The annual fee for a TV Licence increased to £180 in April. The rules on who will be able to save £180 by not paying for a TV Licence in future have been made clear by comments by the Culture Secretary today.
Streaming Levy Ruled Out
The BBC recently said that its funding model is “not sustainable and needs reform”, sparking speculation that a levy could be introduced on streaming service subscribers in the UK, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. But Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy today (June 18) confirmed that such a levy has been ruled out, meaning any future changes to the TV Licence fee wouldn't automatically impose charges on streaming users.
The BBC is predominantly funded through the licence fee and has faced increasing pressure in recent years as it faces competition from streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus.
The annual fee is currently £180 and is due to go up again in line with CPI inflation in April next year, but streaming service users won't be expected to pay for a TV Licence by default.
Speaking in response to Tory MP Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) at Culture Questions in the Commons on Thursday, who asked her to “rule out extending the BBC licence fee to streaming services”, she said: “We have been very careful not to get drawn into speculation about the future funding arrangements for the BBC, except to say that we are, we have ruled out a levy on streamers, and we have also ruled out direct taxation going to fund the BBC, because of the need for the BBC to retain its independence.”
Who Qualifies for a Free TV Licence?
You can get a free TV Licence if you are aged 75 or over and you, or your partner living at the same address, receive Pension Credit. The free licence will cover everyone living at your address.
If you already get Pension Credit, you can apply for a free TV Licence when you’re 74, but you’ll need to continue paying for your licence until the end of the month before your 75th birthday. After this, you will be covered by your free licence.
You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit, which provides extra cash for those on a low income to help with living costs.
For those who qualify, the benefit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you’re single, or your joint weekly income to £363.25, and it also unlocks a wealth of other benefits - including a free TV Licence if you're over 75.
Who Qualifies for a Reduced Fee TV Licence?
If you live in a residential care home, supported housing or sheltered accommodation, then you may be entitled to a reduced fee TV Licence. If you are blind (severely sight-impaired) and can provide the appropriate evidence, you can apply for a 50% discount on your TV Licence. If neither of these applies, then you’ll have to pay for a TV Licence at the full rate.
Other Ways to Cut Your TV Licence Bill
If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit or qualify for a reduced fee TV Licence, there are other ways to reduce your TV Licence bill or avoid it altogether.
- Share a Licence: TV Licences are per household, not per person, so if you live in a house with several people, you don’t all need to have one in some cases and could all chip in to share the cost of one licence. You can share a TV Licence among the whole household if you watch TV in a single shared area, or have a joint tenancy agreement. But if you have separate tenancy agreements and watch TV in your own room, then you will need to pay for your own.
- No Licence Needed for On-Demand: You also don’t need a TV Licence to watch streaming services (apart from for live events on streaming), such as Netflix and Disney Plus, on-demand TV through services like All 4 and Amazon Prime Video, videos on websites such as YouTube, or DVDs and Blu-rays. So if you’re happy to just stick to watching any of these, and not watch or record any live TV or BBC iPlayer, you can save yourself £180 per year.
But if you do watch or record live TV without a TV Licence then you can be issued a fine of up to £1,000.
