UK firms lose on penalties for World Cup streaming

Employers must have a TV licence if staff view games on work PCs

Company directors face fines of up to £1,000 if staff use their work PCs to watch World Cup games streamed by the BBC and their employers do not have a TV licence, the TV Licensing Authority (TVLA) has warned.

Many firms wrongly believe that only TVs or PCs with broadcast cards to pick up TV signals require TV licences, but a spokeswoman for the TVLA said watching live TV on a PC requires a licence regardless of how the content is received.

"If at any time you are watching TV over the internet at the same time as it is being broadcast you require a licence – and that includes internet streaming, " she added.

Television licensing regulations define a television receiver as "any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving… any television programme, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose", a definition broad enough to include PCs with broadband connections.

Jessica Ray of the TVLA said in a statement that the agency would go after firms without licences. "We have a database of more than 28 million addresses, so our Enquiry Officers know exactly which business premises to target," she added. "Whatever the kick-off time our Enquiry Officers will be knocking on doors, so businesses should ensure they have a valid licence or they risk… a fine of up to £1,000 plus court costs."

With the BBC committed to streaming more live events online in future, the TVLA's stance effectively means all business premises will either have to block staff access to streamed content or buy a TV licence.

Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Business urged firms to check that they are correctly licensed, adding in a statement that "if you're not sure whether you are already licensed a quick phone call to TV licensing will help ensure you are not breaking the law".