Sky tv in Spain, the time is coming to watch out.!!!

From a recent report from the Spanish government it may become compulsary to have a license for Sky tv, there has been ongoing battles with Sky and the Spanish government and this may be the only way forward, so watch out  the license fee is coming!!

hi, thanks for the post,

I also have seen a report about this and it will be taking action soon, im actually a former employee of Sky in the UK, and this has been on the cards for a while, Sky bascially know its happening but obvioulsy dont want to loose the buisness so they turn a blind eye to it all, however the Spanish authoritys want some kind of agreement or license put in place. so your right in what you say its only a matter of time for this to happen, i personally cannot live here without my TV, but this may not apply to everyone who may have come here to get away from all that, however this will effect many many bar owners, I suppose it really depends on the fee for a license, anyway watch this space.

this sounds a little worrying, but could be a good thing, cause the spanish police etc have the right to fine you for having sky at the moment, i know first hand i had mine cut off for 9 months, then I hat to re-register the card in the UK, got a €400 fine and was not happy, i suppose this is another way for the Spanish to make money out of us x-pats, but what can you do, you cant exactly call Sky and tell caus they will cut you off straight away, so it would seem overall a good thing that this is happening. thanks for the post

Hi all,

how would this affect FREESAT?

Just a answer to the freesat question.

This will depend on how much the spanish authoritys go into it, there main targets i personally think are bars, hotels, clubs etc, however if you are receiving any kind of signal from sky then I would think that you still require a the license. will have to keep you posted on this but I know that the government plans to sort this problem out in a big way, this eventually will apply to most EU countries once in place, hopefully it wont be like the UK license fee. 

Yes I would agree with that, if you are picking up any sort of signal from Sky then you will be eligable for the license. however will await and confirm this in the next few months, I personally believe this will be up and running quicker that we think.

I'm a bit confused by all this. Sky cannot charge a license fee for you as they do not have the rights to broadcast outside of the British Isles. The T&C's specifically forbid a viewing card from being used outside of the British Isles, which as has been said, will result in immediate cut off if found out.

Now, because the satellites are high up, there will be an overspill from the beam which can be picked up by any generic digital satellite receiver. Also Astra 1d isn't only for Sky channels, i'm sure other broadcaster have them too. As I only receive the free chanels, I can't see that there is anything that can be done.

Mark

If Sky do bring in a license fee, then they should make the viewing legal in Spain and throughout Europe.

Just thought I woul try and answer your post from Mark, just to clarify its not sky asking for the license fee it will be the Spanish Government.

I understand what your saying but the basic situation is Sky is illegal to broadcast in Spain, so if the Spanish authoritys wish to take action then there is nothing stopping them (is there?) basically Sky have washed there hands with it and it comes down to if you dont want to pay a license fee to watch it then they will report and fine you for broadcasting it. If they do report and Sky dont take action then they are liable for court action, this would then jepordies there rights for example the premier league, they are not legally aloud to transmit this outside the U.K.

hope this answers you question, I agree with what your saying but this is Spain and if they make the decision that they want this to happen, there is nothing me or you can do.

cheers

xpatman

hi,

Yes having read the last thorugh comments, Mr Expatman is correct, it is not sky asking for a license fee its the Spanish Government, please let me make clear that this has not happend yet and may even not, its just a report that has been leaked from the authoritys, so hold fire and keep watching for now as it is not the law yet,  however the police do have the right to stop you using sky outside the UK, so the way to think of this is as a positive, it will probably  very simular to the UK license fee, of which we all paid without any complaints. so lets just see!

But Spain doesn't charge a fee for any other television, terrestrial, tdt or other satellite, therefore making a charge would be discriminatory. At the end of the day, if it means changing the decoder from a Sky box to a unbranded satellite, it is then for the authorities to prove that the signal being received is a Sky frequency and not a Hotbird signal or any of the other satellites which carry the various channels. Sky doesn't necessarily broadcast all these chaneels, merely acts as a company to gater all the information together and produce as a product. (unless of course you are receiving content specifically from Sky such as sports and other subscription channels).

Mark

Mark,

the basic theory is that sky is illegal to broadcast in Spain, if this does come in as a law, if you dont comply you will be switched off and fined, if you have other ways off getting the channels you want then I would not write them on here or anywhere cause you know what will happen next, yes they will tap into this!  be carefu

I just want to say that Toby is 100% correct, if you have Sky TV then just be aware that this law may come into place, but see this as a good thing as you will not have the spanish police turn up at you house or bar and be able to fine you any more, this may happen so just accept it like the UK license and move on.

But as I say, this could only apply to Sky branded channels that you pay a subscription to Sky for and not for other channels that can be freely picked up elsewhere. Disney channel for example is available on TDT, Discovery is available with other providers. A unbranded box is capable of picking up a signal from any satellite, as can a Sky box. As for tech's comment on Freesat, this has nothing to do with Sky and still picks up a lot of the channels that Sky also broadcast. Not sure that every satellite dish in Spain is going to be checked to see what channels the end user is hooked up to.

A case of suck it and see I think. Could this merely be scaremongering by one of the so called "legal" rebroadcasting services?

Mark

yes Mark,

understand, but dont think you quiet get it, If you have a Sky dish and card then you are breaking the law! other providers will be got possible in the future, but you have sky i have sky thats why they will target sky, hope this explains again to you.

I understand exactly what you are saying, but am asking how they can fine you for something that is not Sky related? There is no such thing as a Sky dish in Spain unless you have brought one over and are lucky enough to make it work in a strong signal area). Sky dishes are all the mini dishes that are fitted in the UK, in Spain the dishes are all different brands because there are so many broadcasters available by satellite. The authorities would have to knock on every property in Spain with a satellite dish on the roof to see if they have a Sky viewing card inserted. They wold have to trouble the Germans, the Norweigans, the French, the Dutch, all of which can receive programmes in their native language via a satellite feed.

If you do not have a Sky card inserted, which lets face it, unless you want the subscription channels you don't need it anyway, then there is nothing related to Sky and therefore nothing that can be done. Sky own the encryption software that is on the chip within the card, so that is the technicality you could maybe possibly perhaps get caught on.  Even if you are using a Sky decoder, there is nothing that can be done as it is no different to watching with a Philips, Sony, Daewoo branded receiver, it is just a name.

Mark

Could anyone say where they have seen this report !!

hi Mark,

I do understand what you are saying, but try telling this to the Spanish police, dont think so, what about all the bars that show sky, do you think that they will not be guilty, its time to accept that the law is the law, all they will simple do if you try to get around this is fine you, and beleive me you dont want that to happen, as for the swiss and the germans, they will get them soon, just do what you have got do to get round it, i would just rather pay up and watch Sky when I want, like i said before if you have another way then do it, but my advice is not to tell the world about it, or you be the first person they contact, and as you may know if they want to fine you some how they will, no matter what dish, card and where you from, just a warning to you.

hope that was that then, will keep posted once introduced

Xpatman, not quite

You omit to mention where you have seen this report ??