It is available via satellite broadcasting, cable TV, IPTV, and terrestrial digital broadcasting, as well as the internet. NHK WORLD PREMIUM is NHK's Japanese-language channel for overseas viewers. It broadcasts news and information programs as well as dramas, music programs, children's programs, and sports.

The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Japanese: 日本放送協会, Hepburn: Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai), also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.

*The service is free; however, data communication fees are the responsibility of users.

If you have signed a contract with NHK then yes, you have to pay in order to avoid extra fees and potential legal repercussions. But if you never sign a contract in the first place, there are no legal consequences if you don't pay. By avoiding signing a contract, you can avoid paying the receiving fee to NHK.