Our attention was drawn to a TV Licensing press release, which recently featured in the Nottingham Post.
TV Licensing's PR companies churn out these articles at a staggering rate. Most people think they are written by the newspaper they feature in, but they aren't. Bone idle local newspaper editors receive them by email and are only too keen to publish them, particularly on slow news days.
One key extract from the article reads as follows: "Students who use a laptop or a mobile phone to watch must get a licence or face a £1,000 fine".
That is blatant a lie.
It incorrectly states that any student watching on a mobile device "must get a licence", however it omits to mention the fact that a lot of online and mobile viewers are already covered by a TV licence. Anyone watching on an unplugged mobile device is covered by the TV licence of the property where they normally reside (e.g. their home address). This normally means that students can watch on an unplugged device as long as their non-term time address is correctly licensed.
PR harlots, like Mark Whitehouse mentioned in the article, get good mileage from telling only half a story about TV Licensing's sinister and deceitful little operation. TV Licensing, a load of private companies acting on behalf of the BBC, are in the business of selling as many licences as possible. The perverse system, which bankrolls the likes of child sexual predator Jimmy Savile, gives the BBC responsibility for collecting money for the BBC. That pecuniary interest tends of skew TV Licensing's interpretation of the legal facts surrounding enforcement of the fee.
A TV licence is only required for those properties where equipment is used to receive TV programme services (e.g. live broadcast TV programmes). Anyone who doesn't require a TV licence is under no legal obligation to communicate or cooperate with TV Licensing at all. The threats contained in TV Licensing routine letters are meaningless and their doorstep salesmen have no legal powers whatsoever.
There has never been a better time to cancel your TV licence and view by alternative (non-live, non-licensable) means.
If you want the full unedited truth about when a TV licence is required then you should download our free ebook.
4 comments:
Insightful as ever, TV Licensing Blog.
As if Nottingham Post aka This is Nottingham trying to pass off TV Licensing press releases as "news" weren't bad enough. When the link is followed there's a rosette emblem with "Trusted Source" in the top right of the published press release.
After publishing this stale old press release rubbish as a "Trusted Source" who are they trying kid?
Why thank you TV Licensing Watch.
This isn't the first time you've caught them lying its it?
I remember your blog post about the threat letter containg the lies of "Whatever you are watching, however you are watching it, your home needs a tv licence".
I doubt very much this will be the last time you catch them at it before the end of year round up either.
I lose count of how many times I've seen examples of TV Licensing lying... it's a pretty regular occurence.
The BBC has obviously taught them well!
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