You must have a TV Licence costing £142.50 to watch TV in the UK. But the fragmentation of media and distribution channels is leading to some interesting situations:

• To stream a programme via the internet using  BBC iPlayer or YouTube, you don’t need a TV Licence (providing that it isn’t being broadcast simulataneously).
• But to watch live content via satellite (Freesat or Sky), or to download it onto a PVR for playback, you need a TV Licence.
• To download content via the Internet for playback using a service such as 4oD Catch-Up or iTunes, you do not need a TV Licence (providing that it isn’t being broadcast simulataneously).
• But to stream a programme via the internet using the BBC iPlayer or BBC web site live services, at the same time as it is being broadcast, you need a TV Licence.

Confused? I was until I checked out the TV Licensing web site. Here’s what it says:

“[...] if you use any device to watch or record television programmes at the same time (or virtually the same time) as they’re being shown on TV, the law requires you to be covered by a TV Licence.”

There is almost certainly trouble ahead for the TV Licensing Authority as viewers increasingly download programmes from content providers after they have been broadcast. Don’t you think?