Television packages you don’t need a license for
I remember the days when we only had four television channels, BBC One, ITV, BBC Two and Channel 4, and since then, there have been several popular alternative television packages available.
Sky was introduced in the early 1990s, back in the days when satellite television and MTV was the place to be if you were a teenage music fan before Channel 5 made its debut in 1997.
Attractive alternative television packages that you don’t need a TV license for include:
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is an annual membership that offers customers the chance to watch movies and films, read e-books and listen to music within the package.
You can even offer your food online, thanks to Prime Now.
Amazon now sells milk, pizzas and butter with delivery less than an hour from the time of ordering.
However, you have to order a minimum of £20 and then pay the £6.99 delivery.
Amazon also adds a £2 delivery charge for their drivers, although you can delete this option.
Amazon Delivery is only available for people who live in and around the London and Surrey areas.
You can find out if your street is covered by entering your postcode here.
How long has it been around?
It was launched in 2007
Where can you purchase it?
If you already have an Amazon account, sign up for student prime, click the verification link in the email they send you to confirm your email address and complete the process.
Membership to Amazon Prime costs £79.99 per year, or if you are a student, you pay £39.99, but you will have to send proof such as an NUS or Unidays Card to Amazon before you get the student discount.
Amazon gives you a 30-day free trial so that you can get Amazon free for one month, and if you like it, you can join up.
If you don’t want to renew your Amazon Prime once it has expired, make sure you log into your Amazon account and cancel it. Otherwise, you will be charged.
What about a discount on Amazon Prime for Students?
I have Amazon Student, so I pay £39 per year once my free 6-month trial is up. I currently get all the benefits of the £79 membership, such as 10% off books, unlimited instant streaming and access to the music library apart from
I also receive free next day delivery on all products I buy that are in stock.
Unlike full Amazon Prime members who pay £79 per year, students can’t stream movies, music or television from Amazon Prime Instant Video or Amazon Prime Music. Students are also unable to rent books from the Kindle Lenders’ Library for the duration of the free trial that full Prime members are entitled to.
Netflix Television package
Netflix offers a free service of (30 days) when you first sign up, and Netflix’s standard service starts at £5.99/$7.99 a month, which only allows one TV to stream.
There’s also an £8.99/$11.99 ‘premium’ tier, enabling four simultaneous streams using the same account, plus access to 4K TV on a steadily growing range of titles.
There’s not much point in getting the premier tier television package unless you own a 4K TV.
Netflix can be streamed freely using Wi-Fi or a mobile internet connection with Android phones and iPhones, like Amazon.
Unfortunately, unlike Amazon Prime, no student discount is offered on Netflix.
One of the advantages of investing in Amazon Prime and Netflix is that you don’t have to fork out £80 a year for a television license.
However, if you watch or record live television, including catch up TV, on the BBC iplayer, you will need a licence.
Are you subscribed to any of the television packages mentioned above?
What are your thoughts?
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