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Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Old Feb 13th 2016, 10:23 pm
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Default Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Hello all
I have internet set up and Spanish landline connected and also have a HUGE satellite dish outside my house.... I'm told it's possible to "pick up" UK tv/Sky with this set up but I have no clue how to do this. I have a Sky subscription active in the UK.

Please help?
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 6:22 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by ScottieLassie
Hello allI have internet set up and Spanish landline connected and also have a HUGE satellite dish outside my house.... I'm told it's possible to "pick up" UK tv/Sky with this set up but I have no clue how to do this. I have a Sky subscription active in the UK. Please help?
Connect your Sky digibox, with your Sky viewing card (that you bring from the uk) , to the cables from the dish, and then to the TV, and then you will be able to receive the free and Sky pay channels.
Or connect any digibox / satellite receiver and receive the free (non sky card) channels.
But reception of some channels will depend where exactly you are in Spain and what size dish you have - as in some areas even a 2.4m dish may not pick up all the uk tv channels.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 7:27 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by ScottieLassie
Hello all
I have internet set up and Spanish landline connected and also have a HUGE satellite dish outside my house.... I'm told it's possible to "pick up" UK tv/Sky with this set up but I have no clue how to do this. I have a Sky subscription active in the UK.

Please help?
Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

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Old Feb 14th 2016, 8:46 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Technically it is illegal to receive subscription channels from Sky in Spain - many ways to do this and get around it though
Your UK subscription is not transferrable and if you read the small print of your UK Sky contract you are not to use it outside of the UK (or even any other house in the UK that the subscription is not registered to)
Good luck
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 9:21 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by Tadd1966
Technically it is illegal to receive subscription channels from Sky in Spain - many ways to do this and get around it though
Your UK subscription is not transferrable and if you read the small print of your UK Sky contract you are not to use it outside of the UK (or even any other house in the UK that the subscription is not registered to)
Good luck
Just to balance this Op. There are many companies operating in Spain that re-broadcast all UK terrestrial and Sky channels and charge a monthly fee for the service.

I know we're not supposed to condone illegal activity on the forum and maybe that's why you're making this public service announcement tadd? I can't work out why, actually. Is that intended to help the Op or warn them?
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 9:29 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by Tadd1966
Technically it is illegal to receive or watch subscription channels from Sky in Spain - many ways to do this and get around it thoughYour UK subscription is not transferrable and if you read the small print of your UK Sky contract you are not to use it outside of the UK (or even any other house in the UK that the subscription is not registered to)Good luck
Actually, "technically" it is NOT illegal to receive subscription (and in fact non subscription) channels from the UK, or any other EU country, in Spain. Nor is it illegal to use a viewing card from one EU country in a domestic property in another EU country - all covered by EU rulings a few years ago. But as you say, it is be against the T&Cs of the contract to use a Sky UK viewing card outside the UK, due to the broadcast rights contracts the channels that they carry have with content providers. So if Sky find out you are breaking those condition, then the contract will be cancelled. And they will only find out if you tell them... so don't....

Last edited by The Guy; Feb 14th 2016 at 9:34 am.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 10:08 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Scottie; some will tell you it's illegal, some will tell you it isn't (the EU ruling only covered free to view channels broadcast via satellite btw).
The truth of the matter is nearly every expat does it, the Spanish don't seem to care and there are several ways;
Take your Sky Box and card (with a subscription) and plug it into a satellite dish, depending on your area you may need a large dish. If you don't have a Sky Subscription then maybe a friend could get multi room and you take it to Spain. Get it activated before you go.
You can also stream via the Internet. There are various providers who will facilitate this. I suggest you speak to others in your area as they will all have something set up.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 10:10 am
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by BigD Nerja
(the EU ruling only covered free to view channels broadcast via satellite btw). .
No it did not "only cover free to view channels broadcast via satellite", since it was a ruling for a case of using a Greek Pay TV card in a UK pub for EPL matches, where the ECJ ruled you could use legally use a Pay TV card from one EU country in another EU country, but only in a domestic residence, and not in a public place, whilst acknowledging that that use may be against the cards T&Cs.There are no legal restrictions at all for watching free to air (ie non encrypted, non viewing card) channels from one EU country in another EU country. In fact the EU encourage this!

Last edited by The Guy; Feb 14th 2016 at 10:16 am.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 1:18 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

The Guy,
Unfortunately the ECJ ruling did not;

‘rule you could use legally use a Pay TV card from one EU country in another EU country, but only in a domestic residence’

The full ruling is here if anyone is interested:

[url=http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessi - Documents[/url]

The first point to note is section II para 57 which states;

‘First of all, it should be made clear that the present cases concern only the satellite broadcasting of Premier League matches to the public by broadcasting organisations, such as Multichoice Hellas’

However that said much can be read into the ruling, firstly section I which deals with existing legislation, conventions and directives makes it clear that these should be adhered to. Paras 3-9, 20 (sub paras 20 and 23) and para 21 make it clear that “authors’ retain rights over their ‘works’.

Section III para 89 makes it clear that broadcasters will not be in breach of freedom of movement directives if they can objectively justify it.

Murphy won her case because the court ruled that sporting events could not be classed as ‘works’ and consequently no ‘author’ could exercise control over them so the Premier League were unable to objectively justify restricting access.

Other things to come out of the ruling however were;
Using a decoder outside of the member state it was intended for does not make it an ‘illicit item’ and that if a broadcaster does not restrict access to its broadcasts in the member state it is designed for (freeview) then it can be viewed legitimately anywhere within the EU and The Guy is right this is encouraged by the EU in their 1993 Satellite and Cable directive. A new directive is being looked at and is currently being consulted on.

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/...e/index_en.htm

In essence the judgement said you can use a decoder to watch free to air television and live sports anywhere in the EU but you can not watch programmes protected by subscription and incidentally if watching sport you can only watch the live broadcast of the event not the build up, half time and full time analysis. None of this really matters anyway as everyone does it!
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 2:10 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by BigD Nerja
Murphy won her case because the court ruled that sporting events could not be classed as ‘works’ and consequently no ‘author’ could exercise control over them so the Premier League were unable to objectively justify restricting access.
Correct.But there are two parts to the case. She LOST the part of the case as she was broadcasting in public copyrighted material, ie EPL logos, music and graphics, from an unauthorised foreign broadcaster in the UK."The ECJ said last autumn that national laws that prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards were contrary to the freedom to provide services.The European judges also said the Premier League could not claim copyright over Premier League matches as they could not be considered to be an author's own "intellectual creation" and, therefore, to be "works" for the purposes of EU copyright law.But it did offer some comfort for the Premier League, which receives vast sums through its exclusive broadcasting deals with Sky and ESPN.The European court said that while live matches were not protected by copyright, any surrounding media, such as any opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, pre-recorded films showing highlights of recent Premier League matches and various graphics, were "works" protected by copyright.To use any of these extra parts associated for a broadcast, a pub would need the permission of the Premier League.The Court decision made it clear the league was entitled to take legal action "to prevent the unauthorised use of our copyrights in pubs and clubs when they are communicated to the public without our authority". So the match itself is not an issue, but the rest of the content is - which is why the EPL started to put their watermark onto the lower right of the screens for international EPL feeds. And why the EPL is still to this day prosecuting pubs for use showing their content from foreign broadcasters - over use of logos and music! Minor issues you would think, but it allows them to do it.
Originally Posted by BigD Nerja
In essence the judgement said you can use a decoder to watch free to air television and live sports anywhere in the EU but you can not watch programmes protected by subscription and incidentally if watching sport you can only watch the live broadcast of the event not the build up, half time and full time analysis
Have to disagree on you with this, as it makes no difference it of a match is free to air or encrypted, the same rules apply to either. And the judgement did make the distinction between private and public use...But then, as you say, everyone does it, just don't tell Sky you are using the card outside the UK!

Last edited by The Guy; Feb 14th 2016 at 2:18 pm.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 2:39 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by The Guy
it makes no difference it of a match is free to air or encrypted, the same rules apply to either
That is what I was trying to say (but did not succeed!) but as you say the ECJ did say that the EPL could retain control over 'works' such as logos and, as other directives mentioned, by extension broadcasters can retain control over other works such as television programmes so whilst decoders are not 'illicit items' their use to view works protected by broadcasters is not permitted.

To the OP I suggest you PM The Guy, as we have all said everyone does it and he may well be able to suggest a better way of accessing TV channels than just a Sky dish. I believe in some parts of Spain even with a Sky box/card you can't pick up BBC, ITV? Something to do with the satellite? I get all of mine over the internet and get it with a decent Internet package although this is provided by a community authorised provider to lots of us, and before anyone says it this is definitely illegal!
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 5:51 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by ScottieLassie
Hello all
I have internet set up and Spanish landline connected and also have a HUGE satellite dish outside my house.... I'm told it's possible to "pick up" UK tv/Sky with this set up but I have no clue how to do this. I have a Sky subscription active in the UK.

Please help?
For what it's worth I had a full sky package in Spain for 6.5 years. The d/d was taken from a UK bank, and if I ever had to speak to them I did it by internet phone or SKYPE.

If you actually told SKY that you were living abroad they would probably cut you off, but unless you do that no one bothers you.

Yes, I know it was breach of contract, but if SKY lost all of their Expat accounts they would be losing a fair bit of dosh I would think, so they are not proactive at finding people not in the UK. They are more worried most of the time with people who have multi room and insist on a telephone number as you could be getting multi room and using it in two houses I guess
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 6:39 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by BigD Nerja
I believe in some parts of Spain even with a Sky box/card you can't pick up BBC, ITV? Something to do with the satellite?
In almost all of Andalucia it is not possible to get BBC and ITV etc even with a 3m dish. These channels, plus many others, are now on a UK focussed beam from the Astra satellite. Most of the Sky channels are on the pan European beam so can still be received on a 1.3m dish as before.

Many people down here use the alternative Intelsat 907 satellite which receives them on a 80cm dish. For the other channels, including Sky, an Internet solution is the most common.
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Old Feb 14th 2016, 8:57 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

In the week that scientists discovered fluctuations in space-time that proved Einstein was right all those years ago, I am wondering what it is that causes people to disappear up their own arseholes pondering every possible scenario.

The Op said... "I'm told it's possible to "pick up" UK tv/Sky with this set up but I have no clue how to do this."

Op, yeah you can. Grab a copy of the local paper en Ingles and you'll see plenty of ads put there by people who can help you.
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Old Feb 15th 2016, 4:39 pm
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Default Re: Accessing UK and Sky TV in Spain

Originally Posted by Horlics
I am wondering what it is that causes people to disappear up their own arseholes
Yes, I sometimes wonder that
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