Owners of Amazon Fire Sticks warned of errors risking a £1,000 fine

Owners of AMAZON Fire Sticks could be fined £1,000 for not having a TV licence.

Rules require any device or service used to watch live streams to have a TV license in Britain.

You'll also need one if you use BBC iPlayer, whether live or not.

In the digital age of streaming, some households are confused about whether they need a TV license or not.

But with any device – not just Amazon Fire Sticks – it really depends on how you use apps.

Conversely, some households may have a TV license, but they may abandon it if they don't watch live TV or don't have access to BBC iPlayer.

One person explained on Reddit how they were asked about streaming gadgets.

“At the door the man identified himself and I immediately jumped in to say we don't have a license because we watch Netflix, not live TV and his response was,” they said.

“I answered his questions by saying we don't have an antenna, we certainly don't have one hooked up to the TV and we don't watch live TV and I said 'no thank you' when he asked to come in and look at the television.

“Before he left, he asked if I had a fire stick as these 'could' be used to watch live TV. At that point the dogs charged through so I just closed the door and he left.”

How much does the TV license cost?

The TV license is currently £159 for standard color per year.

A discounted black and white license still exists and costs £53.50.

But the main TV license fee will rise by £10.50 from April 2024.

It is the first rate increase since April 2021.

The new price will be € 169.50.

TV licensing rules for streaming

The TV Licensing website states that live TV means “any program you watch or record while it is being shown on a channel, TV service or streaming service”.

And that doesn't simply mean live events like football, cricket, news and music, but everything that's broadcast.

TV Licensing says that an online TV service is “any streaming or smart TV service, website or app that allows you to watch TV programs over the Internet.”

This could include services such as Channel 4, Sky Go, Now, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and ITVX IF you watch live content on it.

If you only use them to watch on-demand content, you don't need a TV license.

Those caught and found guilty of watching live TV without a TV license could be fined up to £1,000.

How to lower your streaming bills with the best FREE TV

Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime aren't cheap – and subscription costs seem to be rising year after year.

Fortunately, there are a lot of free streaming TV alternatives that not everyone knows about.

Here are some free alternatives worth trying: