6 Feb, 2014 @ 15:39
1 min read

Brit expats in Spain lose all BBC channels with ITV and C4 to follow soon

AT half past four this morning, many British expats in southern Spain finally lost all BBC channels.

All free channels from ITV and Channel 4 are likely to also be switched to the new UK-focused satellite very soon, probably on the morning of Tuesday, 11 February.

The switch to the UK spot beam  has been a hot topic of discussion in Southern Spain, with expats nervously awaiting this day for years.

The new Astra 2E satellite will improve reception in the UK but, as shown in the map, doesn’t extend to the Costa del Sol.

Olive Press readers have been getting in touch to express their disappointment at having lost all BBC TV and radio channels.

“There are people running around like headless chickens wondering how they can get it back,” said Het Farrington, inVilanova Cataluna.

Areas which have seen complete loss of BBC channels are Costa Del Sol, Andalucia, Southern Portugal, much of Catalunya, the Canary Islands and also Italy.

Gibraltar should also have been affected but some residents claim to still be receiving  BBC 1 HD and BBC 2 HD, with all other channels reportedly coming back today. Those in Malaga are also reportedly still receiving BBC channels.

Once migration is completed, satellite operator SES Astra is likely to make adjustments which could affect the quality of reception once more.

Sky channels are less likely to be affected as it is probable that they will be broadcast via the pan European beam that can be received in Southern Spain.

However, BBC, ITV and C4 will all be lost from Freesat and Sky boxes and subscribing to Sky will not bring them back.

But there are alternatives to continue getting UK TV. Some free services already exist, such as Filmon,  which are viewed on a computer screen or connected to the television, although picture quality can be poor.

Another alternative is to subscribe to a professional streaming service and connect an IPTV set top box to the main television.

 

Tom Powell

DO YOU HAVE NEWS FOR US at Spain’s most popular English newspaper - the Olive Press? Contact us now via email: newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call 951 273 575. To contact the newsdesk out of regular office hours please call +34 665 798 618.

223 Comments

  1. With apologies to Grammy and Gramps, IPTV and streaming is the way to go in Andalucia. We ditched the satellite completely last year. Freed up a lot of space on our terrace.

    Now stream everything. Free IPTV box on TV (Apple TV or Roku now supports live TV). We also use a VPN service to stream Netflix to mobile devices.

  2. I believe that most of those who express ”disappointment” in the loss of the BBC are those followers of soaps such as East Enders. Sorry to have to tell you that East Enders is NOT true.

    I have watched it and dont you wish there was a knob on the TV could turn the intelligence up. There is a knob for brightness,,,,, but that does not work for East Enders either.

  3. Those who followed your blog (since February 2013!) on this should have been adequately prepared as there was a plethora of advice there.

    PS Peter – Love your comment “If Scotland votes for independence can they cut them off and shift the beam south :-)”

  4. carla, why do you always insult anyone with an opinion? (very spanish of you). Do you have shares in Eastenders? I think its good to hear people criticise that most depressing of programs – oh dear, now you’ll insult me i suppose…

    Peter, along with no qulity tv, can we also give an independent scotland a bill for the *mountains* of money thats flowed north over the decades?

  5. latest today Friday 8 Feb
    for skymadrid website ..

    News
    Updated Friday, 7th February, 2014
    NO MOVE FOR ITV AND CHANNEL FOUR
    The expected ITV and Channel Four move to Astra 2E didn’t happen last night. It’s likely to take place early next week. SES Astra don’t normally make changes at weekends.
    Positioning data for the current satellite, Astra 1N, indicates it will close and start moving by Wednesday.
    Thank you for the literally hundreds of reception reports. It will take some time to digest the information and reply to all. The biggest surprise is the number of people in southern France who have lost BBC services. For more than 15 years, dishes of around 80-90cm have easily received BBC signals. The change came as a shock to many.
    Reports from the Algarve region, near Faro, indicate that a dish of 3 metres in size will receive no BBC. There is no hope at all for the majority of expats there with 1.2 and 1.5 metre dishes. About 100km north of Lisbon, a 2.3 metre dish is just about receiving the new 2E broadcasts.
    In Spain, the previous hotspot/coldspot areas have been inverted. The Costa Blanca region between Alicante and Valencia is especially favoured: the BBC is received on 1.0 and 1.2 metre dishes. Conversely, Catalunya, The Costa Del Sol and all of Andalucia have seen their BBC signal dramtically weakened, to the point where no signal is received at all, even on huge dishes.
    More to follow.

  6. easy solution for wifi users with apple ipad, iphone ..

    okay go to apple app store, download Filmon app ( free ) red and white icon.. then you can watch what ever you want and more even channel 5, Sport, Movies, BBC channels.. its free..

    watch either on your ipad or iphone or…..
    connect through your TV easy on bigger screen.. via ipad to HDMI cable or ipad to other TV connection point, depending on how new your TV is..

    and keep up to date when ITV channels will be lost by skyinmadrid website it updates daily, warns when loss of ITV will take place and reports for all european regions …
    and asks you to report your loss and area so they know …

  7. Some interesting points in the original article about Filmon and alternatives.

    Quote:
    But there are alternatives to continue getting UK TV. Some free services already exist, such as Filmon, which are viewed on a computer screen or connected to the television, although picture quality can be poor.

    Another alternative is to subscribe to a professional streaming service and connect an IPTV set top box to the main television.

    Filmon is a ‘professional streaming service’. The quote above seems to imply otherwise. You can use the free service or pay for the subscription service (about €14 per month)

    You can connect to Filmon using an IPTV set-top box and the video quality is about standard definition internet TV.

    Picture quality can be poor whatever service you use. A big factor is broadband speed. A high definition live TV stream from iPlayer will look poor if your broadband speed is too low.

    iPlayer and itvPlayer for live and catch up can also be viewed on your TV using an IPTV box.

    It appears that the blog:

    “Are you ready for the ‘Big TV Switch Off’”

    is now closed for comments – or is that just a temporary problem? However, you can still view the blog:

    “http://theolivepress.es/spain-news/2013/02/07/are-you-ready-for-the-big-switch-off/”

  8. Hi
    My parents live just outside of Malaga, and they have lost BBC1 and another channel Sorry cant remember what one it was.
    My mum has asked me to find out how she can get TV over there. they have sky but obviously loosing channels. she was told that she has to get internet?
    They only have a radio phone and Telefonica wont give them the normal landline, saying that there is none there…(200yds over the road there is a pylon!) but they have had that problem for over 10 years now.
    Anyway can anyone tell me please how she can get internet, and with who? and then what else she needs to do.
    They are both in there 60’s+ and my father is disabled they so look forward the there evenings watching there favorite TV programs.
    Any help would be Great Thanks.

  9. Just another nail in the ‘ex-pat’ coffin !!! We have lost health care, widows pensions, mobility allowance, virtually all rights to anything that the rest-of the world can have for free if they just turn up in good old Blighty and sign up for without making a penny piece of contributions !!!
    I have worked all my adult life, never drawn a penny dole or sick money, always contributed and paid my taxes. Whats my reward ?? A seemingly mile long line of snotty nosed civil servants and completely useless govt officials, concentrating solely on what ex-pats can’t have !!! Makes me ashamed to be British. Last week it cost me close on 200 pounds for a passport renewal ! My new passport was sent by DHL couriers, and my old, expired one was as well, but in a separate package !!! It cost me more for the courier than a box of Land Rover spares to be sent from the UK weighing 24 kilos. The point of my criticism ??? The courier ‘phoned me and I had to agree to him leaving it at a mutually agreed point, despite the Passport forms stating that they will only deliver to your registered address. I must live in the village garage where my passports were left for my collection !!!
    And as far as disparaging anyone who watches Eastenders etc, I was always under the illusion that an individual could watch what they elected to watch, without needing the permission of folk who seemingly live in Ivory Towers, or has that law just been changed by Cameron and his toss-pot government as well.
    Our village goat-herder applies more logic to his herd of goats than Parliament has to serious problems in the Uk like the flooding problem, also something that the govt has had plenty of time to address and plan for, NOT !!!
    But lets face it, the Thames Floodgate is 2 meters too low, and the pillocks who sanctioned that, sanctioned the position of the new satellite as well.
    My brother lives in the middle of nowhere at the top of Scotland, and he has never had any problems with the old footprint, viewing his Samsung smart tv !!!
    They simply are pissed off that they can’t force you and all the other ex-pat’s to pay the licence fee,and they can’t threaten you with their intimidating licence fee adverts etc Simple as that. Pity they don’t pay more attention to all the crime and other much more pressing problems that led to a lot of us wanting to leave the UK in the first place.
    How nice is it to walk through your village at 12 o’clock at night, under the stars, minus the fear of yobos or being mugged or knifed. I would rather lose UK tv than my improved life here with our wonderful spanish neighbours.

    Y Viva España !!

  10. Scotland pays more than its share, hence why we can offer free prescriptions and further education.

    Itv sd still working in Fuengirola but no bbc channels.

  11. @David Superb rant and I mean that in the nicest possible way, ever since this government came to power there seems to have been more and more attacks on ex pats, particularly those living in Spain. I think it is to satisfy the xenophobic readers of the Daily Mail who seem to think ex pats are dirty traitors who should be deprived of everything they have worked and paid taxes for before they left the UK and exercised their EU rights to live in retirement (or work)in the EU country of their choice. Some I believe would have us extradited and hung drawn and quartered outside the Tower. I suspect the ones who shout the loudest are those who don’t work and live an easy life on benefits.

    As for the removal of the TV signals it smacks a little of spite as they have removed all European signals to beam solely at the UK. I smell an ulterior motive and I am pretty sure that in the not too distant future we will be offered a paid for I player system, still that’s just my cynical other half coming out.

  12. @Scotsman

    I won’t get into the old who pays what and personally want Scotland to stay part of the union but it seems Alex Salmond has the same democratic beliefs as Cameron. Ex pat Scots won’t be able to vote in the upcoming referendum but French people living in Scotland will. All seems a bit cock-eyed to me.

    “http://www.connexionfrance.com/Scots-referendum-France-EU-eligible-vote-15439-view-article.html”

  13. Reply to Jamie

    i am simply trying to help with my above post ref filmon from apple free app, it works very well for me, i have 3mb wifi and live in malaga region of southern spain, i am not saying its perfect for everyone..

    i am trying to help people as I did not know about this until i was told and maybe others dont, its a good option for short term if not for long term .

    it is free for bbc, channel 5 itv and many more if you want to upgrade thats up to the individual…

    i downloaded from apple store FREE and watch with my ipad which i can put through TV and its Perfect…

  14. To jaynee

    I didn’t notice your second comment (about Filmon February 7th, 2014 1:56 pm) until after I wrote my contribution above about Filmon. I was referring, in that, to the original article in this blog and not to your second comment.

    I ought to add that I agree with everything you said. I think that your use of an iPad is a good example of an effective solution. Possibly only in the short term but it does provide ‘breathing space’ and so a more relaxed opportunity to look for alternatives.

    In your set-up, using the iPad as a ‘set-top’ box, a more permanent arrangement could be to stick with Filmon and replace the iPad with a TV box permanently connected to the TV and controlled with a remote control.

    So, basically, we are saying the same thing. Filmon is a professional solution. The Filmon company is one of the biggest, possibly the biggest operator in the streaming TV business. For the thousands out there who are looking for an internet TV fix, you’d be ‘daft’ to ignore Filmon.

    You may know that it is possible to stream wirelessly from iPad or iPhone to the TV and so avoid the use of an HDMI cable – just one refinement that can be added later. The iPad is then effectively a smart remote control.

  15. Or better still Jaynee, Buy and Apple TV box, play film on on your phone and you can select view through Apple TV and it will be streamed straight through to the TV Screen.

  16. Never anything good on bbc anyway so no loss.

    Love how scotland got mentioned though I wonder if England had the option to be in dependant from the rest of the uk would there still be the same debate……

  17. Hi Paul

    Or better still Jaynee, Buy an Apple TV box, play film on on your phone and you can select view through Apple TV and it will be streamed straight through to the TV Screen

    Precisely what I had in mind when I said:

    You may know that it is possible to stream wirelessly from iPad or iPhone to the TV and so avoid the use of an HDMI cable – just one refinement that can be added later. The iPad is then effectively a smart remote control.

    but I did not want to go too technical. An Apple TV box or a Raspberry Pi does the job, although the Raspberry Pi is about half the price of the Apple. Either of those boxes converts your TV to a smart TV.

    The Apple and Raspberry Pi are IPTV boxes that connect to the TV through an HDMI lead and need a wired or wifi connection to your internet router. The TV stream is from the iPad, to the router and then to the IPTV box and the TV. The advantage is that iPad is now wireless.

    Some would think the arrangement overkill – OK if you have a spare iPad and Raspberry Pi. A more sensible arrangement, if you are streaming, as in this case, from Filmon, is to run Filmon directly on the Apple or the Raspberry TV box – then no need to tie up an iPad or iPhone. And the Raspberry Pi is a fraction of the price of an iPad.

  18. scotland should stand alone……….because of the krankies if nothing else!…btw if jimmy krankie needed hospital attention would he/she be admitted to an adult or childrens ward???????????

  19. Sorry Jamie I put my comment in before yours came up. No worries. By the Way what do you mean about running filmon directly from the apple – I can’t see a link?

  20. Hi Paul

    Here’s a YouTube of a guy streaming live TV direct to his Apple TV 2. He does not use Filmon as an example – but it will work just the same with Filmon. His examples are mostly US cable TV.

    “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FdnLYwx_A”

    Which Apple TV version do you have?

  21. Immigration, David Cameron, The Krankies, Scottish independence,Licence-fee dodgers, Soaps snobbery, Techno-babble. See, my mum always said telly killed conversation. She was right. Look at the chat that’s ensued on it’s demise.
    @Zo: By the way, your old folks only chance of back-home telly, is by a landline.They need to insist on being connected to the system. They will then require a bit of technical assistance to get up and running. Beware the new breed of shark that will be swimming in these waters though !
    Good luck to them. Hope they get their evening entertainment back.

  22. Since the loss of ‘Stenders I am now filling my days watching Mexican and Argentinian soaps on Spanish TV. The birds are much nicer! Who needs Auntie Beeb? And they have psychics and shopping on there.

  23. As for Scotland – there is no debate on who pays what. Its all public records. Scotland recieves a hefty subsidy from england, and pays a very small percentage back in.
    Any referendum will be voted down because the scots know, underneath all the retoric, that the money tap will be turned off. So stop with the myths and look up the facts.

  24. I would appreciate knowing how to receive good picture quality for UK tv on my normal tv. I don’t know why BBC cannot provide a service – for a reasonable fee – outside the UK and, thus, save UK license payers some cost.

    It is incredible that such a prestigious organization does not see the point of increasing its viewers AND listeners around the world. To think you now cannot get BBC radio in Europe (except by internet) is ridiculous.

  25. To lesley

    I agree about BBC radio. I can see why they have reduced the TV footprint. Is reducing the radio coverage so necessary?

    It could be that the Beeb prefer to have all their transmissions (TV and radio) on the UK beam. Could be less costly for them.

    Of course, apart from the problem of broadcast rights, ultimately it almost certainly comes down to profit. Why would the BBC give their TV for free to Europe when they can sell some of their programming?

    Your question about “good picture quality”. Are you thinking of internet TV?

  26. BigJon I think you may be wrong about it getting voted down according to the news it is anyone guess which way it will go…. Also public record show scotland pays in a higher % than it recieves which is fact however that is neither here nor there . A democratic referendum has been approved by all in the uk and given none of us have a vote it really doesn’t matter what we think or say at end of the day politicians rob us all

  27. Why would the BBC give their TV for free to Europe when they can sell some of their programming ?

    Basically because they are too *****g stupid to even think of adopting that excellent idea, let alone come up with it.
    Mix that with not giving a crap about any ex-pats anywhere (Unless a war breaks out !!!! *Your Country Needs You* )
    The BBC alias UK Govt. , deem that we insurgents, who abandoned ship are no longer worth a toss, so they concentrate their busy body efforts on helping and financing all the newly arrived immigrants to those Holy Sceptered Isles and speedily rush to wash their hands of anyone who dared show a little independence, fortitude, spirit,courage and individuality (How very dare you have the b***s to be brave enough to leave for a new life in a different country !!!! Traitor !!!) .
    The mere fact that you wanted to, deemed it necessary for your safety & peace of mind, retirement, whatever you legitimate reason, to leave the UK Nanny State, relegates you to the bottom of the UK dung pile.
    Much lower than any illegal immigrants, usually to be found waiting to jump on a wagon bound for Dover etc, for instance, or arriving claiming Political Asylum etc.
    And let’s not forget that these so called government experts have recently been forced to admit that they have – quote “No true idea of how many illegal immigrants , there actually are, at large are in the UK at present” Wonderfully Professional !!!!

    I am 63 years old, I have always historically been proud to be of British heritage, for most of my life,
    Most of my life, but no longer.

    I am now absolutely disgusted with the apathetic attitude that is shown to any ex-pat who has dared to leave and migrate, the assistance you are shown, in comparison to other countries is at best, pitiful. They merely attempt top make your life as difficult and doubly costly as they possibly can.
    Doubled passport fees, DVLA refusal to renew driving licences or vehicle documents to any EU addresses other than one in the UK, life insurances, only available to UK residents, cancelled pensions and benefits, withdrawn health care, vast amounts of additional information required on your now doubly complex tax return !!!

    I have a daughter who has Cerebal Palsy, she is mentally & physically disabled. The UK has spent the last ten years, notifying us of yet another thing that she will not be entitled to.
    My wife does not qualify for Carers Allowance as we left the UK.
    My wife cares for her, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She does so because she loves her. In the UK, I owned a business and by law, had to pay at least the Minimum Wage to any employee, currently around seven UK pounds an hour. Carers Allowance that the Government pays you, ???? One pound fifty two pence an hour !!!!!! Twenty four seven care works out at the princely sum of 32 pence an hour. Bring back the Sheriff Of Nottingham !!!!
    Carers employed by the Local Councils (Not Nursing Care, Compaion Care ) = fifteen pounds 90 pence an hour—- Level equal European playing field ??? I don’t think so !!!!!

    Cheeky b******s !!!

  28. I’m in Sitges Catalonia, so far the BBC has gone but ITV is still working.
    It’s no big deal at the minute, I never watched X Factor or Eastenders but I must admit I will miss the new episodes of Sherlock.

  29. @David, It’s not the UK that is the problem, the problem is your mentality and that way that you view the world. You are part of the old school expats who’s personal issues
    are linked to a certain country that in your mind Spain better than the UK and take any opportunity to inform the world of the woes of the UK. These things are normally down to some personal issue you had back home that you are obviously disgruntled by. Take care and work on your issues because if the truth be known the Spanish will sell you down the river become they wouldn’t give a crap about you. I really hope your not one of the new-bees sitting in the cafe amused by your
    interactions with the local Manolos. You will learn my son. cue reply “I’ve been here 20 years etc’ predictable and tedious.

  30. I gave to almost agree with Robert , David. I am a few years older than you and do not have the hang ups you have. you made the decision to emigrate to Spain ( become an”immigrant”). There are if gourde way of avoiding double charges did passports and driving licences and I gave never had my pension it any benefits withdrawn.

    And Please bear in mind this blog is about uk tv in Spain ( or not as the case may be). It is not really for people to have a good old rant about the area of affairs in the “Old” country

  31. FREE INFO!!!! UK TV FREE!!!!
    I am a bit of a geek and have been testing 4 different types of the now named IPTV smart boxes for the last 4 months.
    My internet speed is less than 1mb and the only APP that works without buffering is the completely free FILMON…

    I have come to the conclusion that none of them are anywhere near SKY+ and they are all a bit of a compromise.

    This only applies if you already have internet at home, goto
    “www.filmon.com” You get all UK freeview for free NO STRINGS…. if you register with them they give you 10hrs of free recording and you can login from anywhere
    (ipad, ipod, smartphone tablet) to setup recordings.

    Have a play around with it, if you can use Facebook then you can use FILMON.

    The android IPTV boxes range from 50 euros to 85 euros any more and you are being had…..
    I do not want to get into a slagging war with anyone flogging there services on here but if anyone needs help please pass this post around.
    .
    You can link laptops and Ipads and Tablets to your TV but eventually i think you will all prefer to use a dedicated IPTV android box.
    I bought my 3 in the UK for 82 euros inc delivery.

    When you plug them in for the first time they look like an Android Mobile Phone….

  32. Thanks for our help Paul I have now managed to down load the Filmon app successfully on my I pad.
    I am on holiday in tenerife in Los christianos.
    The quality of the picture is very good but the picture freezes occasionally but we can live with this. it is better than no uk tv at all.

    Stuart

  33. @Richard
    The way the BBC is run nobody should be paying a licence fee. If you are in Little England stay off our blog this is for ex pats not xenophobic Daily Mail readers. Having got that off my chest, the internet genie has let cross border TV out of the bottle and the BBC or other broadcasters cannot put it back in. They could employ their time better by making programmes more accessible to the 5 million Brits living and working abroad rather than taking the UKIP line of wanting to build concrete walls around the British Isles.

    The BBC have every right to restrict their signal to the UK the same as I have every right to use whatever means at my disposal to watch TV from whatever country I choose. Once signals are up in the ether they have lost control of them anyway.

    I don’t know who or what has made the UK so insular these days, for a country that used to explore and colonise the world it is very sad, even the news channels barely mention news from other countries unless a UK citizen is involved in the story. By the way there is no licence fee in Spain.

  34. Ah but a lot of people do Richard, and, as you may have gathered from the various threads, we have not lost it, but simply use another conduit to receive it. So, No loss!

  35. Sorry Leslie, just noticed your comments.

    BBC DO supply a subscription channel, it is called BBC Entertainment and is available through their website for (I think) £80 per year. It is NOT the same as the normal BBC obviously,,as it show what it considers to be a fair selection of its channels. It is of course via the web

  36. @Taz et al: enough already with the misinformation. Scotland DOES get more money out of the union then it puts in. blatant lies my nationalists have muddied the picture – but dont believe me, Look It Up!
    start here… “http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16477990”
    ————-we can draw a line under that———-

    I would ask all commenters, and others concerned about no TV, to think twice about buying anything Apple. Please read up about Foxconn, the company that Apple uses to make all their stuff.

  37. @BigJon I’m not going to get into a debate with you over this the bbc have said including oil (yes that old chestnut before you say it) scotland paid 9.4% and received 9.2 given defense etc then my personal view is it’s all even Stevens we all paid in and we all benefitted except Northern Ireland who owe both scotland and England a fortune

    On apple completely agree beware as it’s not all it’s cracked up to be

  38. I have an old tv, I know filmon works although only a small screen, can my computer be linked to an old tv. in answer to Krusty, really miss the FREE sport on BBC and would have missed the Rugby if it were not for Filmon

  39. Robert, firstly, do not refer to me as your son, you are not my father, nor could you ever hope to fill his shoes.

    In my humble opinion, and I have consulted with, my friends and family,there appears, ( Admittedly, according to them,) little wrong with my mentality, other than anal person like you presuming their all knowing attitude in a self expressed superior manner —- Yawn !!!!

    Assumption is indeed the mother of all mistakes, and you my friend are the gold plated assumer of all time. I have paid my dues, I have worn the uniform, but at least I don’t write in a dyslexic and badly grammatical fashion as you seem to and I quote

    “You are part of the old school ex-pats who’s personal issues are linked to a certain country that in your mind Spain better than the UK” ??????

    Get your facts straight before you launch a personal assassination against anybody else you jumped up, arrogant, narcissistic, individual.
    Might I also suggest some after hours English language study (As opposed to bar propping up time) in an attempt top raise both your level of writing skills, IQ, and comprehension.
    Until reading your sarcastic assault on my comments, the only personal issue I had, as I clearly stated, is with the various UK government offices, and the truly pathetic lack of of any real support with any type of problem experienced by any UK ex-pat, wherever they choose to reside in the world.
    If and when you too feel betrayed, I will happily stand in line to pee myself at your apathy, as you wait to hear the ‘pop’ sound, as you pull your head from up your backside !!!

    By the way, it is the UK which would and has sold my family down the river, the Spanish Authorities have been most supportive of my family and circumstances for the past eleven years, not that you would know !!!!
    Be careful you don-t trip on the steps up your ivory tower my friend, it’s a long way down !!!

    *Just a thought, Robert, Do you or did you ever work for the UK Govt by the way ?? I wonder ??

    By the way, ITV & Channel 4 etc are destined to cease transmissions this coming Tuesday. Try Filmon.com ;-)
    Regards etc..

  40. Heres what I am doing about the big switch of, getting lots of cheap dvd tv box sets from amazon, down to a beach bar for a few canas and free wifi for those must have itunes tv purchase programs ie `top gear` for the kids and `made in chelsea` for the wife, and will hopefully catch the odd game of spanish football on spanish tv on a weekend night. I also have a back up of about 1000 dvds to plug the odd gap.We will all survive fine without it……..scrabble anyone?

  41. @Peter
    I live in Marbella, I don’t read the Daily Mail or vote UKIP.
    I enjoy living in Spain, but have better things to do than watch dreary episodes of Eastenders.

    The BBC doesn’t hold a broadcast licence for Spain or the non-BBC produced programmes broadcasted on BBC channels.

    The BBC (in my opinion) should look to provide satellite or IPTV subscriptions for international viewers.

  42. In reply to “David” ….I really don’t have any time for those who leave our country for a “better life” then slag off the country which has paid their wages so they can afford the “better life” . Then they find out that their new life is not as good as they thought! So you can’t get British TV …YOU DON’T LIVE IN BRITAIN ANYMORE SO WATCH THE TV OF THE COUNTRY YOU NOW LOVE !!!

  43. Top Gear: reason in itself to rejoice the channels have gone.

    In itself it is the sole and sufficient reason any expat with the minutest scintilla of sanity remaining to flee Blighty for almost anywhere on the planet or beyond.

    It’s one more thing the civilised world does not need and that should be confined to its place of origin in an industrial-strength Cordon Sanitaire.

  44. what with all the panic over the loss of uk/tv in spain, does anyone know what the gibraltarians are to watch ???? or have they been convieniently forggotten about by the patriotic BBC/ UK GOV.

  45. @Helen
    Where in Germany are you, this link will show you a reception map for the whole of Europe showing reception and size of dish may help you decide whether you just need a larger dish or some other solution such as a smart TV with android operating system where you can get the Filmon ap and watch just about all UK channels. Knowing Germany you can probably get a smart TV for less than the cost of a larger dish. Hope it helps.
    PS Cheaper option to a smart TV is an android tv box which you can get from amazon or mediamarkt if you have one near you.

    “http://www.satandpcguy.com/Site/astra_2e_satellite_reception_footprint_uk_tv_spain.php”

  46. Graeme: The U.K. and BBC, doesn’t actually care about you. Watch the current series about The Rock on channel 5 (if you can get it) It quite accurately reflects the attitude of most Brits. Gib. is perceived as a comical anachronism, no longer the tactical redoubt it used to be. Red phone boxes, bobbies on the beat, The Pound, overblown regard for the Royals. All wrapped in the Union Flag. It’s corny and last century. It’s a long time since Gib. was IMPORTANT to the U.K.

  47. In reply to Peter Finch, I was self employed from the age of seventeen, usually working all the hours God sent, I always paid my taxes & contributions, I never once drew a single penny of any kind of dole or sick pay, I am now 64, semi -retired in country that I admit, I do love. I am fluent in Spanish and watching their TV would not be a problem to any one of my family, as we all speak Spanish well. I have no criminal record, I always lived, acted and cared in a responsible way towards my neighbours when we were resident in England and still do here in Spain.

    The original comment was that I felt, as now I presume a lot of UK ex-pats felt, somewhat sold down the river that the UK Govt. has forced the satellite people to reduce the size of the satellite footprint, specifically to exclude most of European countries, to improve the footprint in the UK. That is absolute garbage !!
    My brother lives on an island off the coast of the tip of Scotland. He has always had 100% reception on the old satellite system.
    Cameron and his cronies are annoyed and do not like the idea that we pay no licence fee to watch UK channels. Simple. They have taken this opportunity to once more attempt to crush us under the heel of the machine.
    They have singularly deprived thousands of UK pensioners of their sole contact and main source of entertainment in their twilight years.
    It may be ok for us to go on about Android boxes and Apps, broadband, internet etc plus all the other jargon that older pensioners neither understand or can afford on their pittance of a pension.
    If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation since it was first introduced, you would now be paying a YTS nineteen pounds an hour.
    All our living costs have spiralled out of control under the watchful eyes as a direct result of the worlds banking systems etc that these people are supposed to police. The West Country is now probably the worst possible place to live in the UK, because the Environment Agency failed to maintain the waterways. I wager that if an MP lived near a waterway, he would claim it under his expenses to ensure that his house would gain protection.
    So, tonight I will be watching TV on my Tv, via my PC, (Which I built and configured, being a Microsoft Beta software tester) I may watch Spanish tv (With no payable licence necessary) or I may just watch a film. I may also see what sarcastic and presumptive comments you may care to fire back towards someone you neither have met or know. I was always taught as a child that an opinion is a very important thing, obviously you feel that I am not allowed to voice my opinion re the Government of the UK’s insistence, by imposing their sanction that the footprint be radically reduced, meaning ultimately that all us ex-pats should now have no further access to unlicensed tv to watch !!!
    Filmon.com, UK VPN’s, Satellite Internet, Android boxes, 100’s of firms advertising UK tv/satellite connection ? Another Govt idea that was never thought through properly, like off-shore banking, oil embargoes etc. They truly are idiots if they think they can dominate from afar to continue their rule.
    Another thorn in the ex-pats side.

  48. In Poland no more ITV, BBC, Film4, more4, E4, and channel 4 channels. I have a 2 meter special satellite dish width a special LNB, I was receiving it with 70% signal strength 24/7, now it’s 0, it looks like that the signle is dead.
    probably I need a 5 meter dish to catch the signal.

  49. Save your hard earned money Roy, invest in High Speed Satellite internet and then watch free on-line to your TV ;-) Far cheaper and can’t be beaten. Starts from 9.99€ per month.
    (And no I do not work for them !!!) Just have a slight temper and a helping nature ;-)

    http://www.europasat.com/

  50. Hi Everyone..
    Thought i would just mention something that is working for me for receiving all channels.
    You will need an internet connection and a PC connected to your TV.
    I Found a service which lets you try before you buy (for 7 days) after you can pay monthly at 4.99 Dollars or yearly at 45.99 Dollars !! All you need to do is Google ´just unblock´

    Set yourself up an account, login, then you can just visit the sites of BBC, ITV, CHAN4, CHAN5 etc and watch away. You can also watch in HD and as a benefit for me for being hard of hearing i can select subtitles.
    I Myself have opted for the monthly option and will keep an eye out for the next few months til something comes along (smart box / iptv box) that everyone seems to be happy with !!

  51. Hi

    I am in the UK at present, just had an email from neighbour in Spain (near Mojacar) with a quote for new dish to be shared between four of us as per current dish for 950 euros. Anyone know if this is likely to give us good reception?

    I’m not very keen on streaming solution as there are often 2 or 3 of us using the net at any given time, and our speed of 3 mbits/sec could struggle? Besides I would like to keep using our Humax HD recorder, and our second Tv. So a new dish sounds the best bet, providing it really works. £200 isn’t a problem.

  52. Dont know about reception where you are Joe Atiyah but if you have already lost the signal then a bigger dish will not help. Also if you have a total internet speed of 3 Mbps then I cannot see you receiving good reception splitting that 3 or 4 ways . It just is not strong enough bearing in mind other internet usage . Sorry to be the possible bearer of bad news but by all means check it out elsewhere here. Jamie may be able to offer further advice.

  53. So with an ipad or computer you can use filmon in Spain without a VPN?

    One other thing, the way the Country is heading and the debts we have is that unless you can afford to suport yourselves via investments, pensions etc you are going to be cream crackered, in the UK or overseas and it is only going to get worse, albeit under the looney left or the far right. There is no money and no party will make it easy but thye will all tell you a pack of lies come next year. If Scotlan dleave the UK we should cut them off as well with the TV, sterling, take all work out of the ports, keep the oil for ourselves….

  54. Reap, you can watch Filmon anywhere in Spain, or the world, with an internet connection.

    On, Iphone, iPad, Android, Computer, streamed to TV.

    Simply go to their website. No VPN needed.

  55. @Reap – if you live in Spain you should be more worried about when the Catalans gain independence than the Scots – the extremist drive here in Barcelona is at fever pitch and it will be hard if not impossible to put the djinni back in the bottle now the masses are frothing – because that will be the end of Spain and a lot more besides.

    Personally I’m already planning escape routes. Malaysia or Indonesia are looking appealing at this point. But then again so would North Korea if the Nationalists get hold of the helm.

  56. If Scotland leaves, they will have rights to all the oil in THEIR waters. They will be more than grateful not to garage Trident and all the other toxic crap England dumps on them. If Gib. uses the pound so can Scotland, although, it will then be known as “The Poond”. I reckon Reap has a contract to re-build Hadrians Wall. The Tartan Curtain will be built so high it will cut off the telly as well as the Sassenachs clamouring to get in for the superior welfare benefits.

  57. I am a dinosaur…… I have managed to download filmon free to my iPad but how do I get it on my tv? It all appears to be in he which I don’t have does that matter? Do I just go to the app when I want to watch something and select it? I would appreciate some help.
    Thanks

  58. Ok the joke is over! We have now lost ITV and C4, C4+1, E4, Film 4 etc yesterday on the 12th.
    Having already lost all BBC the week before ( C5 ages ago but that doesn’t count ). I spent a few minutes walking round looking for the hidden cameras….Ha ha I thought.
    We are in Umbria Italy, anyone else?
    Internet is slow when it is fast!
    Thinking of cancelling Sky UK

  59. PROBLEM SOLVED !!!

    Íve found a way to get nearly everything back… and in hd !! :)

    I`m over in Dresden Germany…..been running a 1.8 mt dish for some time , like you all I lost everything last week.. so I went onto filmontv etc and with wifi can watch everything direct on my smart tv…. but I thought I would just try something… just incase..

    AND IT WORKS !!

    I brought a cheap camping hd receiver from uk ebay… set was only 50 quid..

    it had a tevion box with it.

    so got it here, set up was real simple… did a blind search and Ive got everything in hd apart from bbc2.

    bb1 Scotland hd
    itv hd
    channel4 hd
    channel 5 hd
    e4
    more 4
    etc.

    so…. I think you all owe me a beer !! :)

  60. Hi, I have a question for Robert.
    Do you mean this camping HD receiver is able to get the satellite signals anyway and better than satellite dishes which aren´t getting anything ?I am using filmon with my smart tv but the image isn´t so good and it´s a bit tedious changing channels, but otherwise more or less works ok as I have a good internet connection.

  61. @Heather – Are you using Filmon paidHD?

    I’m thinking Robert means the box is a VPN basically. Many people offering them here in Spain for 200+ for the box and 25+ monthly – which is obviously a blatant ripoff.

  62. Oh and I’ve had a result too – but you have to be Welsh and/or a rugby nut to appreciate it’s full glory: S4C is still available via the old sat and shows the rugby. It’s Welsh but then so, allegedly, is God. This sole remaining channel is proof of it I think. ;)

  63. No, definetly not a VPN box.

    This is cheapest type of boxes used to pick up Satellite for caravans etc

    I jumped the gun this morning, the channels are starting to come back. the weather today is not so good so this must be the reason for the loss. Its only running about 40-50% signal on mine at the moment, itv, channel 4 is back, bbc is frozen but its there.

    I am no technical nut so can only give you the basics. The sattellite is in the same position so you need to do nothing to your dish or equipment.

    bb1 Scotland hd
    itv hd
    channel4 hd
    channel 5 hd
    e4
    more 4
    etc. are all on

    28.2 E but they are being transmitted on Astra 2F not on Astra 2E which lost all the BBC last week.

    you can find the channel listings here

    “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_2F”

    all the normal sky boxes etc can`t search for these channels because they are locked( I tried adding the channels on the sky box using the right numbers ) but it wont pick them up.

    So all you need is one of these portable boxes with a blind search facility on it, nothing else.

    I brought mine off ebay, uk

    search on ebay_

    Philex SLx 28260BR Freesat 45cm Dish HD Complete Satellite Kit Receiver System

    all I used from this kit was the box, so you might be able to get it elsewhere, then again the whole kit was only 45 Quid !! :))))

    I`m still playing with at the moment as it has something called a ” loop through” which I think means I can link it up to a skybox….but as of yet I cant get this to work !!

    I hope this helps !!

  64. So you plug the cable from the sky satelite dish into the settop box and connect via scart and it gives you most of BBC,ITV,chn4 and 5?l seems tooooooooo easy to me! Unless there Something ive missed here?

  65. Ok for the next trick !! :)

    to get channel 4, e4,and more 4 back on your sky box.

    Ive got a sky+ box so with other boxes maybe the sequence will be slightly different.

    press services

    go to system set up

    go to add channels

    change frequency to 12480

    press find channels

    a list of 10 channels will be found, 4music down to E4

    scroll down and use yellow button to tick against the channels you want, more 4, channel 4 etc

    press select

    once you press select these channels are then stored under “other channels” on the services button

    so press services

    scroll down to “other channels” , select it

    near the bottom you will find the extra channels you saved

    scroll down to them, select it and hey presto you have these channels.

    you can not change the position of the channels, you can only go through the service button to get to them.

    enjoy ! :)

  66. Brilliant Robert!!!! Works a treat – as you say they oy shoe in other channels and you cannot record but still too quality channel 4 .

    Your next task is to find BBC1,2 3,4 and all itv Channels!!

  67. Before all you guys start getting excited and ordering cheap receivers you need to note that Robert is in Germany not southern Spain. There is no Astra 2F signal here, thats the one that took all our lovely TV away from us.

    Robert, you made a lot of people here very excited, which begs the question, why is someone who is located in Germany posting on a site of a small local newspaper in southern Spain??!?

  68. @Robert
    Where are you located, tried your trick got the 2 music channels and Channel 4 breaking up a bit, gives hope that dish adjustment plus better quality box might get them back.

  69. To be honest. I didn’t know it was a small newspaper… I just came across this site when I was researching the loss of the channels….

    And I guess that anyone who puts in loss of BBC should come across this site….so all these posts should be there for everyone to read… I was gutted to lose my channels so just trying to help anyone out there and was hoping other people might find ways too and post them here .. !!

    Im actually east Germany.. which is right on the edges of the old signal… Are you sure you were on astra 2f ??

    I found this as the beam of 2f.

    “http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ASTRA_2F_europe_ku_band_beam_L.jpg”

  70. and from Wikipedia !!

    Astra 2F has three Ku-band downlink beams covering Europe and Africa. The Europe beam is centred on the English Channel with maximum signal (for reception on a 40 cm dish) over the UK, Ireland, France, Benelux, and parts of Germany, Austria, and Spain (including a “lobe” specifically designed to serve the Canary Islands which officially requires a 120 cm dish but in practise is easily receivable using a 90 cm dish as with Astra 2E), and reception on a 1m dish extending to North Africa, Poland and the Balkans.

    The UK Spot beam provides maximum signal (40 cm dishes) over the UK and Ireland in close approximation of the UK Beam of Astra 2D, which it replaces.[10] Due to the tight footprint, some reception issues for UK channels are being reported in Spain as of December 2012. Early reports of test transmissions on 11.023 GHz H 23000 DVB-S2 suggest the beam is very tight with a very sharp fall off to the west and east of the footprint, but eastern Spain seems to be getting a higher signal strength possibly due to the off-axis beam as 28.2°E on the geostationary arc is not directly in line with the UK but offset to the east.[

  71. Yep… channel 4 … you cant beat it ! :))

    just an update on the cheap sat box.

    I am only getting enough signal late afternoon\evenings.:(

    I did find a very useful site yesterday with lots of info( and I liked the name too).

    “http://robssatellitetv.com”

    I´m trawling through it to help my particular situation but maybe you can pick up different tips from your own areas from here. !

  72. To Robert

    “to get channel 4, e4,and more 4 back on your sky box”

    Those channels (frequency 12480) are on the 2A Northern European beam (not the 2E or 2F UK spot). So, yes, you can receive them with your Sky account – they are Sky subscription channels.

    But, the Freesat transmissions of Channel 4 etc cannot be received in the south – they are on the 2E UK spot beam. Unless you have a Sky account you cannot receive those channels.

  73. The point being made Jamie is that they are not visible now in the normal Sky menu, they have also disappeared with the other Free to view UK channels. But they ARE still there on the manually selectable option. I have to admit I did not know about this either so for us it gives us the additional channels if we need them. Be aware though that you cannot record these channels in the normal way.

    I also have to say that the IPTV system I bought from Astra2.tv is working a treat. I have yet to have any freezing or pixelation, and the picture quality is superb, with (also) a catch up serve but within 30 montages of the programme airing, so I was able to watch Top Gear last night 30 minutes after the wife finished watch The Midwife.!!

    Anyway Jamie, it has all happened now, and I would like to thank you for all the advice and assistance you have given over the past year!. We had had some ups and downs on the way, but we got there. Thanks.

  74. Install for internet booked but it is only a slowish speed at apartment. I was reading that VPN can reduce your speed by 75% and as I only have a slow speed I doubt if I will be able to log on to my Virgin account to watch sky sports etc when there with 3mb. Fulcanelli, when you look at the USA, one government, one set of taxes it all seems to work well. The problem in the Euro it is too fragmented and it seems strange when Catalan and Scottish want to split off when others are trying to get together. I live in South East England and I could easily say we generate the money so see you later but it is not the way forward for the UK or Spain, but you only need a few round belies like Alex Salmond to sway the masses. The Catalans see the South as lazy and I would say that is true. Scottish think they have oil for the next 20 to 30 years and they want to keep it and after that we will probably ask to come back. What I was predicting is already happening, no pound, no euro, SNP are in tatters and the only people who will be voting for them are the brave heart type who are stuck in a bygone era.

  75. Plenty of laziness in Catalunya. Greed too – which of course is what the Independence movements are based on – you never heard it in the boom and won’t in the next one.

    Don’t know about the south and laziness… I do know that there will be a mass exit there from Catalunya if the lunatics finally do take over the asylum.

  76. To Paul

    The point being made Jamie is that they are not visible now in the normal Sky menu

    Yes, I understood that. The reason for my comment, perhaps echoing the concern expressed in Jane’s earlier comment “before all you guys start getting excited”, was to those who have a Sky digibox or equivalent, but no Sky account. They may have easily been misled into thinking that they too could “get channel 4, e4,and more 4 back”. It was not clear, not even mentioned or implied, in the brief discussion on this, that the channels in question are encrypted channels.

    Thank you for your thoughts. I can see you are sorted. Did you find a solution for your community? I wish your residents well and happy viewing.

  77. OK Point taken Jamie.

    No, we did not find an answer to the community TV as the “free service” that it historically been within our community for 28 years is now no more. The cost of installing the missing channels, whilst being cheap or even free with a broadcast system (although no one could show me a system in “in situ”), would still be prohibitive for a lot of our elderly owners in terms of the box (€400) and monthly rental (€25). Those with the internet will continue for the time being worth Filmon, a few have taken IPTV to their hearts and the balance are watching the few free channels I found to strew am dow (Horror channel the CBS channels, CNN etc – at least it is something to watch, and we are still streaming Sky Sports and Sky News!.

  78. I am on costa del sol – did what you said re other channels/ channel 4 programmes but can’t get it – it just ‘crackles’. Same with some said bbc Winter Olympics is there sky 978 but it’s not there – says it is but no picture – am I doing something wrong or is it just not reaching here? I have a sky subscription

  79. Jamie,if you have a sky subscription do you mean we can tune the terrestrial channels back inon the add channels,i have channel 4 programmes but how do you tune bbc and itv any help appreciated…..

  80. Wow auntie!! 978 IS there!! BBC Winter Olympics only by the look of it so it will be interesting to see what happens when the Olympics finish. Maybe you must have Sky+HD – don’t know.

  81. As far as I can see it is only the ch4 channels plus aunties revelation concerning BBC2 Olympics. If you have a uk VPN router then you can get all the bbc itv ch4 and5 on catchup / on demand.

  82. For those of you wondering, 978 is a BBC Red Button service it is used used for major sporting events which the BBC has the rights to and some other major outside broadcasts, I think Glastonbury and some other big music events have been carried on it. Under normal circumstances you would access it on BBC1 or 2 via (yes you guessed it the Red Button). Once the winter Olympics are over it will probably go blank till the next big event but that is just my guess.

  83. Dave, your comment above, about ‘ them still getting Brit TV in ‘Eire’……we pay very dearly in ‘Eire’ for TV services, through licence agreements with Sky, BBC, ITV……thank you very much! GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT.

  84. Wow….. what`s with the community spirit ?

    Paul, peter, Pg, etc.. and anyone else who is interested send me an email address and I`ll let you know how to do it.

    I`ve got the whole lot working, including BBC 3,4 etc. :))

  85. Just use “https://unlocator.com” and you can get access to BBC, ITV, 4oD and Demand 5 from anywhere in the world. It works on all devices including your smart TV.

  86. My comment is directed at David ( who wrote his comment on 8th February) I,m afraid I have to agree with Robert. While you have all my sympathy for the situation you have with your daughter ( I,ve worked with people with mental illness, so I understand what your wife is going through). But you don,t seem to know or understand the country you actually live in !
    You paint Spain as the ideal place on earth to live, do you know how much a Spaniard earns and the insecurities they face over here? Do you know how much a normal pensioner has to live on here, or do you just mingle with rich people here on excellent private pensiones? You say British health care is a shambles, I don,t live where you live. You probably have never heard of La Coruña, Galicia, that,s the dump I,m fighting to get out of and back to Manchester where I,m from. I came over due to a very violent divorce I was going through, my husband an alcoholic was very abusive and I had two little boys 3 and 5yrs. My mother is Spanish and from here, ( like hell will she leave Manchester and all the care and benefits she gets, but chooses to slag off England at every opportunity). I,ll get back to my story, I came here in fear of my life in 2000, a few later found a lump in my breast. I struggled to get attention in the health care system here, being fobbed off, with it doesn,t seem to be anything. This lump kept growing and growing and in 2005 I manage to get a mammogram done ! Again, by now the lump is huge and no mention of removing the lump. By 2007 the lump is now the size of a golf ball, and over these yrs causing me pain and a lot of discomfort. I demand to see a surgeon to have the lump removed ( p.s I didn,t speak very good Spanish when I came to live here, and English isnt spoken like where you live). In 2007 I sign a consent form for an operation to remove the lump and maybe some surgery on the other breast, so that both breasts are the same size ( hence that should give you an idea on the size of the lump) They do a double mastectomy on me, now claiming I had a history of breast cancer in family, ( I had stated that my mum, sister and I had had abnormal smear tests and had needed laser treatment for precancerous cells) They have left me in pain and completly disfigured, with a 55% of incapacity for work. I was working at the time earning 1200 Euros had to go on the sick and needless to say lost my job !! I,m now getting to the point, I now get a pension of 190 Euros a month since the op, my mortgage is 525 euros and I have two lads who are studying. P.s , I,m not entitled to anything here, no rebate in local taxes, or rates. If I can,t pay, they just block your bank account. I,ve been waiting for 6 yrs for a civil suit that will be heard at last anytime after March this year. And the cheeky Social Security office wanted the Brits to pay my incapacity because I,m British. I had to go to court for that too !! Don,t ask how I manage, I don,t want to make anyone cry. But I can assure everyone that as soon as any settlement is recieved, I,ll be starting my packing.
    P:S I,ve now got depression due to the fact I,ve also lost BBC, ITV etc and can no longer watch Eastenders and my favorite Coronation Street !!! And the goatherder who doubles as satelite technician over here ( Goatherder is a joke !) has to be informed by me about the switch !!
    ONE HEART BROKEN BRIT

  87. If you dish is big enough then you can pick them up,

    I cant say what size dish you will need because every area will be different but the channels they are definitely there, If I was to guess it would need to be the same as mine or larger depending on where you are. I use a 1.8 mt dish.

    I am quite sure now what I have been able to get is FREESAT because of the channels I am actually getting. A sky BOX of any description or sky sat etc will not work.

    Since I was on saying get these cheap boxes and give them a go I actually realised that my tv has satellite built in, I`ve got an LG55 smart tv( for reference if anyone is using the same tv).It seems that my TV is much better with the signal than the box.

    My TV is actually saying the signal is coming from 19.2E and not 28.2E but I cant see how this can be right as I can only find the channels I am receiving listed under the Astra 2F channel but on both the TV and cheap box if you search under 19.2 then they come up( don’t ask me why!!!!)

    I have got these channels 99% of the time.

    BBC HD SCOTLAND
    BBC 2 NI
    ITV HD
    Channel 4 HD
    Channel 5
    itv2
    itv3
    itv4
    bbc 3
    bbc 4
    BBC news HD

    + all of the normal free stuff.

    So for anyone out there with a smart tv with freesat inbuilt.

    make sure the tv is on English settings
    under satellite make a blind search(or auto search) under Astra 19.2.. and if your dish is big enough then they should come up exactly like mine.

    Make sure the sat cable is direct to the receiver or smart Tv, do not put anything through splitters, or wall boxes etc. the signal drops too much.

  88. I am in the very South of Morocco and lost all my UK TV last week . I have struggled with my 2.4 meter satellite dish (A breath of wind and I run out with a spanner)>> now I find I can get every channel on internet, free , and also I can watch CNN (Not the crap international) the real thing! Fox News, ZDF Info and Quest… It can only get better. All you people in Spain and Portugal with dead dishes, turn the dish to 26 east and get Arabsat. 6 English News channels , Dubai Sports, and the fabulous MBC Action at 11919H 27500 3/4……Fox Movies.. If you must have HD you can pay a sub. Otherwise its all free at FILMON..

  89. Solution?? Well, a 1.2m dish for most people is NOT a practical solution as this is a giant sized dish! So, you have 2 other alternatives: 1) use FilmOn or 2) get an internet TV box . Both provide you with internet based TV that will cover all your UK channels (but no HD though..).

    With FilmOn you can watch for free or subscribe to an “HD” membership (which is not really HD but is higher quality TV, but comes with 10 hours of free recording. You watch the programs on your computer but can easily connect this to your TV using an HDMI connector and cable (Apple Macbook Pros now have an HDMI socket so it’s easy – for older models use the Apple cable to connect via your Mini Display port to the HDMI port in the TV). I have even managed to connect my Android Samsung phone to watch FilmOn on my TV! Of course, using the recording feature on FilmOn you can then watch recorded programs just like you used to be able to do on Sky!

    With option 2, using an Internet TV box, you can pretty much do the same as with FilmOn but this time everything is directly connected to your TV. You can even record up to 4 hours for free, and more by attaching a memory device to the internet box. Downside is that the box is costly at Euro 169 and you have to pay an ongoing maintenance fee of Euro 25 a month!

    Personally, I prefer the FilmOn option number 1. This is much cheaper as it’s free! And if you want higher quality then the monthly membership is only Euro 9.99 and that even includes 10 hours of free recording that you can watch anytime! I would forget about the giant dish as if BBC/ITV moves satellite coverage again, you might not see those channels again.. even if you get a 10m dish!

    Hope this helps!

  90. @Robert fox I’m not sure how moving your dish to 19.2e will get any uk channels like bbc or itv as they are not on any satelite at that position, 19.2e is where you will find canal spain. The link below is to kingofsat which lists changes and also what channels are on what satelite “http://en.kingofsat.net/pos-19.2E.php”

  91. @TAZ

    did I say I moved the dish? Its still in the exact same position as before.

    I´m just saying that on the search it has come up as 19.2, and yes, like I wrote already… I have no idea why !!

  92. Hi everyone from Lucca,
    Of course same problem here as well,they say that you need at least a 1.50cm dish to receive the signals but they do not know for along .
    Best way remain filmon till we do not get more updateted.
    Ciao

  93. @robert fox no you didn’t however it’s a strange one and certainly one I’ve never come across having worked in both uplinking and in mcr roles for tv companies

  94. Whats the fuss all about VPN or Smart DNS both overcome this problem with different benefits “http://thevpn.guru/vpn-vs-dns-comparison-bypass-location-restrictions/”

  95. H ave asked in another thread about UKIPTV,there is loads of companies selling set to boxes etc for tv streaming anybody got any recommendations? Its confusing reading all these sites and yes im an old fart,so any Info would be greatly received……..Ta

  96. The box is just a small box (NOT a mag box) with the added advantage of three outputs including HDMI cable and co-ax so you can run two TV’s and yes it is literally plug and play

  97. Hi Ted, the picture quality is excellent, but is NOT HD. It runs through an HDMI cable, and I watch the Sky channels in HD through the Sky Box. To be honest I cannot tell much difference.

  98. Just posted in other thread can you get BBC HD still on Astra f with a bog standard HD box.I cancelled my Sky love it but just gets too expensive,gone the IPTV route for now as stated in other thread its a big adjustment,who knows with money to grab from ex-pats things maybe different again this time next year,to Robert are you still getting your channels on 19 e.
    Gone very quiet on here what is everybody doing to watch tv us brits do like our tv don’t we anyway look forward to hearing from you…

  99. When I was further south in Spain over the weekend a friend informed me that a couple are going back because of the problems with the TV. The Lady has wanted to go back to the UK for a few years but the husband did not want to return but after the TV problem he is giving way and they are leaving Spain.

  100. Derek, I think if someone is really happy with Spain they would not leave for the BBC going missing but it is probably the final straw that broke the camels back… I must admit in the UK, with my 120mb and soon to be increased to 152mb you do notice the difference!! When I went to Spain last year I had to keep going to the bars every night as the kids could not go without the internet. There are Companies in Spain now where you can have internet (TV) where you just pay as you go, so one month a year if you want for €19.00, installation €109 and that is what I have now. They are also providing TV re-broadcasting services on pay as you go at €15 a month but it can probably be a bit difficult once inland. It was 24c at some stages when I was driving in Spain this weekend, it felt good I must say.

  101. Teresa Tarry, I know it’s bit off topic your post but having lived in Galicia in Ortigeuira I know exactly what you mean. You must laugh when the idiots prattle on how sunny Spain is. My sympathies are with you.

    Mancunians are great people I wish you well on your return.

  102. Cheers Stuart Crawford !! I really appreciate your comment!!
    I,ve a really tough fight in court beforehand, but can,t wait to get home!
    P:S I,ve been told today that a 1.8 meter dish should do the trick in getting ITV and BBC. But isn’t that a bit of a monster and very pricey ?

  103. It`s now 12.20 gmt+1 in southern Norway.My dish is 090×1.10m,and it`s raining.
    I get everything besides ITV1HD.
    But somethings a bit odd. I usually get every channel during daytime,but when the so called “primetime” TV occures,round 7pm the signals seem to vanish.I wonder if I just get a little bigger dish,lets say 1.8m I might get it back,also at the evenings.
    Does anyone have a clue about why the signals come and go?
    Do they transmit on both satellites during daytime,and just the new one at night?
    Atleast it seeems that way to me.
    So how can I know if just increesing the size of the dish is enough?

  104. Just clocked back into this thread and found an absolute cry from the heart by Teresa. Couldn’t believe how posters strolled by, until I wound right down and found Stuart had noticed…Respect mate.
    Teresa, commiserations and best wishes for the future. Your experiences should be read and known by anyone contemplating emigration, lacking a mighty fat cushion of money or resources. O.K. All off topic, so what?

  105. Thanks Stefanjo !! Your comments mean a hell of a lot to me. I expect to be moving back to Manchester in July or August. I prefer to be poor in England and be a human being than being a poor animal here in Spain. If anyone knows of any good jobs in the Manchester area, ( as thank God I am now fluent in Spanish and English) where they need Spanish speakers. I,d be dead grateful for any ones help !! I,ve given up finding the signal now by the way, just go to a bar now have a cafe con leche and connect to their wi-fi. Just not worth spending more money for the time that I have left here.
    If any body needs my advice or would like to contact me this is my e.mail………….. manchester1966@hotmail.com Yours Teresa.

  106. Hope you get back ok Teresa. Your story sounds terrible. Sorry I missed your post and talked about television.

    Get back and hit some translation agencies. People saying Manchester is one of the main places outside of London for work at the moment.

  107. Hi all you helpful people out there! I live in Northern Italy and it has taken me 2 months to find this forum about the loss of UK channels -I had only just bought the free sat box a couple of months before the signal disappeared! My question is to Robert Fox – Are you saying I should switch off the box and see if my smart TV receives? Or do I need to get another satbox for HD? and this box finds the channels? I see the comments are from over a month ago -have things changed again since then? Many thanks

  108. @Lisa Harvey. Surprised that “www.xbmchub.com” has only been mentioned once and it’s easy to download.

    All BBC, ITV, Filmon. Free multi movies, music, you name it it’s there and it’s all free.

    You could try “http://xbmc.org/about/” for further information.

  109. Probably xbmchub hasn’t been mentioned much is because it is controlled by the Chinese and if you research xbmchub you will find that it has nothing to do with the xbmc official site. You may well get all the UK channels but you could be getting a whole lot more besides that you don’t want like trojans and worms.

  110. @Peter,

    I queried this with a professional friend in the U.K and this is what he replied. So one is quite safe in downloading this site. I trust him completely and is very professional and an adviser for top English and American companies in the banking industries.

    “No, you’re safe!

    XBMC started as something for cracked xboxes, it’s from the modding community, so it’s like Open Source, the Chinese don’t own the code, the world owns it!”

    Hope all will heed his words. Be happy.

  111. P.S. Peter. I have had XBMC for a quite a while now on my computer (and linked to the T.V via HDMI) since the cut-off and have never had any trouble or problems clicking on although I don’t use the BBC’s and ITV’s much except for perhaps QT. It does freeze for a few seconds now and then (not on the film channels) but you can overcome that if one wishes.

    Still have full Sky.

    Normally I use another source for downloading the latest films, currently “Noah”, which is not as good as the right-ups may say, I did expect better.

  112. I have heard that the sunday mail indicated that UK TV would be coming back on in Spain the summer after they have updated the old satellite.The reason was some places in the south of the uk were not recieving the new satellite.
    Has anyone seen this report.?

  113. @steve d
    Any link for this info, I have searched the net and can find no reference to this rumour at all. Smacks of wishful thinking to me with nothing to back it up.

  114. Our taxi driver picked me up yesterday and mentioned this
    I think is was in 13 April in travel section
    I also have looked and can’t see it hence me asking
    He is normally good with any information

  115. @Fred
    Andalucia is a big place, would be more helpful if you said exactly where, what size dish you are using and decoder box. Also whether you had to realign your dish. I know you like to rub people up with some of your comments but when you have something useful to say please provide more detail. Thanks

  116. @peter, I’ve answered all those questions on other TV threads on this blog. I’m sorry if telling you that my satellite TV works fine rubs you up the wrong way.

  117. some of my friends have got iptv boxes which get all the freesat channels including catch up , don’t need vpn , I’ve just ordered mine from a4 digital aerials, it even has a low bandwidth section.

  118. I visit my apartment in Malaga 8 times a year for 1 & 2 week periods only, for last 5 years I’ve been happy watching all the British free view TV channels on my Panasonic TV which has built in free sat. with cable connected to a 1300 meter dish I now like everyone else have lost BBC,ITV plus other channels.I don’t want to pay for internet as I’m not here permanently & its expensive here. Can anyone advise me of my best options i.e. what I should do what equipment I need & costs involved

  119. Have now got Vodafone AdSl with a decent download speed.
    Can anyone please recommend a decent but not too expensive router that has dd-wrt preloaded for HMA vpn

    Many thanks

  120. I was only looking for somewhere in Spain that could fix my Apple computer and found this. Wow! I am surprised that British tv could spark so much debate and even result in people moving back to the UK. This is far more entertaining than any tv show! Teresa Tarry, I hope that things work out for you:)

  121. I’ve just received my iptv box from A4 Digital and I’ve got to say I am impressed by the quality , I am receiving over 50 UK tv channels including all the BBC , ITV , C4 and 5
    Radio , 7 day catchup . on demand movies.
    the have said they will be adding regional channels soon
    it costs 330 euros for the first year which includes set-top box then 150 euros per year after
    no contract
    roll on the world cup!

  122. Thanks Karen,,, house up for sale here and fingers crossed I should be home soon. Hope you managed to sort out your Computer, and thanks for your good wishes !!
    Hope everyone has managed to sort out their T.V problems, I,m not bothering and suffering over here. It,s not worth spending 2000 euros ( that,s what Ive been priced ) for the time I intend on staying. Filmon on is OK, if your internet is unlimited, but in Spain that,s dead pricey. Good luck everyone !!!!

  123. Just about every expat newspaper now advertises services to install a box to get the main UK TV stations by satellite (not IPTV) for as little as 150 euros. The rush to IPTV was premature it seems.

  124. Thanks Alan….Just been in touch with A4 Digital Aerials and ordered my IP TV Box and waiting for delivery will let you know how good the service is when they delivered it!

  125. If you have access to a TV source in the UK use something like a slingbox to transmit the TV signal to a PC where ever you are. I am using a box called the Belkin @ TV plus to transmit the signal from a multiroom sky + box in the UK. You of course need a good broadband connection at both ends so this will not be for everyone. The virtual remote at the PC end controls the box in the UK.

  126. @Steved, I did not say “Sky Now”, I said “Sky”. There is a whole page advert in the Euro Weekly News this week (and last week too).

    @El Cordobez, “Steve, Sky TV only provide coverage in the UK or ROI.” – why is it I am watching it on my TV in Andalucia then? lol

  127. It must be true then. We have heard it from both Fred and a Newspaper ad. Couldn’t possibly doubt either of those.

    Weird how the SKY Service Centre don’t know about it. Maybe they should subscribe to EWN, or offer Fred a job? lol

  128. Paul, my non IPTV system has been working perfectly for 4 months now. Anyone can get this system in Spain – adverts can be found in all the expat magazines and newspapers. Are you saying you need IPTV to watch UK TV? You don’t. You are out of touch it seems.

  129. I think Fred means you need a very large dish, or ‘satellite’ services using the internet to basically scam people (not very good quality reception either).

    Don’t pay €200 to anyone.

  130. Or he means the “Network Broadcasting” system, very expensive , certainly NOT available all over Spain, and totally illegal, as it is a blatant rebroadcast

    Steved and Ron, read the other comments and heed.

  131. “not very good quality reception either”

    @Derek, I have all channels in HD. Dish is the same size as previously (only realigned). Could you really make any more mistakes?

    “very expensive”

    @Paul, 200 euros one-off fee, is that very expensive?

    I’ve no idea if the solution will work long-term, but then again no one does with IPTV either.

  132. @Fred,

    Perhaps you could give Ron more information regarding this wonderful system you have, remember he has no Broadband. That’s why I had asked if he was connected to Sky in the U.K

  133. I believe it is network broadcasting cacciatore. Expensive one off cost, expensive monthly subscriptions and totally illegal – liable to be shut down at any time so I’ve been told – but just hazarding a guess

  134. “expensive monthly subscriptions and totally illegal”

    No monthly subscriptions. One-off cost for box and dish realign. Getting a Sky card issued in Spain is prohibited too remember. FilmOn could be shut down any time too, just like anything.

  135. Paul,
    Ron lives in the U.K and it is quite simple to get Sky over here as you well know. That’s why I asked Ron if he was connected to Sky over there. I have had Sky in Spain for approximately 18 year or more. Had to change from a 900 to a 1.2 dish, that’s all.

    No doubt Ron already has a dish at his villa over here.

  136. Not sure if anyone has mentioned this as I haven’t read every comment but there is a way to watch all the channels as long as you have a halfway decent computer and a decent broadband connection. It’s possible to watch the catch up sites for the channels by using a proxy server. A proxy server effectively hides the ‘address’ of your computer and tricks the website into believing you are viewing the material from inside the allowable area. There are various websites that will give you information on how to go about this, just google ‘proxy server’ or ‘proxy address’ to learn more.

  137. @Thom, you don’t evenneed Internet/VPNs etc. There are now lots of companies offering satellite reception of the main UK TV channels in Spain. Internet TV is unreliable in any event, as the network infrastructure is so poor (and overloaded).

  138. Fred, just noticed your comment on iptv, you have obviously not used dedicated iptv service , I’ve had mine over a month now and have got to say I have had not one problem, the quality is superb and is as easy to use as any satellite service. now I know your happy with your satellite service but some people cannot get the service you are on?

  139. @Alan, the satellite service I am on works across all of Spain as far as I know. This is because it is using a European beam, not a UK spot beam. Anyway, what is a dedicated IPTV service? It sounds a bit contradictory. The nature of the Internet is that everyone shares data.

    You can buy a much higher bandwidth with service quality of service guarantees straight to the data centre, but it’s very expensive. I doubt even you have that service just for TV. Internet speeds in Spain are known to be amongst the worst in Europe.

  140. Good old Fred!!! Still no real answer.

    Tell the people Fred – what EXACTLY is the system – how does it work and most importantly- tell the people where to get it!!!

    Oh sorry – you can’t

  141. @fred , you sound to me as if you are a serial argumentative person , i am glad your happy with your service which is available through out Spain considering UK terrestrial channels are only available via satellite 28e ,as other people on here have said , all i am saying is that you make a statement criticizing something you have no knowledge of while promoting something that you cant tell anyone about , do you work for the secret service of bullsh–?
    dedicated iptv service is exactly what it says it is dedicated to TV channels

  142. @Paul, happy to call your bluff lol.

    @Alan, I’ve already mentioned the system I’m using. It’s the one that is advertised in just about every expat newspaper in existence for at least the last 3 months. The dish faces West and uses an encrypted channel setup. I believe it’s called the BISS system to some. Works fine for me. I had a guy change the codes a couple of weeks back I recall – 10 euros. I don’t think it is legal, but then again neither was getting Sky in Spain.

    I genuinely didn’t know what you meant by “dedicated IPTV”. All Internet/IP systems share data – this is called contention. There is obviously a lot more contention on many ISPs in southern Spain since the UK satellite TV switched beams. Some have even stopped taking subscriptions as a result. All IPTV systems have to compete with other consumers – no one has a “dedicated” Internet channel is what I was saying. A box dedicated to IPTV still has to use the Internet and if that provider is very busy, it will buffer etc. You can purchase a much higher and less contended connection but it’s hundreds of euros a month (I have one as a business expense and it streams HD great).

    Happy to answer your questions.

  143. Fred, thanks for all the info, I totally agree that monthly payments are ridicules. The system you are using, does not require Internet correct, just the guy coming over and reconfiguring your dish? can you confirm after the guy reconfigured your dish you do get ITC 1 and BBC 1 ?

  144. @Loki, the guy repositioned my existing dish. I got the box on eBay, but they are hard to find. No internet, all satellite. The installers will provide a box for a one-off fee. It receives all the main UK channels, so BBC1 and ITV1, and the other ITVs, plus Ch4/5 etc. I doubt this solution will last forever, but then again what does? New solutions always come along. In Marbella they are trialling a point-to-point TV system using fixed antennas (non IPTV again).

  145. @Loki I don’t provide numbers, there are newspapers full of adverts for that. For example, if I look in last weeks EWN I see a whole page advert saying “BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc by Satellite, No Internet Required”. The box is a Technomate, I believe. Good luck with it.

  146. fyi, contention is correct.
    The Isp`s have a big fat connection. They sell that to many small subscribers. the amount they put on that connection is called the contention ratio.
    if a fat pipe can handle 10`000 at one time they sell it to 20`000 or more because not all will be online at once.

  147. Hundreds of comments here — and all about TV channels!
    For heaven’s sake, get your priorities right!
    Enjoy life in Spain and forget about British TV!!!
    And yes, you could even try watching SPANISH channels — there are one or two good programmes.

  148. NOW I CAN’T WATCH THE WORLD CUP AND I HAVE TO WATCH IT ON SH*T BBC I PLAYER AND SKJY GO WWHICH IS INTERNET I HAVE THE SLOWETS INTERNET IN THE WORLD IT KEEPS FREEZING! NO!!!!!!!!!!!

  149. The new satellite is much better targeted. Therefore there is no spillover effect over the South of France and North of Spain. The Centre of Spain and the Alicante area never received a good signal, but with a very big dish got some channels. Now the Centre of Spain and Alicante area are also out.

    There has always been a small beam towards Gibraltar. This is still the case with the new Astra satellite. However, this GIB beam, is also much better targeted than before and the spillovers that covered all Andalusia and the South of Portugal are now very strongly reduced. Therefore, if you are in Costa del Sol, which is just next to Gibraltar, you can still get the TV, with a slightly bigger dish than before, if you want all channels you had.

    Basically, the from now on, the only places in Spain where you can get British satellite TV are the Malaga and Cadiz provinces. For the rest of the territory you will have to rely on the internet.

  150. Of course it all comes to the size of the dish. There has always been people watching British satelitte TV in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia with a 5 metres dish. I ignore what you need now for those areas. So you can watch British satelitte TV in all Spain and France if your dish is big enought. It is just a question of money and space in your house.

  151. I had loads of issues when I moved to Spain and couldn’t get my tv. I bought a Android Tv Box from a company called Little Smart Box. I now watch Film On through my tv without any issues! Very pleased.

  152. Yes John…..Best thing that happened [for me anyway] was the loosing of the regular Sat/TV. Got a Smart/Android/TVbox and now get so much more…..That’s the only problem, I have over the last week wtched all 60+ episodes of “Breaking Bad” may save “Game of Thrones” ’till the chilly Andalusia evenings!

  153. Hi I have a holiday home in Nerja Spain,I have a few channels left,but as i had my daughter with me she wanted to watch some tv.
    I have no internet there so called a company in to see how much it would be to get back my channels.
    I have 2 satellite dishes as I have a apartment upstairs,1 is very large 1.8 I think the other one is smaller.
    They could realign satellite large dish for down stairs and put in a new box.
    Upstairs would also need new digi box.
    Cost for down stairs 280euros with box for upstairs extra 100 euros total 380euros!
    Has any body had this fitted?
    Can I buy the boxes else where and put them in myself ?
    Thanks
    Trudy

  154. You would need to obtain a British IP address on your computer or tablet/TV.
    This is pretty easy to do as there are many customers specializing in helping out British expats overseas for this particular reason. These services usually cost around 5-10 dollars per month and are very simple to get started. I would Google for this.

    http://www.uktvspain.co.uk seems to offer BBC & ITV access abroad & looks Brit run.

  155. Hey guys. If you want to watch UK TV check this website http://www.tvmucho.com They are a legal service plus they give you a 1 hour a day forever free trial. Their annual subscription is 48 euros, and you get UK channels in HD, and 7 days of catch up. Plus they are constantly upgrading and acquiring new channels, and they keep the same prices… Definitely worth a try, and their trial is free, so nothing to lose… A big plus is that what you see is what you get, no hidden fees, and such things, just upfront…

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