French TV licence could be required for computer screens

People living in France may be required to buy a TV licence if they want to watch TV programmes on computers, the culture minister said this weekend.

President François Hollande’s new government wants to increase revenues for public sector broadcasting services, and extending the TV licence to computer screens could be one way of doing this, Reuters reports culture minister Aurélie Filippetti as saying. She added that the government would consider the move next year. The licence fee for mainland France currently costs €125 and is only required by those who own TV sets.