Does the bbc have a deal with billag or is this all of grey legality?
It seems strange to me given how protective of rights the bbc normally is (reasonably hardy iplayer blocks, content on the website only available in the uk, etc....)
I'm really curious. How is it British tv channels are widespread in Switzerland and available even on normal basic tv with no restrictions or anything?
I have Swisscom tv, and we get most channels from BBC/ITV/C4/C5 etc. I assume Swisscom pay the british broadcasters for them!!
On the most basic (free with your telephone) Swisscom package, you will get only BBC1 and BBC World News (the news channel that repeats every hour or so) plus some (other) nearly useless English-language channels (24 hour news and finance channels). None of the other BBC or ITV channels.
As for Billag -- if you watch (or are able to watch) TV, any channel/s on TV, whether domestic or imported, you pay Billag.
This is interesting, because as well as BBC 1, 2, 3 and 4, the BBC news channels, and BBC Entertainment Europe, I also do get ITV 1 and 2, and also all the Channel 4 network (including E4, More4 etc.) as standard; and the only extra I pay (on top of Billag) is for certain subscription movie and music (like MTV) channels I opted for through Breitband.ch.
I thought they'd just in return allow Brits to watch "Bauer sucht Frau"...
It's called Free to Air. Which becomes free to do what you want with.
Where do you get all.those TV stations from? Breitband.ch?
I get British channels via cable on intergga.ch (for Basel area). A couple (like E4) are premium - 5 CHF a month.
All the cable providers have the main channels, but the more you pay, the more you get - check their packages/channel lists on their respective sites.
Zattoo.com is internet TV which, again, carries the main channels; is free (after sign-up) or sub. for better picture quality, no ads. and record (on line storage) and recall.
Can be played on TV with their SmartTV app.; cast from your computer/device to a wifi enabled TV using casting dongle/box, or connected with a cable from 'puter/lappy.
Regarding iPlayer, the easiest/cheapest (free) option is to install 'Hola' extension on Chrome or Firefox browser (desktop only) and assign a UK VPN.
IIRC there is a company in Germany that basically has bought up the European rights to all terrestial channels in Europe. They then resell them back across Europe to cable TV companies.
Some of those companies include packages of channels in their base/default offering, some charge extra for them. The cable companies are pretty much free to cut/add channels as they wish. Glattnet (Dubi-TV) includes BBC1-4, ITV1-4, C4,E4,M4,F4 and Channel 5. The latter being the home of "must see tv"
If you missed "Benefits-too fat to work"....you missed a treat.
Miss Fatty-Chub-Chubs bitching that it isn't their fault???
Fat-Fight-Off (or whatever it is called) on C4 is also good "point at and laugh" TV
Switzerland north of the alps can just receive the satellite footprint, so Freesat or S"Y is possible, but it is best with a 80 or 90 cm dish. You can have a smart tv and fool it so it thinks its in the UK for catch up. You View catch up tv boxes also work, with a bit of fooling, although you cannot watch live because there is no aerial connection. There are also iptv boxes (most which you pay for) which can stream all the UK channels. Providers like Zattoo, Swiss TV, Teleboy TV, Swisscom, Sunrise TV, Wilmaa also provide UK channels online through a box or browser. A Slingbox situated in the UK could provide a streaming feed through Freeview, if connected to an aerial and having an internet connection. I am presently in Israel streaming my Freesat from Switzerland via a slingbox, as if I were sitting in the UK.
So a large choice, depends on what you want and your location and whether you want to mess about with a dish or not. Everything is possible with some effort!
thats the one I was wondering about. Know anything more about this German company?
Just seems odd that the BBC entirely as it stands can be transmitted in Europe where they block certain content even from online in the UK.
My cable is odd. I have the BBCs and ITV 1 and 2 but only film 4 for 4. Have to get the premium package for the rest.
Oddly I get better reception near lake geneva than I do in london!
My understanding is that Swiss copyright law allows retransmission of freely available transmissions. The Swiss broadcasters just pick up the free-to-air (FTA) stuff and resend it with no permission from BBC/ITV/C4/etc. (who probably would not be in a position to give permission anyway).
The UK FTA channels have moved to a satellite with a smaller footprint to avoid non-UK folks receiving it, but there's only so much they can do without affecting their own customers.
no issues with my freesat on an 80cm dish in zurich. setup with a london postcode, so better than the 'BBC1 Wales' on cable.