Chris

This is where the fine distinction between a subscription and a licence comes in.

You need a licence to operate equipment that receives TV broadcasts. That definition has been fudged slightly so that for IP delivery, you only need the licence to use iPlayer to view programmes as broadcast. You don't need the licence for other IP players and you don't need it to view BBC content stored in the iPlayer for catch up viewing.

Further, unlike a subscription, paying the licence fee does not create a contractual obligation between you and the BBC. If you pay Sky for service and they don't provide it, you have redress under the Sale of Goods Act. If you buy a TV licence and then find, for whatever reason, you can't receive BBC transmissions, then you have no redress at all.

The fact that the BBC is the organisation that collects and spends the licence fee is what leads to the false comparisons with TV companies that operate via subscription. But to make that comparison is to fail to understand the legal distinctions that have been made. These may seem esoteric but they're actually very important for understanding where we are, and the very real legislative issues that will need to be overcome if in future we're going to opt for something else.