Radio and TV

There's plenty of excellent English programming available, but you'll need cable or satellite reception to get most of it...

People in Germany can get their television and radio three ways: terrestrially (through an antenna), via cable or satellite.

You won't find much, if any, television in English without cable or satellite reception, though some radio in English may be available terrestrially, especially at night. Things get a little better if you want to pay for cable tv service, better still if you invest in satellite reception, and vastly better if you acquire decoders and/or a digital receiver. The broadcast standard in Germany is "PAL" (B/G), which isn't compatible with the North American "NTSC system". You should buy either a PAL TV, multi-system TV or consider buying a PAL/NTSC converter.

Terrestrial TV

The television stations that can be received without cable or satellite are the ARD, ZDF, the Secondary Programs and, in some areas, RTL, all of which broadcast entirely in German. (These are also receivable by cable and satellite, usually with vastly better reception.) If you have invested in a digital-analog receiver, the channel selection you can get will vary greatly depending on where you live. Retailers will usually provide you with a local channel line-up. You can expect to get anywhere from 5-25 channels exclusively in the German language. Digital terrestrial receivers and antennas can be purchased for anywhere between 40,EUR and 100 +EUR at any large, local area electronic retailer. Hardware performance will vary as much as the strength of the digital terrestrial signal. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to receive much, if anything at all. Be sure to talk extensively with your retail sales persons and be sure that you express clearly what area you live in.

Cable TV

There are about 40 channels on the cable (again, depending on where you're located). Most of them broadcast in German, but four of them are in English: CNN, CNBC, MTV and BBC World. Also on cable (as well as satellite) is Premiere World. It is digital pay TV and broadcasts in German, but it has a large number of channels, offering everything from sports and films, to children's programming and erotic shows. In the past few years, German cable companies have begun offering English Language Packages that include up to 14 English language broadcasts. You can expect to pay anywhere from about 15,00 to 27,00 EUR monthly for these special language packages. Receivers usually run from 100,00 to 350,00 EUR and you can sometimes get them for free if you sign a 1 or 2 year minimum contract. It seems that most German cable providers do not have English language web portals and since most of the industry is very centralized, you probably will not find a local German cable TV agency to assist you.

Satellite TV

Currently the most popular method to receive a large number of high-quality, English-language programs is to have a satellite dish installed. It is relatively inexpensive to buy the dish, LNB and receiver and there are a lot of package deals available in the German retail outlets.

You may also want to consider having a professional installer mount and align your satellite dish as precision work is required and without the right tools and experience, you could well spend more time and effort getting nowhere opposed to spending a little bit on having it done properly. Make sure you have your landlord's permission to put up a dish, or adjust one that might already be installed and which could be utilized for what you want to achieve.

You will be faced with a large choice of receivers. The cheapest ones are the analog receivers. Somewhat more expensive are digital receivers. Most broadcast companies have already switched to the newer digital technology, therefore most of the receivers you will find will be digital rather than the oudated analog receivers. Prices start around €50 for inexpensive standard FTA units and go well beyond €600.00 with integral PVR (hard-drives) and 'High Definition' capability.

If you buy the standard digital receiver that receives the standard "free to air" broadcasts you'll be able to pick up several English language channels, depending on which satellite your dish is pointed to. That's the good news. The bad news is that the 40 or so channels you can pick up are pretty much limited to news, music, travel shops, some sports and shopping.

English Language Satellite TV

If you want to get more English language channels then you will have to get a receiver and service that will allow you to pick up "encoded" signals. There are different types of "decoders" and decoding cards that will enable you to receive a variety of services. Europe's best pay TV is Sky TV from the UK, offering over 150 tv and radio channels, all in English. With the latest series and shows from the US, it lets the expatriate "feel at home". CNBC, National Geographic, Cartoon Network, MTV, BBC, ESPN, MGM, Disney, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Fox News, CNN and many more are available.

Arena TV in Germany also carries a number of English language channels that include ESPN America, National Geographic, FOX (not the American channel) channel with different TV series that include the Sopranos and Entourage, TCM and MTV channels. The Arena TV "Family" package costs only about 20 euro per month.

Several specialized magazines are available that describe in detail the offerings on different satellites and information on decoders. They also carry advertisements from different companies that offer the services.

Radio, Too

English-language radio is also available; a little of it terrestrially, more from the cable, much more of very high quality through the satellites. The last-named offer digital quality music, news, weather, sports, talk, entertainment and children's programming. Among the many agencies offering satellite radio in English are: BBC World Service, Bloomberg and CNN. There are English language programs from places as diverse as Ireland, Switzerland and India, and even a station of Christian religious broadcasting. The British and American Forces operate radio networks, too. AFN is headquartered in Mannheim and the British Forces Broadcasting Service is in Herford. Of particular interest to Americans is the extremely powerful AFN AM signal on 873, 1107 and 1143 KHz. American sports events, news, talk shows and music are featured on this station. Programs can be picked up wherever troops are located: AFN in the middle and South; BFBS in the north. (AFN also has an FM service of nearly wall-to-wall music programming but the transmitters are low powered and you have to live close to a US military installation to pick it up.)

As an owner of a television set and/or radio and/or PC sound card, video/TV software, you are required to register and pay a quarterly user fee (referred to as GEZ gebühren), and there are heavy penalties for not paying it. For multiple radios, TV's and PC sound cards in one house, you will have to pay 52.99 EUR quarterly, due in the middle of the quarter billed. Applications to register your TV or radio can be picked up at any German post office and many banks. Payment is made by transfer after receiving the bill or you can sign up for payment by Lastschriftverfahren. The regulating authority for these payments is the GEZ (Gerbühren Einzugs Zentrale), Freimersdorfer Weg 6, 50829 Köln. E-mail: info@gez.de. You may also contact them by telephone, Monday-Friday, 9:00 - 19:00 at: 0 180/501 65 65 . This number is not a free call and you will be charged 14 ct. per minute.

The public corporations ARD, ZDF and Third Program are financed primarily by the GEZ fees collected. Cable subscription rates run about €20 to €30 a month, and this is in addition to the GEZ fees. Satellite dish set-ups can range from €75 to over €500 depending on the size of the dish and number of receivers you want or need. Satellite viewers pay the user's fee as well, but there are no additional charges over and above the initial costs for equipment and installation unless you want to buy a decoder.