How to legally watch TV without a TV Licence and save almost £170

UK households have seen their BBC TV Licence fee rise from £159 to £169.50 per year in 2024. The price hike was confirmed in 2023, as well as a review into the "sustainability of the payment".

The charge was first introduced in June 1946, when television broadcasts resumed following the Second World War, and TV has changed dramatically since then. More recently we have seen streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime entering the TV landscape.

Often people will pay the licence fee so as to be able to watch their favourite shows without running the risk of a huge fine, or even being taken to court. But as the cost of living crisis rolls on and on, households are trying to save money wherever possible.

And by ditching your TV licence, you could save almost £170 a year. There are rules around the licences, as well as some misconceptions. For example, students aren't exempt from needing a TV Licence and do have to pay for one, but they don't always need one, as shared areas may already be covered by a licence.

A common misconception is that TV Licences are only needed to watch BBC content. Many will comment saying things like "oh well I don't watch anything on the BBC so I don't need to pay". This is a myth, and rules on streaming platforms were changed some years ago, though there are lots of ways you can watch TV without a licence.

A TV licence is needed if you watch or record TV on any channel via any TV service (such as Sky, Virgin, Freeview, Freesat), watch live on streaming services (e.g. ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now, Sky Go), and/or use BBC iPlayer. TV licences cover the home, not the person, so only one is needed for any one address.

If you don't want to pay the £169.50, you can watch Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV without a licence, as long as it's not live content. E.g. you can watch Drive To Survive, Stranger Things, Ted Lasso or Marvel's Secret Invasion without a TV Licence, totally legally. You can also watch DVDs and Blurays.

As the TV Licensing says: "You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch programmes live on any online TV service - such as ITVX, Channel 4, Amazon Prime Video, Now or Sky Go. You don’t need a TV Licence if you only ever watch on-demand programmes on any TV service apart from BBC iPlayer."

If you want to ditch your TV Licence, you'll need to tell TV Licensing that you are exempt, for example if you know for sure you will only watch Netflix or non-live YouTube videos, or just play PS5 but not watch TV. The infamous "TV Licence detection vans" are still in operation, and the TV Licensing website claims: "We have a fleet of detector vans that can detect the use of TV receiving equipment at specifically targeted addresses within minutes."

It adds: "We have a database of approximately 31m licensed and unlicensed addresses. This tells us if your address has a TV Licence. All our visiting officers have access to this database. This means they can check if you have a licence or not.

"If you tell us that you do not need a TV Licence, our officers may still visit you to confirm this." So it's best to contact the TV Licensing before they come knock on your door. The maximum fine is £1,000 plus legal costs and compensation and a court can order you to pay it.

If you're aged 74 or over and you receive Pension Credit, or your partner living at the same address does, you could get a free licence.