What are the rules on showing the Cup Final?
Q. I own a bar and restaurant site in Birmingham. We do not have any entertainment except recorded music permitted on our premises licence. Many of my customers, avid Aston Villa fans, are asking if I will show the FA Cup final on Saturday. I would like to show the match and I have the appropriate hours on my licence to sell alcohol and open for the match. However, are there any other permissions I may need on my licence, such as films?
A. As to showing the match, assuming there are no conditions on your licence to the contrary, you do not need to have films permitted on your licence,
as showing live TV is an exemption to this requirement and not a 'regulated activity'.
While checking your licence conditions, have a look to see if there are any other restrictions which may affect how you wish to operate. For instance, if you wish to sell alcohol to customers who are just there to watch the match but will not be having any food, make sure there is no ‘restaurant condition’ on the licence — for example, ‘alcohol may only be served ancillary to a table meal’ — which could affect how you wish to trade. Also, any pub or bar which shows live television must be covered by a valid TV licence (if there is living accommodation on the premises where a TV is also in use, this must be covered by a separate licence).
Additionally, I assume that as you already have recorded music on your licence you will also have the relevant PPL and PRS licences in place.
As a final note, be aware that you may attract a new crowd to watch the football, or your regulars may be staying with you for longer than normal, so you should ensure you can manage the change in operation and, if necessary, undertake a risk assessment, including the need for door supervisors.
Number of TENs allowed is going up — in 2016
Q. I manage a pub and recently we have had a very successful karaoke night on Saturdays, using temporary event notices (TENs) to effectively extend the existing hours on our premises licence so we can trade for longer. I have two more karaoke nights planned during this year. We only have one TEN remaining as we have used 11 out of the 12 TENs permitted for the year. However my deputy manager has told me he thinks the number of permitted TENS for a premises has now increased to 15. Could you confirm whether this is true?
A. Your deputy manager is right in that the number of TENs permitted for a premises is increasing to 15 per calendar year (following the introduction of the Deregulation Act) — but this will only take effect from 2016.
Therefore for this year, the maximum number of TENs for a premises is still 12.
It is worth noting that if your karaoke event finishes by 11pm, and is for audiences of 500 or less, it is unlikely to require licensing due to various deregulation that has occurred since 2012, starting with the Live Music Act.