How Much Is a TV Licence for a Pub?
A pub TV licence costs £180 a year and covers every screen at one address. Here is exactly what it includes, when you need more than one, and how it differs from your Sky Sports and music licences.
The short answer
A pub TV licence costs £180 a year. One licence covers every TV and screen at a single address, however many you have, so long as the venue is one premises. You need it whenever a screen shows live broadcast TV, including live sport. It is the same standard fee a household pays for a colour licence, and it is separate from your Sky Sports subscription and your PRS and PPL music licences.
Annual cost
£180
Per premises, per year
Screens covered
All
Every TV at one address
Monthly by DD
£15.00
Same £180 spread over 12 months
What the Pub Licence Covers
| Item | Covered by the £180 licence? |
|---|---|
| Every TV and screen at one address | Yes |
| Live broadcast channels (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Virgin) | Yes |
| Live sport on Sky, TNT Sports and other channels | Yes |
| Live TV streamed via YouTube or Amazon Prime Video | Yes |
| BBC iPlayer (any content, live or on-demand) | Yes |
| On-demand Netflix, Disney+ and similar (no live TV) | No, separate licence |
| Living accommodation on the premises | No, separate licence |
| A sub-let area or on-site social / welfare club | No, separate licence |
A single licence covers all TV receiving equipment at one address. You only need additional licences for genuinely separate parts of the operation: living accommodation on the premises, any area you sub-let to another business, or an on-site social or welfare club.
When a Pub Needs More Than One Licence
Living accommodation on site
If there is a flat or living quarters above or behind the pub with a TV in use, that accommodation needs its own separate licence. The pub licence does not stretch to cover a home on the premises.
Sub-let areas
If you sub-let part of the premises to another business, that business is responsible for its own TV licence. The pub's licence only covers the parts you operate.
On-site social or welfare club
An attached social club or welfare club counts as a separate premises for licensing and needs its own licence.
More than one venue
Each separate address needs its own £180 licence. Two pubs under the same ownership are two licences, not one.
What the TV Licence Does Not Replace
A common mix-up: the TV licence is only one of the things a pub showing TV typically needs. It does not cover any of these, which are charged separately:
- • Sky Sports / TNT Sports commercial subscription - what you pay the broadcaster to receive the sports channels in a commercial venue. The TV licence is on top of this, not instead of it.
- • PRS for Music licence - covers playing recorded or broadcast music in public, including TV soundtracks.
- • PPL licence - covers the use of recorded music and music videos in public.
The £180 TV licence is purely the legal permission to receive live broadcast TV. The commercial sports and music licences are separate commercial agreements.