In the UK, the major TV stations are the most popular with the BBC, the public service broadcaster dominating the viewing figures with its many channels. BBC 1 provides mainstream entertainment, such as Eastenders, dramas, game shows and news with BBC2 showing more offbeat humour and less popular themes. BBC 3 is aimed at the younger viewer – the 18 -25-age group. BBC 4 provides less mainstream content with a more intellectual flavour.  

 

ITV 1 is the most popular independent station. There are 4 channels provided by this independent corporation so you can watch live entertainment, soaps such as Coronation Street, sport, TV shows and dramas.  In addition you can catch up with old favourites and programmes you may have missed via ITV 2 ITV 3 and ITV 4.

 

Channel 4 is often controversial and broadcasts a mix of the high quality as well as some of the most offbeat programmes on British TV. Sister station Film Four shows non-stop films, some available only via subscription. 

 

Channel 5 is free to watch on demand and while it is the least popular of the five major channels, it provides a varied selection of viewing including kids programmes. 

 

Most online TV is free to watch in the UK . However, some films are not available due to performing rights restrictions as well as some sports content prohibited from broadcast because of contractual obligations. 

 

Away from the major channels, there is plenty of content to watch free online. BBC World News, Sky News, Bloomburg are just some of the news channels that are freely available. There are also some designated sports channels such as the Golf Channel and Sail TV. Coverage of major sporting events such as football is shared equally between ITV and BBC. This includes Champions League matches, football tournaments such as the FA Cup with Channel 4 having the exclusive rights for horseracing. Premier League highlights show Match Of The Day is available on BBC1. 

 

Film channels in the UK include Film Four, which is available on a pay to view basis and subscription channels such as Netflix that requires you to sign up for at least one month. Kid’s stations include Nickelodeon and Baby First Channel with the BBC kids channels CBeebies and CBBC providing a range of viewing for all ages. 

 

Fed up with UK TV? Why not try something different? Watch TV free online from 20 countries across Europe. A wide range of live TV channels from twenty European countries available online for free. These include German stations ARD (Das Erste) and ZDF free as live stream with RTL, Vox and Prosieben also available on demand. (catch up). Watch  live TV direct and video on demand direct from France. French TV is available from all channels including the flagship station France 2. In Italy, the public broadcaster is well represented on the web with all Rai channels available for free. 

 

In England, all  TV channels are available free online, as well as TV from Turkey and Hungary. It should be noted that not all channels can be seen from all the countries. In some cases a so-called 'GEOBLOCK "is put in place so overseas viewers can be banned from watching.