Millions of Brits are at risk of being slapped with an eye-watering £1,000 fine for watching Netflix‘s groundbreaking new show.
Over the past few years, Netflix has started airing live shows for fans to watch in the latest innovation from the nation’s most popular streaming service.
The subscription site’s glossy new offering Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney sees them venture into the well-trodden world of late night chat shows, calling on the American stand-up comic to entertain viewers.
It will be broadcast live on the service from Friday at 2am (10pm ET), but if you fancy a midnight snack of laughs, celebrities and good-natured discussion, you should make sure you have a TV licence first.
Although those who use Netflix have already paid to watch the programmes on the site, if you’re not in the know about this secret problem you could possibly be hit with a financial penalty just for switching it on.
Daniel McAfee, who is head of legal operations at Lawhive, has said: ‘Under UK law, any live television broadcast requires a valid TV Licence, regardless of the streaming platform.’
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Millions of Brits are at risk of being slapped with an eye-watering £1,000 fine for watching Netflix’s groundbreaking new show
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If you fancing viewing the streamer’s glossy new offering Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, you should make sure you have a TV licence first (pictured: John in March)
Host John is said to have had Hollywood VIPs chuckling as he presented Netflix’s prestigious season launch in January.
‘This will be the one place where you [might] see Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting next to Nikki Glaser sitting next to a family therapist with music by Mannequin Pussy,’ he told the crowd at the historic Egyptian Theatre.
‘This is a really fun experiment. Not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan.’
Concerns over fines for UK viewers come after the same issue was raised over Netflix’s much-heralded airing of WWE’s flagship weekly wresting show WWE Raw in January.
WWE’s NXT and SmackDown live shows were also available to watch on the subscription service.
Raw first premiered back in 1993 and has been one of wrestling’s most popular events for three decades.
Over the years, viewers have watched it on a number of different networks including USA Network, TNN/Spike TV, USA Network and Netflix.
There have been 1,651 episodes over 32 seasons and fans have praised the fact that they can watch it on Netflix.
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Host John is said to have had Hollywood VIPs chuckling as he presented Netflix’s prestigious season launch in January (pictured)
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Celebrities attended the Next On Netflix event in January (pictured, Left to Right: Ben Affleck, CM Punk, Tina Fey, Bela Bajaria, Ross Duffer, Matt Duffer, Rhea Ripley, and John)
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Concerns over fines for UK viewers come after the same issue was raised over Netflix’s much-heralded airing of WWE’s flagship weekly wresting show WWE Raw in January
Speaking about the decision to air WWE Raw on Netflix, TKO President and COO said last year: ‘This deal is transformative.
‘It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years.
‘Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.’
Meanwhile Netflix chief content officer, Bela Bajaria said: ‘We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix.
‘By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members.
‘Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.’
