Christmas is coming, and with it 10 live Premier League football matches on Amazon Prime.
Every club in the Premier League has a match that will be broadcast on the streaming service between Boxing Day and December 28. On Boxing Day alone, there are seven matches, with four different kick-off times. Newcastle United's trip to Leicester is among the matches that day.
Viewers do not legally require a TV Licence if they do not watch live broadcasts on streaming services like Amazon Prime (except BBC iPlayer, which always requires a TV Licence).
Read more: Amazon Prime Premier League matches for December 2022 and free trial information
But the rules are different if you watch 'live TV' on Amazon Prime. And that, the rules state, includes Premier League football, even if it is only shown live on Amazon Prime and not on a TV channel.
Do I legally need TV Licence to watch live Premier League football on Amazon Prime?
Yes. A TV Licence is required to watch Premier League football legally on Amazon Prime, if you watch the broadcasts live.
As TV Licensing sets out: "If you’re watching TV showing live on Amazon Prime, you need to be covered by a TV Licence. You don’t need a TV Licence if you’re only watching on-demand programmes on Amazon Prime."
You may wonder, does Amazon Prime count as TV if it's only available online?
ChronicleLive asked the BBC, which is responsible for TV Licensing, about this. We were told "television programme services" shown live require a licence to watch them.
Amazon Prime's Premier League broadcasts are considered to be "television programme services" by the TV Licence authority because of the production and editorial values, editorial control and enough of a regular schedule.
That is why live TV, including football, on Amazon Prime, requires a licence, but watching something like a live Twitch or YouTube streamer does not (although a licence is technically required if watching live TV via YouTube, like when BT Sport streamed the Champions League final on YouTube).
However, you do not need a licence if you watch replays of the games. One is only required if you watch live.
TV Licensing adds: "You don’t need a TV Licence if you never watch live on any channel, [live] TV service or [live] streaming service."
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