It seems not a day passes where OTT users are given the short end of the stick. This time it’s in the form of a TV license, as the UK mandates its OTT users to make sure they have their TV licenses validated before they choose to jump in for the latest live offering by Netflix. But you can relax, as nothing of such sort is applicable for the Indian audiences. However, you can appreciate how cheaply OTT content is available to India.
What if they don’t, you ask?
Well, they will be unfortunately subjected to make a payment of a brutal and hefty sum of £1000 (approx. 1 lakh INR). Although streaming of shows and movies remains free as is the tradition, the rules have drastically changed for live content.
According to the rules, a TV license is compulsory in order for those availing streaming services in Europe to tune in for any sort of live content, from watching to recording a live TV programme on any channel or making use of the BBC iPlayer.
According to the website that consists of the licensing outlines, viewers are mandated to have a valid TV license for legally watching or recording live TV on BBC, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and as mentioned above Netflix or any other platform that streams live.
If viewers who wish to avail themselves of live events, such as sports, music, comedy shows, etc, wish to avoid the hefty sum of compensation, they are to pay a sum of £ 14.12 per month or £169.50 annually or that is how it should be if the government did not adjust it to £174.50 per year starting from April 1, 2025.
Non-live content in all the various streaming platforms remains license free but the UK users of OTT platforms are now bound to yet another form of payment. But we are thankful that such laws do not exist in India otherwise, users would have to pay much more than usual for live shows.
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