TV Licensing

Do I need a TV Licence to watch or ‘stream’ programmes online?

Watching online

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch live on streaming services - such as ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now, Sky Go, YouTube, and, Netflix.

You don't need a TV Licence if you never watch live on any channel, pay TV service or streaming service, or use BBC iPlayer*.

This includes recording and downloading. On any device.

Watching YouTube

You don’t need a TV Licence to watch videos or clips on demand on YouTube.

But you DO need a TV Licence if you watch TV live on YouTube. An example of this would be watching Sky News live. But it isn’t just live news or sport which needs a licence – it’s any programme which is part of a TV channel, shown or transmitted for everyone to watch at the same time.

What is streaming?

Streaming is watching TV using the internet instead of downloading a file to your device and watching it later.

Other helpful information

Live TV and how you watch it