Expats, travellers and language learners often want to watch the television of another country. Sometimes it works instantly; sometimes a channel simply refuses to play. This guide explains why, and shows how to find channels that are open to you wherever you are.
Why channels are restricted by country
Broadcasters buy rights to programmes for specific territories. A national news bulletin might be free to everyone, while a football match or a film may only be licensed for viewers inside one country. To honour those agreements, some streams check your location and refuse to play outside the licensed region.
Three types of channel are common:
- Open streams. Available everywhere. Many news and public-service channels are in this group.
- Partly restricted streams. The channel plays, but some programmes are blocked or replaced.
- Region-locked streams. The whole channel only works inside one country.
How to find channels that work for you
You cannot always tell in advance, but a few habits help:
- Start with news and public broadcasters. They are the most likely to be open to international viewers.
- Browse by country. The country pages list every channel from that location. Try Germany, France, Austria, Portugal, Brazil or Lebanon.
- Search the local name. Many channels are searched under their local-language name, for example "SIC" in Portugal or "Globo" in Brazil. Use Search with the name you know.
- Have a backup. If one channel is blocked, a sister channel or a regional version often works.
Common examples
| If you want to watch | Where to start |
|---|---|
| German public TV | Germany channels |
| French regional and national TV | France channels |
| Portuguese TV | Portugal channels |
| Brazilian TV | Brazil channels |
| Lebanese TV | Lebanon channels |
Respect the rules of the broadcaster
Some streams are limited by licence, not by technology. whichTV only lists streams that broadcasters have made publicly available, and it cannot change who is allowed to watch a given channel. If a channel does not play in your country, the broadcaster has most likely decided that it should not.
Learning a language with live TV
Live television is one of the best free listening resources for language learners. Pick a news channel in your target language, since news is clearly spoken and follows a predictable structure. Then try a talk show or a music channel for more casual speech. The news category is a good place to begin.
Not playing?
If a channel loads slowly or stutters rather than being blocked, the cause is usually your connection. Try the steps in our buffering guide. For the basics of using whichTV, see how to watch live TV online for free.