Getting US news channels in the UK?

Hi,

I hope this is OK to post here. As someone who enjoys watching US news programming, I have been looking at how to access certain US news channels in this country.

I can access CNNi and CNBC on TalkTalk (or Tiscali/ Homechoice before that) TV and I'm not sure whether my Sky Digibox would still pick up Fox News (is it part of Sky's subscription service? I mean it's Fox, so I'm not too fussed either way). I'd really like, however, a way of accessing MSNBC, BBC World News and/or CNN (US).

I have looked at options like Livestation, which doesn't allow you to access BBC World, MSNBC or CNN (US) from the UK, and I'm aware there are various not-so-legal web streams out there which, frankly, I'm not terribly happy using. So I wonder if anyone has any other ways/ ideas of how to access these channels? For example, I believe MSNBC is available via the Telstar 12 satellite. Can the UK get coverage of this satellite, and use it to access MSNBC through it, and how would you go about doing so?

In short, I'm looking for a way to access:
BBC World News
MSNBC
CNN (domestic US)
HLN
C-SPAN (on TV only as I can access this on Livestation)
Any local news stations
either via satellite or the internet.

If possible, how easy is it to set-up and what kit would be needed? Does anyone have any experience of getting these channels here? And how legal is it?


I'd appreciate your help on this topic, either by direct reply or Private Message, as I'm fairly naïve about this topic but very interested and happy to learn.

I'd really appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance,
House

Try Tunnelbear and an online streaming service...

I very much doubt you'd be able to pick up US satellites from the UK. Either it's totally impossible due to the curvature of Earth or you'd need a seriously big dish!! I'm sure someone else with better knowledge than I will be able to shed more light on this.

I can, however, help you with BBC World. That is available free-to-air on both Hotbird (13 degrees East) and Astra (19.2 degrees East) in Europe. I had an 80cm dish installed 10 years ago and have been watching BBC World totally legally ever since. I'd suggest contacting a reputable satellite installer in your local area. Basically, you'll need a satellite dish and LNB, some cabling and a FTA digital receiver. The size of the dish and type of LNB depends on what you want to receive. If you're only interested in BBC World, you could choose either Hotbird or Astra. Depending on where you are in the UK, you'd probably get away with a 60cm dish for that. I opted for a special LNB which allows me to receive both Hotbird and Astra on the one dish, hence I needed a slightly bigger dish. Hotbird includes a real mixture of channels - a lot of it is Italian but there are also German, Middle Eastern and Eastern European stations, iirc. Astra is mostly German TV. They also include some other English news channels, including Euronews, CNN, Al Jazeera, France 24, as well as BBC Arabic and BBC Persian, although those two are obviously not in English.

Hope that gives you an insight!

Thanks for the responses! Mike, I've sent you a PM.

Rob, thanks so much for this! I'm going to get on and find out when some local firms can come round (we live in a semi-rural area) and try and get this sorted in the next few weeks as having channels like BBC World and Persian would be brilliant (for me, at least. Not sure many outside this forum would see it that way, but they're the ones missing out, right..? ).

For the record, from the (slightly confusing) research I've done MSNBC, CNBC and NBC feeds are available on the Telstar 12 satellite - one that, according to my research, mainly covers Europe (including the UK) and the Middle East. The feeds don't sound perfect - some people on the internet seem to have had some occasional difficulties with reception - and the resolution doesn't sound brilliant. But it did bring up a couple of interesting videos one such person has posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBUMFj8XzDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HW9adZmFhI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btaxVFtatwM&feature=related

It appears the NBC feed at least is a direct one, rather than one from an affiliate, and occasionally brings up things like the above. Apparently the feeds are FTA, too. Though that particular satellite is pointing in the opposite direction of Hotbird and Astra...


Anyway I'm not sure how easy the NBC/MSNBC/Telstar 12 is, so that's just an idea that requires more research at the moment, whereas the Astra/Hotbird solution is one I can get done soon, hopefully.

Thanks for your help,
House

Not sure how much this is bit it give a full list of satellite and Frequency the channels play out on...

http://www.lyngsat.com/europe.html

No worries

I would agree that getting BBC World News is reason enough for having the dish installed. I first saw BBC World (as it was then) when on holiday in 2000 and was very impressed with what I saw. I eventually got the dish installed in 2002 and have had 24/7 access to BBC World News since then. What I like about it is that it really does have a global outlook. You get interesting stories from all over the world, many of which wouldn't make into the running orders of domestic BBC News services, which are mostly concerned with UK politics and assorted crime/health/education stories. I also think it's far better than most other channels at global financial news. On the BBC News Channel you only get a short business round-up, which is mainly UK-focused, whereas on World there are very frequent editions of World Business Report. It's the best of both worlds in my opinion - it has the international scope of CNN but without the corny presenters and gimmickry and a strong sense of BBC editorial values.

From what I've seen I was very impressed by BBC World (as it was then) and I've often wished it were available in the UK. BBC World News America's available on BBC World these days, is it not? I've missed that a lot since the recent changes. I don't get a chance to see WNT often, so it was pretty much the only World news programme we got on the NC. As someone very interested in world news (especially foreign politics and business) the BBC News Channel and Sky News both lack a lot of the stories I'm interested in. Don't they tend to have more structured bulletins on BBC World than the NC, too? Thanks for all the help, Rob, I look forward to the days where I can enjoy all World News has to offer too!




Thank you, a very helpful site!

It's a transatlantic satellite with some beams pointing towards the east of the Americas and others at Europe/Africa. Looks like it's mainly used for transatlantic feeds rather than direct to home which might explain why people are getting them erratically - they aren't broadcast services


Yes exactly, presumably a feed to to an NBC office in Europe or a TV station that shows Today

Yes, World News America is still available on BBC World News - I think it's now on at 21.00 UK time.

You're right about BBC World News's bulletins having more structure. That's always been the case for as long as I can remember. Whereas the BBC News Channel is more fluid and drops reports frequently for news conferences etc., BBC World News is usually more reluctant to do this. I think it's because they have to consider all the various regions vis-à-vis advertising and opt points etc. It tends to be quite formulaic and repetitive - once you've seen one bulletin you generally needn't tune in again for a few hours until something new has happened - but I see that as an advantage over the BBC News Channel, as you're almost always guaranteed to get a full and uninterrupted news round-up unless something very major happens. That said, it has become a lot more news-orientated in recent years. When I first watched the channel there was only ever news during the first 30 minutes of each hour. After that it was a mixture of live WBR, Asia Today and Sport Today updates (though a lot less frequently than they now air) and taped programmes like HardTalk and it even had things like Top Gear, Great Railway Journeys and Rough Science!! It was more of a news and lifestyle channel back then but they've dramatically reduced the amount of taped content in recent years and have filled the back half-hours with more live news, business and sport. It has a lot more news content than CNN, which now seems to have big gaping holes in its schedule where there's no full news bulletin for a few hours, or (worse) they simulcast with CNN US and you get no international news!

I think one of the best things about BBC World News when compared to CNN (and even the BBC News Channel) is the absence of 'personalities'. It's more about the news than the presenter, and it's always been like that. I can't think of one presenter on BBC World News who is a 'personality' - even senior presenters like Nik Gowing are totally serious and professional. I do sometimes watch CNN for their US coverage and I really do cringe at the corny presenters. I've always thought BBC World News is a cut above the rest in this regard.

Yes it's because the top half hours appear as stand-alone bulletins in many parts of the world for example in Japan and the US

Is what you have got different from having two LNBs side by side on a special bracket? I bought that in attempt to do the same but gave up as it was too fiddly trying to align both LNBS.

Martin, I'm no satellite expert, but I believe the LNB I had installed is a 'monoblock' which is specially designed for the reception of Hotbird and Astra on one dish. It consists of two LNBs moulded together at exactly the correct distance apart for the reception of those two satellites. So, I don't think it's really any different than having two separate LNBs next to each other; it just makes it easier to align I think.