I’m not here to scare you, but the penalty for watching live TV without a license can be up to £1,000 (plus court costs). That’s a decent holiday or, you know, a lot of avocados. So it’s worth the three minutes it takes to check online.
And if you do need a license? The price is about £159 per year. Split that over a year, it’s about the cost of a couple of takeaway coffees a month. Annoying, yes, but cheaper than a fine.
Final tip: trust your gut, but verify it
Look, if you are watching live news from the BBC on your phone while you cook eggs, you know deep down you need a license. If you’re only watching old VHS tapes of Friends on a CRT monitor from 1998, you’re probably okay. But the only way to be 100% certain is to use the official website’s checker.
So go ahead, do the check. Dave from next door will thank you—he’s currently applying for a license just for his kettle, just to be safe. Don’t be like Dave. Be smarter, check properly, and get back to enjoying your bagels in peace.
