Students face fines of £1000 for watching TV unlicensed

TV Licensing chiefs have warned that students caught watching live TV without a TV licence could face a fine of up to £1,000.

Over 200 young adults were caught watching TV without a license over the past year in Coventry alone, according to the organisation’s latest figures which were released earlier this month.

The research suggests that one in ten undergraduates believe they will not get caught watching live TV without a licence, while 24 percent think that they cannot get caught watching live shows on a computer, laptop or mobile device.

First-year Law student, Natasha Chowdhry, commented that the rising popularity of online streaming services like Netflix reduce demand for TV licences among students: “Some students choose to buy subscriptions instead of a TV licence.”

Across the UK more than 27,000 young people aged between 18 and 25 were found watching TV without having purchased a licence to do so legally.

TV Licensing highlights that a licence is needed to watch or record live TV on any device. The organisation adds a particular warning to freshers living in halls of residence that a separate licence is needed for each room.

Oliver Lester, a first-year Economics undergraduate suggested: “There isn’t much need to watch live TV when so many programmes are recorded and free to watch on catch-up services like BBC iPlayer.”