered by a license whilst actually watching the programs at your unlicensed premises.


If you watched them on the bus though or in another premises with a license, the former you could say you reside at your relatives place. The latter, you'd be covered by any communal license there. E.g. library or pub or something.

*Is not a lawyer*

 

[hippogriff]

From Xenon's link above;

"If you already have a TV Licence for your address, you are already covered to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer when you’re on the go, provided the device you’re using isn’t plugged into the electricity mains at a separate address. If the device is plugged in at a separate address, you need to be covered by a licence at that address."

So the definitive answer is that you only need a license to watch downloaded content if you're plugged in to the mains

 

[alex_]

So the definitive answer is that you only need a license to watch downloaded content if you're plugged in to the mains

They are never going to catch you for this.

 

[maomao]

Or get a big powerbank to always stay within the letter of the law.

 

[2hats]

Or charge the device up fully, unplug it, watch the programme in question, then plug it back in to the mains afterwards…

They are never going to catch you for this.

Well theoretically they could, if they could be bothered to code their ecosystem accordingly, but it seems a tad unlikely (and is trivial to defeat anyway).

 

[alex_]

Or charge the device up fully, unplug it, watch the programme in question, then plug it back in to the mains afterwards…

Well theoretically they could, if they could be bothered to code their ecosystem accordingly, but it seems a tad unlikely (and is trivial to defeat anyway).

Stick your device in airplane mode, watch it - the app couldn’t phone home or access gps.

Alex

 

[2hats]

Stick your device in airplane mode, watch it - the app couldn’t phone home or access gps.

Unless it does it later.

 

[cybershot]

I would guess any solicitor would say it’s the registered address of where you live that needs to be licensed.

Which I guess would be the address you’re registered to vote.

However that probably doesn’t work for students. Not sure how they deal with that when student digs are commonly only lived in 9 months of the year. Maybe the landlord pays it as part of the rent agreement!

 

[maomao]

However that probably doesn’t work for students. Not sure how they deal with that when student digs are commonly only lived in 9 months of the year. Maybe the landlord pays it as part of the rent agreement!

You used to be able to claim back months if you moved. I think that's what students do if they're both law-abiding and thrifty. I was neither and never lived in digs.

 

[alex_]

Unless it does it later.

In which case it doesn’t know where it was when you were watching it, which is what counts. So all it could do was phone home that you watched some content somewhere.

The only guaranteed way to do this ( which would provide a standard of evidence they’d need to use in court ), would be to get a court order to your isp to reveal your ip/location. I’m guessing this would cost a pretty big chunk of the maximum thousand pound fine.

As always, don’t let them into the house and don’t admit anything.

Alex

 

[2hats]

In which case it doesn’t know where it was when you were watching it, which is what counts. So all it could do was phone home that you watched some content somewhere.

The location information logged before and after could, in many cases, conclusively prove you couldn’t have been watching at the licenses address.

But I wouldn’t argue with the suggestion this is all too much effort for them. It would be, after all, far easier to license per viewer per paid for interval with a suitable session crypto key, which would avoid all the geographical/viewing from abroad/mains or battery power flavoured shenanigans.