A very common FAQ for new arrivals is ‘how can I watch [insert your favourite channel] from Poland?’
The answer is complicated so I thought I would write a few lines on the topic.
Through Your Aerial
Terrestrial channels such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc.. are transmitted via local transmission towers dotted around the UK and received by your aerial on the roof. Clearly once out of range from one of these towers (typically 30 – 60 miles) you won’t be able to get a signal which means no chance of picking anything up abroad, let alone Poland.
Via Satellite
However all channels are also broadcast via satellites either in encrypted format or unencrypted format (known as “free to air” or just “FTA” for short). Being able to receive the signal depends upon which satellite the channel is being sent from and whether it’s FTA or not.
All of the BBC domestic channels are broadcast on a satellite called Astra 2D alongside most of Sky Digital’s line-up plus ITV and Channel 4. Unfortunately Astra 2D has a rather tight beam that is pointed directly at the UK and therefore a big dish is needed to get the signal if you are too far away. According to this Astra 2D footprint you need at least a 3 metre dish to get the signal in Poland.
The dish size is a show-stopper for most people straight away – these dishes are quite expensive, if you rent your property your landlord probably won’t allow you to install it, and if you live in a built up area you might have problems with the authorities or your neighbours about it.
Sky TV
If you want to receive Sky then you also have the problem that you aren’t really supposed to be watching Sky outside of the UK according to their terms and conditions. When I first moved to Poland I just dismantled my existing Sky box and dish and paid a local installer to set it up again telling him that I wanted the dish pointed to Astra 2D located at 28.2° east. I used a 1.2 metre dish which was adequate to receive most channels in Opole such as Sky One but not the terrestrial channels and some others. Sky kept writing to me at my UK address saying that the box wasn’t plugged in to a phone line but I was able to fob them off for a few months before I cancelled it anyway. Alternatively there are companies that specialise in providing active sky subscription cards and equipment for ex-pats living abroad – check on google for “sky tv cards europe”.
Polish TV
If you aren’t fussed about getting UK TV but just want to watch stuff in English occasionally then you could get one of the Polish TV packages such a N television or Cyfra+. 95% of it is in Polish but you can get things like BBC World News and with the digital HD packages you can sometimes change the soundtrack back to the original language.
On the Internet
Thankfully technology is coming to the rescue. There are now websites such as tvcatchup.com or the BBC’s iPlayer which allow you to stream TV on your browser. The problem so far is that these services are not available outside of the UK due to licencing issues. The workaround to date has been to use some trickery such as a UK proxy or VPN to make your computer’s IP address appear to originate from the UK and not your true location.
European Union Directive – TV Without Frontiers
It’s worth mentioning a new piece of legislation that came into force just recently in December 2009. It’s an EU Directive that says that no EU country can legally block residents of another EU country from watching content of another. The offical press release about it is here at Europa and the directive can be downloaded here: 89/552/EC.
There is some argument about whether that means that people like the BBC are forced to make their signal available across the EU, or whether that just means that countries can’t block incoming signals, or whether 3rd parties such as TVCatchUp are allowed to redistribute the signals.
Of course people like the BBC aren’t too happy about this given that it could force them to give away their content across the EU. This also has an impact on licence fees. However as of 26/01/2010 despite this ruling already having come into effect services such as TVCatchUp and the iPlayer still do not allow access outside of the UK. TVCatchUp have said on their forum that they are making technical preparations to allow access but until their lawyers give them the green light they will continue to block non-UK IP addresses. This could go on for months or longer…
The BBC’s stance is that they have bought the rights to broadcast only in the UK and therefore can’t transmit abroad. Most likely this will end up in court at some stage to determine whether copyright restrictions or EU directives take precedence and to get clarification.
Regarding the BBC iPlayer there is a thread on their forum about it.
Conclusion
Easiest and cheapest solution for now is to take out a subscription with a UK proxy service and watch TV on your computer. Hopefully at some point in the future things will become easier. If you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and have money to burn then go and buy yourself a massive dish and get a ‘grey’ sky TV card.
UK Proxy/VPN Service
If enough people are interested then we could get together and split the cost of our own proxy server. Please leave a comment if this is of interest. If there are enough people prepared to pay £5 – £10 a month then I can register British In Poland as an ex-pat group and get a VPN account for our use.
UPDATE – Please see this post about the British In Poland VPN Server
Today I spoke to Chris Thornborrow, a Brit from Bristol who has spent the last seven years living in Poland. After spells in Warsaw and Zielona Góra Chris has now settled in Wrocław and is married with one daughter.