# BBC providing European Channels by Satellite ???

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 11, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325 "2003-12-11T09:13:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/1 "2003-12-11T09:13:30Z")

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I read about 6 months ago that the BBC were starting a service that would be available in Ireland, whereby if you purchased one of their satellite receivers you could pick up all the European National Channels - TF1, France2, RAI Uno, et cetera.

Can anyone help me out with this? I have checked the BBC website and they son’t seem to have any service that provides _these_ European channels - just silly ones like the Living Channel…

😕 😕

Anyway any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks

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**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/2 "2003-12-11T10:54:03Z")

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[BUMP]

Anyone, Anyone… ???

[/BUMP]

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/3 "2003-12-11T11:09:55Z")

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Well, the BBC are not in the business of selling satellite receivers, they’re just a broadcaster. Perhaps you meant Sky? Or you may be thinking of the fact that a few months ago, they stopped encrypting BBC channels transmitted by Sky on one of the Astra satellites, meaning that you no longer need a satellite card to watch those channels. Which means that in parts of Europe you can watch BBC for free now.  
As for the other european channels you mention, I believe many of them are available free and unencrypted from one of the Astra or Eurobird (?) satellites.

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**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/4 "2003-12-11T11:17:04Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Usram \*  
> \*\*As for the other european channels you mention, I believe many of them are available free and unencrypted from one of the Astra or Eurobird (?) satellites. \*\*

Thanks **Usram**! No, it was definately BBC - I will never cave in to Murdoch’s near monopoly on TV & newspapers !!!

Would the broadcasts by Astra & Eurobird be available legally in Ireland ??

Thanks !🙂

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/5 "2003-12-11T11:31:52Z")

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I’ve done a bit more digging - the Digital Spy forums are good for queries of this sort; here’s a [relevant thread](http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96672&highlight=rai). It seems that most German and Italian channels, including RAI, are unencrypted. In France, only France5 and “arte”, whatever that is, are unencrypted, so I don’t know how you’d get TF1 etc.

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**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-providing-european-channels-by-satellite/218325/6 "2003-12-11T11:54:26Z")

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**Usram** thanks again - I’ll go to that forum and have a look around…

Thanks again. I’m not too concerned with TF1 etc. it’s really the RAI channels that I want so I can see the “Serie A” matches.

Thanks though !!! 🙂