As the TV licence goes up to £150 this is how you can still watch shows legally WITHOUT one
The government has announced that the annual TV licence fee that funds the BBC will rise to £150.50 from £147 from Sunday
THE TV licence fee will increase to £150.50 from £147 from this Sunday.
Last year the annual fee which funds the BBC programming increased for the first time since 2010 after the Government said it would rise in line with inflation for five years.
Telly watchers have to pay the annual fee whether they're watching live TV or on BBC iPlayer on any device.
The new charges mean that people will be forking out £2.89 a week for the service - up from £2.83 - or £12.54 a month.
Licence fee payers will receive a payment plan or a reminder reflecting the new amount when their licence is next due for renewal.
Those buying or renewing a licence after April 1 will have to pay the new fee.
How to watch TV legally without paying for a licence
IN the UK, any household watching or recording live television must hold a TV licence.
In recent years, this has been extended to include BBC programmes on iPlayer, whether they are live, catch up or on demand. But does everyone really need a licence? Here’s the lowdown on how to avoid paying – legally.
On demand TV – like catch-up TV and on demand previews – which are available through services like ITV Player , All4 , My5 , BT Vision/BT TV , Virgin Media , Sky Go , Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast , Roku and Amazon Fire TV
On demand movies - from services like Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video
Recorded films and programmes - either via DVD or Blu-ray, or downloaded from the internet
YouTube - On demand video clips through services like YouTube
If you pay via a monthly or weekly plan which stared before Sunday, then you'll continue paying the old fee until your licence is up for renewal.
TV Licensing, the body tasked with collecting the fee, will be advising licence fee payers due to renew in March to pay on time so that they will pay the current rate of £147.
If you're buying a new licence before April 1, you will also pay the current rate.
Almost 3.5million Brits have cancelled their TV licence fee in the last four years — a rate of almost one million a year.
Many are snubbing the BBC in favour of streaming sites such as Netflix, statistics reveal.
Watching "live TV" without a licence is against the law, but while you cannot be imprisoned for TV Licence evasion, you can be jailed for non-payment of a fine imposed by the court.
All over-75s in the UK are eligible for a free TV licence. This can be applied for after you turn 74, and will then be issued once you reach your 75th birthday.
Those who are blind or severely sight-impaired are eligible to a 50 per cent discount.
A TV Licensing spokesperson said: "Fewer than 2 per cent of households don’t need a licence and there are more licences in force than ever before – 25.8 million.
"TV Licensing provides a wide variety of payment methods and we work with more than 400 money advice and community organisations in the UK to provide support to help people pay.”
The latest announcement comes as the corporation faces scrutiny over gender pay inequality.
Director-general Lord Tony Hall recently faced questions from MPs about pay imbalance following evidence from Carrie Gracie, who resigned as the BBC's China editor over unequal pay.
Jeremy Vine and John Humphrys are among the top talent who have said they are willing to take a pay cut to contribute to closing the gender pay gap at the corporation.
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