TV Licensing

Hospital administrators, caretakers and managers need to make sure that patients and staff on hospital premises are covered by a valid TV Licence to:

• watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel
• watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, Sky Go, etc.)
• download or watch any BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer.

This applies to any provider and device they use, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.

In some cases your hospital’s licence won’t cover all areas. Please call 0300 790 6165* if you’re a hospital manager and need to buy more than one TV Licence to cover your hospital.

Check which areas are covered below to ensure you’re correctly licensed.

You need a TV Licence for

The hospital premises

This includes communal areas, waiting rooms, the wards (including private rooms) and staff rooms.

You need separate TV Licences for

Residential accommodation

e.g. Rooms for doctors and nurses.

Welfare or social clubs

If these are on hospital premises and are run independently of the hospital.

Other businesses or organisations

If the premises are sublet by the hospital.

You don't need a TV Licence for

• Watching on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer
• Watching S4C TV on demand
• Streaming, renting or buying movies from providers like Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV, Netflix or Amazon
• Watching DVDs, Blu-rays or videos
• Playing internet video clips through services like YouTube or to play video games
• CCTV.

Tell us you don't need a TV Licence

*Calls to our 0300 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number, whether from a mobile or landline. If you get inclusive minutes, calls to an 0300 number will be included free of charge.