In Spain you have sunshine, good food, cheap beer and the envy of your friends back home but a black cloud still hangs ominously over Spanish radio and TV. Some Catalan terrestrial channels broadcast in two languages. For the most part though, your favourite TV programs are dubbed and hugely disappointing. Subtitles are rarely available on the majority of TV stations.
Fear not, we have a quick guide to tune in, turn on and vege out to your favourite TV and Radio shows. We outline the complications and advances within the law and technology.
Wondering why you have trouble accessing online Radio 1, KissFM or Channel 4? Recent changes in UK broadcasting laws mean that any international requests for Internet radio and TV from abroad are no longer cost effective. Changes in media royalty and copyright laws have increased UK broadcasters’ fees to artists and the media giants behind them. Non-US residents, for example, can no longer listen to Pandora.com. However, some grey area online jukeboxes like radioblogclub.com still survive. For UK listeners, one of the best indie music stations, www.xfm.couk is operating legally internationally.
Other legal options include online podcasts. Most online radio stations are using podcasting, which gets around the sticky and confusing aspects of artist royalties. The key difference is that it isn’t live. Yahoo’s new PC and Mac compatible widgets.yahoo.com is legal to use and at present allows streaming of UK and American radio shows. Internet radio can be enjoyed with Acoustic Energy’s Wi-Fi Radio. It is not cheap at £129.99, but for 5,000 stations it is worth the price!
Using Sky for UK TV and radio is the popular choice of ex-pat bar owners and grey area practice has long been practiced by ex-pats. Although the technology exists to provide Internet-based access to UK programs, it isn’t yet a valid alternative. There are a plethora of companies that offer a set-up and purchase of various skyboxes and cards. You can opt for free-view or per channel/package viewing.
A bit of DIY can make things considerably cheaper. For the best content, a good site to start for basic information is storesatellite.com and uksatellitehelp.co.uk. These sites offer comprehensive advice but you will need patience and a little technical know-how to set it up yourself. A step-by-step guide can be found under ‘FAQ’ then ‘dish installation’ at astrosat.info.
Receiving a clear signal depends on where you are located. Some areas of Spain demand a bigger dish like 2.5m to pick up a clear signal. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the dish the better the signal. You will need to buy a Low Noise Converter (LNB) to boost your reception and a signal strength meter to locate the Astra 2 SKYsatellite.
If you are dying to watch a movie or TV program before it is released on TV in Europe and if you own an Xbox or PS2 - consider getting hold of a modchip. They allow game consoles to play DVD movies from other countries. There are lots of Chinese companies offering original movies for sale. Movies from Asia or the US are available sooner than in Europe. A loophole in the Spanish intellectual property law makes the modchips legal, but it is worth keeping an eye out for changes in this law. They are well advertised in independent electronic stores throughout Spain.
Another grey-area legal issue is online video sharing. Back in Blighty, it’s an offence to provide a resource with links without actually hosting the content on your PC. If you do not share links nor copyrighted content you are safe, for now. Two main sites provide this service - youtube and video.google. Other TV sites include tvlinkvault.com, freetvlinks.net and craftytv.com. For paid-for subscriptions and presently legal options, try liveuktv.com for $45 PCM.
It is illegal to share copyrighted content via peer-to-peer (p2p) applications like BitTorrent and Emule. MMS.se reported that 2 in 5 Swedes between the ages of 16-30 illegally download TV shows. Another website reports that 41% of Spaniards download movies. The ramifications of p2p file sharing and downloading or sharing copyrighted films are not to be taken lightly. Recent stories suggest the police and associated authorities have recently been cracking down on criminal gangs selling the ‘top manta’ taken from p2p sources. Spanish ISPs might soon crack down and block all p2p traffic to stop it at source.
Large corporations have reason to be concerned by advances in technology. As such, the choices faced by an ex-pat tend to be limited to what is up-to-the-minute on TV, and statistics show that people seek to view programs as they come out. Domestically, UK and American copyright owners are clamping down heavily on licensing and copyright laws.
The technology does indeed exist to watch Hollyoaks or Lost as it airs and on demand, without the need to use p2p technology. Satellite TV and Internet services like liveuktv remain the most reliable way to remain above board and paying royalty by subscription.
It is the author’s hope that the media giants address the needs of ex-pats to enjoy quality, as it first airs, worldwide English language TV on-demand.
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