Brits could be fined £1,000 for watching the Super Bowl in the UK
UK viewers of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles risk being landed with a £1,000 fine if they've not got the correct paperwork in place.
Taking place on Sunday (9 February), the world will be watching once again as Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs square off against Jalen Hurts' Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
President Donald Trump has confirmed he will be in attendance for the occasion with some of the biggest names in show business and sport also expected to attend.
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That will very much include the extremely famous girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, music sensation Taylor Swift.
And with multiple Grammy award-winning Kendrick Lamar taking to the stage for the halftime show, all eyes will be on whether he inflames his beef with Drake even more than he recently has.
The NFL is a growing sport on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, with the UK and Europe outreach programmes a huge opportunity for league bosses when it comes to making money and expanding the game.
It's why in 2024, more than 3.4 million Brits tuned in live overnight to watch the event despite kick off being at 11.30pm and not ending until the very early hours of the following Monday morning.
Over in the USA the game is being broadcasted on Fox and for free on streaming platform Tubi.
In the UK, Super Bowl LIX broadcast rights belong to Sky Sports and DAZN for those who pay for those subscription services.
Thankfully, it is also available on free-to-air channels, with ITV1 and ITVX also having the rights for the 2025 event.
But if you decide to tune in, you could end up facing a potential £1,000 fine if you don't have the correct paperwork.
We're talking about a TV Licence, which is a necessary legal requirement if you end up watching live TV of any kind.
This also counts for live on-demand content such as on YouTube, Netflix live events, and ITVX.
Daniel McAfee, Head of Legal Operations at Lawhive, says: "Under UK law, any live television broadcast requires a valid TV licence, regardless of the streaming platform."
A TV licensing spokesperson previously said that the service 'has a duty to enforce the law when there is evidence that someone has avoided paying for a TV Licence'.
The licence fee is currently £169.50 per year. It will increase by £5 in April this year.
Topics: UK News, US News, Super Bowl, NFL, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Sport, TV, Crime, Money, Patrick Mahomes
Tom Earnshaw