BBC TV licence rises to £169 today - check to see if YOU are eligible for a free one

• The BBC licence fee has gone up to £169.50 today - but you may not have to pay
• READ MORE: Nearly 130 people are prosecuted EVERY DAY for failing to pay their TV licence - with many still found guilty and fined up to £1,000 despite having crippling medical conditions

The TV licence fee has gone up by £10.50 today after a price hike was confirmed in December.

Regular licences now cost £169.50 and black and white TV licences face an increase of £3.50, up from £53.50 to £57.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer confirmed the 6.7% rise in a statement to MPs last year but added that she was launching a review of the BBC's funding model.

The fee has previously been frozen for two years. 

The increase is based on the consumer prices index (CPI) inflation rate from September.

Ms Frazer said in December: 'As the licence fee rises, the BBC needs to be realistic about how much it can rise by.

'We want to make sure we protect licence fee payers and make sure that it just rises at an amount that people can afford'.

Asked about a rise to over £170, she said: 'Well, obviously, that's high. This is something that we're looking at, at the moment. And we'll be making a decision on this in due course'.  

Ms Frazer said the BBC provided a great service but needed to give 'value for money'.

The corporation is seeking to make £500 million of savings in the face of high inflation and a two-year freeze to the price of a TV licence, which provides most of its funding.

The TV licence is the broadcaster's primary source of funding, and it goes towards multiple BBC services, including iPlayer, radio, television, and more. 

According to the UK Parliament website, the BBC accrued a total of £3.74 billion from the licence fee alone, making up a huge 65% of the broadcaster's entire income.

In January 2022, then-culture secretary Nadine Dorries announced the BBC licence fee would be frozen at £159 for two years, before being allowed to rise in line with inflation until March 2028.

Under current British law, you must have a TV licence to watch or record live television on any channel.

This includes other broadcasters like ITV and Channel 4 and also applies to you if you use BBC iPlayer, even if it's just for catch up, and accessing content on your phone, laptop, PC or tablet.

Who needs a TV licence? 

The licence covers live television and everything on the BBC - you won't need to sign up for one if you watch on-demand content on Amazon Prime, ITVX or Sky, amongst others.

However, if you used Sky to watch a live football match you would need one - and the TV Licensing Authority are notorious for catching people out.

You could be fined up to £1,000 or even taken to court if you are accessing services without a license. 

In 2022, an astonishing 44,106 Brits were convicted and handed fines up to £1,000 - making it the most common crime in the country, excluding motoring offences.

While you can't be put in prison for evading the licence fee, you can be for failure to pay the hefty four-digit fine. 

Who is exempt from a TV licence? 

But not everybody needs a licence fee, some are exempt, like if you're older than 75 and claim pension credit. 

The TV Licensing Authority website reads: 'If you're watching away from your parents' address on a device powered solely by its own internal batteries (i.e. it is not connected to an aerial or plugged into the mains) you will be covered by their TV Licence.  

And if someone in your household is visually impaired, you get half price of your licence fee.

You can apply for a concessionary TV licence, costing £7.50 per room, flat or bungalow if you live in sheltered accomodation or sheltered care.