AMAZON Fire Stick owners must be wary of watching 10 newly added TV channels over the risk of a lofty £1,000 fine.
Streaming gadgets like the Fire Stick have won favour in households who want to watch telly without paying for a TV licence.
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Relying on streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video for on-demand content means viewers can avoid forking out for the licence fee.
The BBC TV licence fee is set to jump to £174.50 from 1 April 2025.
Amazon added 10 BBC channels to the “live” tab on Fire TV devices earlier this week, including:
- BBC One
- BBC Two
- BBC Three
- BBC Four
- CBBC
- CBeebies
- BBC News
- BBC Scotland
- BBC Alba
The “live” tab allows viewers to access free channels with live TV beamed over Wi-Fi, instead of through cable.
BBC content has been missing from this section for years.
But what Fire Stick viewers might forget is that they need a TV licence to watch any live channels – including the new additions.
Any live content, and all BBC iPlayer content, requires a TV licence.
If caught without a TV licence, Brits could face a fine of up to £1,000.
Households were given the same warning last year when Netflix began airing live sports events, such as the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson match.
“A TV Licence is needed to watch live content on streaming services, watch or record a TV programme on any channel and when using BBC iPlayer,” a TV Licensing representative told The Sun at the time.
“Further information is available on the TV Licensing website or via the customer services team, who can help with any queries.”
Netflix took over rights to show WWE earlier this year, which drastically expanded the number of live shows appearing on the platform.
Before live shows started popping up, Netflix was pretty much safe from TV Licensing as the fee only applies to live broadcasts.
New Netflix show Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney also presents a risk for viewers who may be without a TV Licence and forget that legally they need one for such programmes.
As long as you’re using Netflix and other platforms to watch non-live content, you are find without a TV licence.
But iPlayer and any live channels require you to sign onto the annual licence fee.
Where to buy a Fire TV Stick
Fire TV Sticks are an easy way to add streaming to an older television. They’re manufactured by Amazon, but you can buy them from a number of different stores.
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