TV Licensing

Enjoy live beats and balls with a TV Licence

No matter the weather, this year’s summer will be extra special with more than 310 hours of live TV music and sporting events.

For those who can’t be there in person, the summer’s TV schedule is full to bursting with live broadcasts – whether that’s spectacular gala performances, football, tennis, athletics or music- from the UK and around the world, all covered by a TV Licence.

With the music festival season upon us, you won’t have to don wellington boots and sleep in a tent to enjoy the live sounds at festivals taking place across the UK. From the comfort of your living room you can enjoy more than 100 hours* of live music thanks to coverage of Glastonbury Festival, T in the Park in Glasgow, and the Reading & Leeds Festivals.

Live coverage from Glastonbury alone should be enough to satisfy the biggest music appetite with 34 hours of beats televised across four BBC channels. There will also be more than 50 hours of performances from six Glastonbury stages available for the first time via the Red Button.

If you prefer sport, this summer has ample to offer with a bumper crop of major live competitions.

All eyes will once again be on Wimbledon, the location for Britain’s first ever colour broadcast 46 years ago. Nine courts will provide live television coverage (seven after week one), more than any other Grand Slam. In all, over 140 hours of tennis will be televised over Wimbledon fortnight.

Brazil hosts football’s Confederations Cup, offering more than 22 hours of live viewing, and the Women’s Euro 2013 in Sweden provides over 30 hours of live coverage – making a total in excess of 50 hours of live football to enjoy. With live coverage of Diamond League Athletics (14 hours) also hitting our screens, sports lovers won’t be disappointed on the long summer nights.

Stephen Farmer, spokesperson for TV Licensing, said it’s important people understand licensing requirements if they plan to watch live TV events at work or home.

Whatever equipment you use to watch the summer’s ‘beat and ball’ events – TV, computer, tablet, mobile phone or games console - you need a TV Licence if you want to watch live or record the coverage as it is being shown on TV.

Technology is making it easier for us to watch TV on the move and to pick and choose when we watch, but we’re still absolutely hooked on watching those big live events. There are some truly great live events happening this summer and now is a great time to remind the UK’s live music and sport fanatics if they want to enjoy the summer’s TV spectacles legally then they’ll need a valid TV Licence.

Your licence for your home address covers you to watch live TV on any equipment away from your address as long as it is powered by batteries. If you plug it in to the mains, you need to be covered by a licence at the place you are using it, unless you are in a vehicle or vessel like a train, car or boat.

For those tempted to view some of the action at their workplace, TV Licensing has produced a Workplace Viewing Guide. This guide for businesses helps clarify where, when and how staff or customers can watch live TV at work.

Your live TV event calendar**:

Confederations Cup - football

Date: 15 to 30 June

Amount of coverage: More than 22 hours of live coverage

Aegon International - tennis

Date: 18 to 22 June

Amount of coverage: More than 18 hours of live coverage

Wimbledon - tennis

Date: 24 June to 7 July

Amount of coverage: More than 140 hours of live coverage

Glastonbury - music

Date: 26 to 30 June

Amount of coverage: More than 84 hours of live coverage

Women’s Euro 2013 - football

Date: 10 to 28 July

Amount of coverage: More than 30 hours of live coverage

Coronation Festival Gala

Date: 11 to 14 July

Amount of coverage: Live coverage from opening night

T in the Park - music

Date: 12 to 14 July

Amount of coverage: Over 20 hours of live coverage

Diamond League - athletics

Date: 26 to 28 July

Amount of coverage: More than 14 hours of live coverage

Reading & Leeds Festivals - music

Date: 23 to 25 August

Amount of coverage: Over 15 hours of live coverage

*Includes hours of terrestrial broadcasts and Red Button streaming.
** All figures sourced from BBC