This is the most honest way to introduce myself to German-Way readers,

Hello, my name is ebe and I am an expat TV addict.

It’s true. Despite living in Germany for several years, I still watch American TV every day. As a writer working from home, I have the freedom to tune into the squabbles of various housewife franchises, observe the zombie apocalypse and evaluate cooking competitions any time I want. And I want.

It’s comforting in this strange life abroad to hear those familiar accents discussing things I understand. Unlike German politics, the best Fleischsalat or how to help the refugees in Oranienplatz, I have opinions on TV. It helps me stay connected to that life I left behind and keeps me in the loop with my stateside community.

On the other hand, my commitment to US television has certainly played a part in the slow pace at which I am learning German. It has been easy, far too easy, for me to live in the dreaded expat bubble, speaking English with my American husband and listening to my American television friends. In a place as metropolitan and expat-filled as Berlin, I am just one example of how easy it is to get by in this city for years – years! – with only basic German skills*. I am legitimately embarrassed, but can’t seem to stop myself from tuning in. Addict isn’t too far off from the truth…

Historical television cameras and equipment on display at Berlin’s Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology). PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

And it’s not as easy as just turning on the TV – I actually work to maintain my addiction. While the ability to stream shows online has vastly increased in the US in recent years, the ability to watch shows outside of the country they are made for – and advertised in – has not. Services like Hulu, Netflix and even many YouTube videos are unavailable outside of the USA. GEMA (Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungen; English: Society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights) is a dirty word for many expats in Germany. [NOTE: In Nov. 2016, GEMA completed an agreement with YouTube and others that now means the dreaded “not available in your country” message now may be seen less frequently.]

This German organization has been called one of the most aggressive PROs (performance rights organization) in the world and its representation of authors’ rights prevents many popular multimedia videos from being played in Germany. This has resulted in ferocious court battles and many frustrating surfs around the internets. Many a time have I clicked on a video only to see the cursed, “Unfortunately, this video is not available in Germany because it may contain music for which GEMA has not granted the respective music rights”. Not buying that weak apology GEMA! While the effort to provide compensation for creators is completely admirable, the implementation can be quite inscrutable.

Luckily (or not) for me, there are several different methods to get around these restrictions and watch American TV in Germany.  With these words of endorsement and warning of dependency, here is an overview of how you may access foreign TV abroad. Read and watch at your own risk!

Streaming versus Downloading
There is a lot of confusion and discussion about the difference between streaming and downloading and the legality of each. Let’s keep it simple:

• Downloading – Moving a file from a website to your computer.
• Streaming – Content is delivered in a continuous stream and displayed to the viewer in real time.

Is downloading legal in Germany?
In a word, no. There are many cases of individual users fined exorbitant amounts for downloading music, TV shows and movies in Germany. Making any copy, such as a download, is illegal.

Interestingly, it is the uploading (making copyrighted material available) that usually gets people in trouble. Peer-to-peer file sharing networks often require users to upload files as they are downloading, resulting in a breach of copyright and possible legal action.

Is streaming legal in Germany?
This is a grey area and may change in the future, but recent court cases  indicate that streaming is currently legal in Germany. By watching it online without downloading or “owning” the file with no ability to distribute, you do not infringe on copyright.

The grey area comes in with how browsers function, in that the file is temporarily saved to your computer. In that way, this is also a breach of copyright. The saving grace for addicts like me is in the difficulty in determining who these users are. At this time, no legal action is taken against people who stream content.

While a simple Google search reveals many sites offering streaming video, they change frequently as they are shut down and re-incarnated with slightly different names. For an example, I highly recommend reading about scandalous Megaupload and its flamboyant German-Finnish operator, Kim Dotcom.

The bigger threat with legally grey streaming is that most services are rife with viruses. Pop-ups are incessant and it is vital to have up-to-date virus protection. Stream with caution TV fans.

VPNs in Germany
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) have long been the ideal tool to trick your computer and brain into thinking you never left home. This allows users to hide their IP address and access a private network, sharing data remotely through public networks with the user’s IP address replaced by the VPN provider. This means that even though my computer and I live in Berlin, by using a VPN I can bypass geographic restrictions and am back in the wonderful world of American programming. If you want to get fancy, this can also allow you to take advantage of p2p and torrent sites to download files like music and video.

Naturally, this leads to the next question:

Are VPNs legal in Germany?
VPNs are legal in Germany, but breaching copyright is not. Even though the VPN allows  you access to geolocked websites, it is up to you to avoid infringing on copyright. For example, Netflix only has a license to broadcast in the U.S. as that is what the copyright owners have agreed to. On the other hand, there seems to be little interest in prosecuting people who do so.

Top 5 VPNs for Expats in Germany
There are many providers offering VPNs at all price points, ease of use, type of protocol and protections available in Germany. Almost all of them offer money-back guarantees or a free trial and usually run under 10 euros a month, so there is little risk in giving one a whirl.

• VyprVPN – Service based in Switzerland with superior speeds. Special offer: VyprVPN – Watch from your location anywhere in the world, 25% discount
• VPN Authority – Full disclosure: This is a service I am currently using as a gift subscription. I can say from experience that I have been impressed at the easy installation and ability to turn it on by just clicking “connect”. In 1, 2, 3…. I am connected and whizzing around the US geo-blocked sites. My only complaint is that it is a just a smidge slower than our regular internet service (a common complaint with VPNs) and occasionally the connection breaks and you need to wait for something to mysteriously work itself out.
• Private Internet Access – Great reputation for protecting your identity by keeping no logs on usage.
• StrongVPN – Excellent tutorials for new users, but no privacy policy.
• ibVPN – One of the cheapest services at $4.95/month.

Other Methods for Watching Foreign TV in Germany

• Slingbox – This streaming device encodes video into VC-1 format for transmission over the Internet and provides an infrared blaster. Sounds pretty sci-fi, right? This allows users to operate their home’s cable, satellite, etc. remotely over the Internet and view content that would normally be blocked abroad.
• Maxdome.de – Just one of the crop of German sites offering monthly subscriptions to watch movies and TV shows. Most of these services primarily offer German content, but some English content can be found here or on Amazon’s Lovefilm and realeyz.tv.
• http://www.expattelly.com – Provides access to British programming at about €60/year.
• iTunes (de)  – The media giant offers movies to rent or buy with many English options.

I only scratched the surface, so please share your TV watching secrets with me!

Are you addicted to foreign TV? What method do you use? What did I miss?

 * I would love to blame my TV addiction for my poor German, but many people watch American TV AND speak German. Clearly, it is a personal problem. Back to the German drawing board!

Also see my related post: VPNs and Netflix – or What German TV You Should Be Watching