TV Plus and TV Licence in UK

[AndyJTV]

Hi,

Hoping you can help. I do not watch live TV and have deleted BBC iPlayer from my TV in order to opt out of paying for a TV licence. However, the TV Plus app will not go and my TV shows content when switched on. 

First question - are the channels on TV Plus live?

Second question - can i remove them?

Would be hard to justify to the BBC if my TV shows live content as soon as turned on and i am quite annoyed about paying £150 a year for a baked in Samsung App I will not use.

[JAMES4578 · Accepted solution]

Hi @AndyJTV  whilst not specifically mentioned there are live shows  and so suggests you would need a licence for some of the content.  Liable also if you record programs but assume this is not the case.    https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/tv-audio-video/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-stream-on-samsung-produc... 

information also from this article https://theconchtech.com/smart-tv/samsung/samsung-tv-plus15-important-things-you-need-to-know/ 

A guide on how to remove Tv Plus Channels here https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/newsroom/remove-channels-from-samsung-tv-plus/ba-p/3668311 

[AndyJTV]

Thanks James, i used the help in this community to delete all channels apart from 4001 so should be good with that.

[Steven9761]

Uk tv licensing is determined by the ability to watch 'live'tv - not purely by being able to access the BBC. If you watch only Sky TV, for example, you will still need a TV licence, however if you watch recordings, you don't normally require a licence.

[JAMES4578]

@Steven9761  I do not think that is quite the case for recordings:

From Tv Licensing:

A TV Licence covers you to:

• Watch or record TV on any channel on any TV service (like Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview).
• Watch live on streaming services (like ITVX, All 4, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video).
• Use BBC iPlayer

If you’re not watching, streaming or recording TV in any of the above ways –
or your property is empty – please let us know.

[AndyJTV]

Correct, the licence is for live TV, but they extended it recently to include live streams of any channel, plus the use of the BBC iPlayer (including on demand non live shows).

Its tricky as quite a lot of the on-demand apps have a live service baked in (such as now TV, ITVx, C4 Player) and Samsung bake the apps into the TV so you cannot delete some of the ones you don't use. Although most will ask if you have a TV licence before letting you stream live content.

With regard to TV Plus, removing the live content channels should be sufficient (well thats my take on it from this forum). Though you cant remove the app (or iplayer).

Samsung should really have a software option in the UK market for people who don't have or want a TV licence, it would be a USP for a new TV.

[JAMES4578]

@AndyJTV  Yes changes made a little while ago now https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment    Personally  I do watch live Tv /recordings (including BBC) as well as on Demand services.

[PaulStone]

Well I don't care what the BBC say. I already pay sky to watch TV so I'm not paying twice for the same thing. I don't like or watch BBC. Also the law was changed so now its no longer a criminal offence to not have a licence.

[MOBILEUNITED213]

Hi @AndyJTV whilst not specifically mentioned there are live shows and so suggests you would need a licence for some of the content. Liable also if you record programs but assume this is not the case. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/tv-audio-video/do-i-need-a-tv-licence-to-stream-on-samsung-produc....
information also from this article https://theconchtech.com/smart-tv/samsung/samsung-tv-plus15-important-things-you-need-to-know/
A guide on how to remove Tv Plus Channels here https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/newsroom/remove-channels-from-samsung-tv-plus/ba-p/3668311

[BlueMarsDotOrg]

Hi, how can I add TV Plus back to the TV? I reset the smart hub and it's gone now. Thanks for your help!