TV Over Internet / Video-on-Demand

[enjay]

One of our teachers questioned me today regarding the legality of watching TV over the Internet without a TV licence.

I suspect that Teachers TV, Channel 4 and such like are fine, as they are commercial channels and nothing to do with the TV Licence anyway, however you can also watch BBC - which IS covered by the licence - online, which is where it gets sticky.

Does anyone have any answers / reference sites to which I can refer her?

[andyrite]

Have a look at this:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5081350.stm

[StewartKnight]

you have to have a TV licence, it's as simple as that I'm afraid! It's not about being commercial.

Any broadcasted programme, even if someone else has videod it, needs a TV licence to watch it.

If you have bought a commercial DVD/Video of the programme, then you don't need a TV licence.

[Geoff]

One wonders how they can enforce this.

[enjay]

you have to have a TV licence, it's as simple as that I'm afraid! It's not about being commercial.

How does that marry with the stuff in the adverts showing people watching TV in airport terminals, coffee houses, buses and such like?

[enjay]

One wonders how they can enforce this.

I wonder that too, but that's not really the point. I only want our staff doing it if it is legal, not if it is illegal but they won't get caught (we're back to the recent MP3 discussion, aren't we!).

[StewartKnight]

You can have a public licence, most school will have something that allows them to do this.

[Geoff]

How does that marry with the stuff in the adverts showing people watching TV in airport terminals, coffee houses, buses and such like?

You need a public entertainment license of some description for such things (as do schools).

[alan-d]

The correct name escapes me but you should have a public entertainment licence which covers the watching of BBC programs and DVDs and the such.

I'm sure someone will give the correct name of it soon

[alan-d]

Dammit - put your hands up if you know the answer - don't all shout at once!

[enjay]

You can have a public licence, most school will have something that allows them to do this.

So we might have one of those already then? That's the sort of answer I was hoping for! I'll go have a conversation with our Bursar...

[Geoff]

See these threads about the various school licensing schemes.

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...ewtopic&t=5016
http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...wtopic&p=35728
http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?nam...ewtopic&t=1734

[enjay]

Answering my own question now, but following everyone's comments, it does appear that we are okay - as we already have the necessary licences to permit the screening of videos from TV, then we are okay to screen web feeds of the same TV show.

It has of course uncovered that we are NOT allowed to show clips from National Geographic in Geography lessons, as that is not a free-to-air channel, but that's a separate discussion to the initial question which I was asked!

[Ashers]

It looks quite simple according to the BBC website, (from an earlier post)

"You only need a licence if you use your computer to watch programmes at the same time as they are being shown on TV.

Before now, this has not been a major problem as very few programmes are available simultaneously on air and online.

Computer users only needed a TV licence if they had a special video card that could receive TV signals."

"This is to stop people receiving TV programmes for free on their computer when they would have to pay to see them on a regular television."

"you are free to watch archived programmes or downloadable clips without a licence."

[enjay]

It looks quite simple according to the BBC website, (from an earlier post)

"you are free to watch archived programmes or downloadable clips without a licence."

Interesting - so that is how you can watch these shows on the bus (as depicted in the adverts) then.

Can you post the link to that page please Ashers?