UK TV Licence Debate

this isn't true. you're required to pay for it if you watch live TV. you're perfectly allowed to have a TV or laptop or any other device that can pick up live TV

I'm going to be experimenting with the source code, I really need some good basis for live streaming TV over the internet (OTT). Unrelated, but important for me, TV stations in my country (Serbia), forbid rebroadcasting but they are available OTA, with a DVB-T2 receiver and an aerial/antenna. However, some cable providers cannot show the programs, and if they do show them, they have negotiated special licenses for that. How do I make a case that by being OTA Free, and not DRM'd, I

You're subscribing to pay television, just delivering it over another mode of transport.

What is your concern exactly? Your TV license didn't pay for that content.

I bet their ideal end state is a BBC style license where you pay for every screen capable of receiving a stream.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

"In the British Islands, any household watching or recording live television transmissions at the same time they are being broadcast is required by law to hold a television licence. This applies regardless of transmission method, including terrestrial, satellite, cable, or for BBC iPlayer internet streaming. The television licence is the instrument used to raise revenue to fund the BBC; it is a form of taxation"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_li

Maybe actually. In some jurisdictions this would require a license from the government to do the reception. The UK is like this with their tv licenses for the BBC and similar. I can't imagine theyre the only ones like this. And then there's possibly compression technologies that might need to be licensed from the mpeg group, etc.

Your cable provider pays for the channels and guarantees who sees it, not so easy on the web.

yes, that's a shitty user experience but the TV license is the problem not your lack of access to it. sorry you're stuck with that.

To be clear, this only applies to television that is paid for by the license (BBC etc, including streaming via iPlayer). I have a television and use it only to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and am thus not required to pay the license. Which goes to show how ridiculous these vans are, since they can't tell where you're getting the content you're watching.