German TV and streaming on holiday: what works abroad

Why are some shows blocked when you’re abroad?

Because broadcasters and streaming services often buy the rights to films, series and sport for certain countries only. To comply with those licences, they block access from elsewhere. This is called geo-blocking. Whether a programme is affected depends on the individual contract. According to ARD, logging in doesn’t change that.

Geo-blocking means that a service restricts access depending on the country a connection comes from. It usually works that country out from your IP address. The EU’s own portability regulation notes that, because of their licence agreements, providers block access from IP addresses outside the licensed territory (recital 10).

ARD explains in its help page on watching programmes abroad (in German) that many programmes are co-productions. Production companies and rights holders often keep the foreign rights so they can sell them on. That applies to sport as well as to films and series. Because ARD limits itself to the German market, some content may be restricted abroad.

ZDF is similar: according to its streaming FAQ (in German), it can only offer its 24/7 live streams in Germany because of the rights situation. Live streams of individual programmes, however, are available worldwide.

What does the EU portability regulation cover?

Regulation (EU) 2017/1128 has applied since 2018. It requires providers of paid online content services to give you the same service while you are temporarily in another EU country as you get at home: the same content, on the same types of device and at no extra cost. Free services may opt in but don’t have to.

Portability simply means that your existing subscription travels with you. Regulation (EU) 2017/1128 covers subscribers whose actual and stable residence is in an EU member state and who are in another member state for a limited time. It sets no maximum duration. Contract terms that limit portability to a certain period are unenforceable (Article 7).

The provider doesn’t have to guarantee the same picture quality as at home, but it must not deliberately reduce it (Art. 3(3)). To confirm your country of residence it can use, for example, payment details or an ID document. It may only use your IP address in combination with another of the listed means. The EU portal Your Europe explains it the same way.

Does this apply to the ARD and ZDF Mediathek?

Not automatically. You use the Mediathek without a subscription of your own, and under the regulation the German broadcasting licence fee doesn’t count as payment for an online service. So portability isn’t mandatory for ARD and ZDF. ARD says some content may be blocked abroad because its licences are limited geographically, and logging in doesn’t change that.

The regulation states that paying a mandatory fee for public broadcasting is not to be treated as paying money for an online content service (recital 18). The public broadcasters’ catch-up services therefore fall under the rule for free services, which may opt in.

In practice, many programmes play fine on holiday and others don’t. ARD’s help page doesn’t distinguish between EU and other countries; it simply talks about being abroad. What you can do:

• Before you travel, check the broadcaster’s help pages for what is available abroad.
• On ZDF, live streams that also work abroad are listed under the heading “Auslandsstreams”.
• For questions about a specific programme, ARD refers you to the broadcaster that aired it.

What about paid streaming subscriptions when you travel?

Within the EU, paid subscriptions for films, series, sport, music, e-books or games must work as they do at home during a temporary stay, at no extra cost. Outside the EU, that obligation doesn’t exist. There, the provider, its licences and its terms of use decide what you can watch. Check before you travel.

For portability to apply, the provider has to know your country of residence. It checks this when you sign up and when your subscription is renewed. If you move abroad for good, the rule no longer covers you, because it only applies to temporary stays.

• Read your provider’s help pages and terms of use to see what applies abroad.
• Download films and episodes in advance if your provider allows it. That also saves mobile data.
• Streaming over a mobile network uses a lot of data, and roaming outside the EU can be expensive.

Does a home IP help with streaming on holiday?

With a home IP, your connection goes out to the internet through your line at home, so services see your home connection’s IP address. Whether a service plays its content is still its own decision. It can check other signals and has its own terms of use. There’s no guarantee that any particular service will work.

The Homvoya Kit is one way to do this: the home box plugs into your router at home and the travel box comes with you. Devices on the travel box’s Wi-Fi use your home connection through an encrypted tunnel. Our guide to using your home IP abroad explains how this works and which alternatives exist.

Know the limits:

• The IP address is only one signal. GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, your device’s time zone and a service’s own checks stay the same.
• Your home connection’s upload speed is the ceiling. We recommend at least 10 Mbit/s; high-quality streaming needs more. Use the compatibility checker to see whether your line is suitable, and read our guide to upload speed for working and streaming on the road.
• If your internet at home goes down, the connection won’t work.
• Some countries restrict or ban VPN connections. Check the local rules before you travel.

If all you need is an encrypted connection on hotel Wi-Fi, a VPN app is often enough – it shows a data-centre IP rather than your own, though. If your line has a public IPv4 address and you’re comfortable with some technical setup, a DIY VPN can also do the job. Our comparison FRITZ!Box VPN or ready-made kit helps you decide.