19 Sep 2013 5:13 PM:
From everything I undestand about it you can legally receive and watch and EU channels from ANY EU country - free or subscription.
Although the BBC is aimed at the UK the nature of satellite signals means that there is overspill into other countries,. Those signals do not simply stop at national borders. The only way they can reduce / stop signals reaching those "other " areas, is by trying to limit the signal - which is what they are trying to do with the new UK beam on the new satellites.
It is not "illegal" to watch channels from another country. The Astra 19 carries channels from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia... - so who would be the illegal party - the person watching those chanenls, or the satellite company for making those channels available to all of europe, or the channels themselves??
However, it is against the Terms and Conditions of subscription services to use their card outside the intended market - due to the right agreements. Hence why Sky UK cannot sell their cad outside the UK. However using them, although against the T&Cs, is not illegal. This was recently proven by the case of the Portsmouth pub landlady and the FA which, amongst other things, said it was not illegal to use a card from an EU broadcaster in another EU country.
So nothing illegal about watching BBC in Spain...they may not like it, but if you can receive those signals they cannot stop you.
This message was last edited by Govnor on 19/09/2013.
Thread:
UK TV channels in Spain.
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