Do I still need to buy a TV licence to watch Netflix or Sky? Find all you need to know here; You used to have to pay up just for having a telly, but now you can get away without if you only watch certain channels on catch-up.

Byline: By, Catherine Furze

It looks like a major shake-up of the TV licence is around the corner, but the current system will be around until at least 2024, when the Royal Charter is up for renewal.

First introduced in June 1946, the current fee to "be the last", Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has said.

The annual payment, which normally changes on April 1 each year, is expected to be frozen at the current rate until April 2024, at which point the Government is expected to replace it with something more aligned to the way we watch TV today.

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Households with a television used to receive live broadcasts or watch iPlayer are currently charged £159 for a licence, raising £3.2bn a year for the BBC and and the Welsh channel S4C.

Introduced after the Second World War when TV broadcasting resumed, only 20,000 people owned a TV set and the BBC had a monopoly until 1968 when ITV was launched, followed by Channel 4 in 1982 and Channel 5 in 1997.

It's far removed from the choice we have today, and the days of the family gathering around the TV every night and discussing TV shows watched at the same time at work are largely over.

The changing picture has led to uncertainty about when you need a licence and when you can watch without.

You used to need a TV licence merely for having a telly, but now you can get away without paying if you only watch certain channels on catch-up. If you watch BBC iPlayer, you'll need a licence, but you won't for other channels' catch-up services.

In a nutshell, if you're watching live TV on a television, computer, tablet, games console, smartphone or any other device, you'll need to be covered by a TV licence.

However, you do not need a TV licence if you only watch content after it's been shown on television -- unless it's on iPlayer. TV programmes downloaded or streamed after broadcast on other catch-up services are fine without one.

Confused Don't be -- here we try to clear up when you do and when you don't need a licence.

I never watch BBC programmes

If you never watch the BBC or BBC iPlayer and only watch TV using other channels' catch-up services, you don't need a TV licence.

I only watch BBC on catch-up via iPlayer

You will need a licence.

BBC iPlayer is the only catch-up service you need a have a TV licence to watch, even if you never use it to watch live TV.

ITV Hub, All 4 and My5 are legal to use without a licence as long as you're not using...

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