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Living overseas

BBC satelite gone out of range...

20 replies

wakemeupnow · 07/02/2014 06:23

I know we are not supposed to get bbc outside of the uk, but does anyone understand why it's no longer in range? Apparently ITV is going too. This countries tv is dire and Dc are gonna miss cbeebies...

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elQuintoConyo · 07/02/2014 06:33

Er.... I'd imagine not paying for the licence fee while abroad has a lot to do with it?

I'm also abroad and friends/co-workers have been.talking about it. It doesn't bother me, for various reasons, but people are very pissed off around here!

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chloeb2002 · 07/02/2014 08:50

Yes. My mum is in France and is tv less.. Yes it's because people don't pay :0) change of dish and a subscription I think? Wink

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frenchfancy · 07/02/2014 09:00

SES wrote: “As part of SES’ ongoing fleet renewal programme, we will be transferring all the UK Spot Beam transponders currently operating on ASTRA 1N across to ASTRA 2E. This move at the 28.2/28.5ºEast orbital location will take place over several weeks beginning early February 2014. The transfer will have no adverse implications for viewers in the UK and Ireland as the affected channels will continue to operate on the same frequencies and will be broadcast at the same, or slightly improved power levels, across the UK and Ireland. TV viewers outside the UK and Ireland may see an impact and may not be able to receive channels from ASTRA 2E UK Spot Beam, which has a smaller footprint than ASTRA 1N. The new footprint on SES’ replacement fleet has been designed to meet the requirements of UK and Irish broadcasters who target their channels for distribution in the UK and/or Ireland. UK and Irish broadcasters hold broadcasting rights only for the UK and/or Ireland but not for other countries.”

It isn't because of TV licence fees, it is because of the change from 1N to 2E. The range is smaller, but stronger over the UK + Ireland.

FWIW I would happily pay the UK licence fee just to get the BBC. Until you have experienced other countries tv you really cannot appreciate how lucky the UK are to have the beeb.

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wakemeupnow · 07/02/2014 11:47

Thanks for explaining that Fancy

I agree , it's not a lack of willingness to pay a licence fee. For what it's worth I do pay a licence fee here for chanels that I never ever watch they are so crap. I'm sure lots of expats would be willing to pay to receive the BBC if it was an option. I suppose proxy servers and BBC I player are the way forward !

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fatandlonely · 07/02/2014 12:21

We pay for a proxy server and use iplayer,

We would gladly pay the TV licence if we could and do away with the Proxy server. You have not seen crap TV til you have seen Asian TV

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BriocheBriocheBrioche · 07/02/2014 12:24

It's using the internet but try googling 'film on' it has all the channels on some kind of live streaming. Not sure how it works and am waiting for it to go poof one day!

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chloeb2002 · 08/02/2014 21:29

Surely.. The point is its because the data lite they have.. Urr switched off. Is the one that was being viewed for free by expats.. They have said they will now only be broadcasting to the intended countries of uk and Ireland. As I see it ... If they wanted to continue to provide tv .. With a bigger footprint... They would. They have directly done it to stop it being watched.. Not by accident!

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NatashaBee · 08/02/2014 21:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LoveSewingBee · 08/02/2014 21:55

If you can use a UK address so you can take out a TV licence then you can get a special code to make iPlayer work abroad. For example, a UK citizen holding a TV licence is able to watch BBC when abroad without a problem. There was a section in this somewhere on BBC website re iPlayer.

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frenchfancy · 09/02/2014 10:58

lovesewingbee that is interesting, I wonder how that would work if (say) my friend already has a tv licence for her address. I assume One can't have 2 licences for the same address?

Our TV is still working fine at the moment (touch lots of wood) .

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LoveSewingBee · 09/02/2014 22:30

Not sure, because would say you were to rent part of your friend's place then you would need to take out your own TV licence I would suspect?

I only know that friends who really live in the UK and travel a lot for work can always use iPlayer wherever they are, including in my house, and they have special access to it even when they use my IP address (eg are on my laptop).

I am in the Netherlands so was able to take out a very expensive TV package including BBC 1 to 4. Satellite is very expensive here.

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LoveSewingBee · 09/02/2014 22:33

Also in a student flat, I expect that each student with a TV in their room would need their own TV licence?

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SavoyCabbage · 09/02/2014 22:54

I thought that there was an iplayer app for overseas now that you pay for.

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LoveSewingBee · 09/02/2014 23:13

Very well possible but you will certainly need a BBC tV licence number to purchase it.

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SavoyCabbage · 09/02/2014 23:39

I'm sure I read in the paper that the bbc were releasing an app that you paid for that is instead of a tv licence. For people abroad.

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LoveSewingBee · 09/02/2014 23:43

That would be really good!

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frenchfancy · 10/02/2014 06:23

For some reason that app is only available on apple. I don't understand why the bbc are restricting it like that. I thought they weren't supposed to promote individual products.

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MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 10/02/2014 09:19

There is an international iplayer ap that you can pay for, but it has different content apparently - I have been told by somebody who has it that it only offers old sitcoms and current Eastenders...

I've lifted this from another forum I post on:

If you install Hola Unblocker it will unblock many sites as it forms a group IP address. No idea how, but it does. Once you have that installed, it will show a little orange devil icon on the toolbar whenever it is active. It usually lights up automatically, but sometimes you need to click and pray. Then, and this isn't difficult if I did it, google Hola Unblocker scripts. A college student somewhere with smelly socks and an IQ north of 200 has written a patch. Download it and you will have iPlayer UK, all BBC and ITV.

You can also use filmon to stream live TV - all the channels you'd get on a UK freeview box. You need a VPN or XBMC and F.T.V

There is also a paidfor service called UKTV everywhere which will host a box for you - apparently with that you get a high quality signal, and all the same functionality as we used to have before they migrated to the new satelite.

Ex-pats who watch BBC programming would happily pay the licence fee, but are not given the opportunity. THe reason is that the BBc doesn't want the "scraps" of a few hundred thousand ex-pat licence fees, they want to sell the rights to their programmes to overseas channels, and if the programmes are available free that is (slightly) less likely to happen (although as most countries want to dub them to show on their own channels that is a rather debatable point - the audience for dubbed version of a programme is unlikely to the the same, so I doubt one thing really does impact on the other... but that is the reason - licencing in the channel to channel sense not the individual TV licences - money, and lots of it).

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MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 10/02/2014 09:40
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