Anyone who wants to receive the German television program is no longer dependent on watching the programs on TV.
TV is dead? Well, it is well known that the dead live longer. Even if German TV has had strong competition from streaming services such as Netflix, Disney + and Amazon Prime Video in recent years, the "Tatort" or shows such as "Germany's next top model", "Let's Dance" and "Die Höhle der Löwen" are luring people "Still millions of viewers in front of the screens.
The program no longer has to be followed in the traditional way on the TV set. There are many alternatives, whether via PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet or even via a game console that is connected to a monitor. But how exactly can consumers receive their favorite format and what does it cost?
All in one
The easiest way is to subscribe to a service that offers all German TV channels at once. These include "Zattoo" and "Waipu.tv". With "Waipu.tv", depending on the package booked, users have access to up to 131 channels – in addition to the public service channels, including the well-known private channels such as RTL or ProSieben and many smaller ones. The cheapest package costs 5.99 euros a month, but there is also a combination version with Netflix for 16.49 euros a month. Content can be received on the PC or laptop, smartphone or tablet and via streaming solutions such as Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV. The service can be tested free of charge for one month.
"Zattoo" offers similar possibilities. Here, too, the entire German television program can be streamed via browser, smartphone, game console or other means. The first 30 days are also free here, after which the basic version costs between € 9.99 and € 13.99, depending on the package booked. There is also a free version of "Zattoo" that does not contain any private channels.
For several weeks now, users have also been able to receive live TV via the Amazon Prime Video streaming service at no extra charge. However, only the offers from ARD and ZDF are included. The service is available on numerous devices, including browsers, smartphones, tablets and game consoles such as PS4 and Xbox One.
Access to individual channels
If you are only looking for the programs of individual stations, you will often find what you are looking for in the corresponding offers of the broadcasters, the RTL media group or ProSiebenSat.1. Like the other solutions, these can usually be received via smartphone, browser and the like.
The first offers live television in its media library and access to content that has already been broadcast. At the moment you can see the new, third season of the successful series "Babylon Berlin" there. In addition to the current program, Arte also has access to numerous current documentaries such as "Melania Trump – This obscure object of power".
The ProSiebenSat.1 offer is available free of charge from "Joyn" in addition to the public ones. As with the other offers, there is content to be seen in retrospect – for example if you missed the last episode of "Joko & Klaas against ProSieben". For 6.99 euros a month, "Joyn Plus +" also enables access to films and series that can be streamed, including exclusive content. The thriller series "Blackout" with Moritz Bleibtreu (49), Jessica Schwarz (43), Heiner Lauterbach (67) and other German stars, for example, has been filmed since the beginning of September then it will only be shown on Sat.1 from spring 2022.
The channels of the RTL media group, including VOX, RTL and RTLzwei, are available from "TV Now". Registration for the service is basically free of charge, but live TV can only be viewed with a Premium or Premium + subscription, which costs EUR 4.99 and EUR 7.99 a month, respectively. In return, users get access to exclusive productions such as the event series "Sunny – Who are you really?" In addition, some content can be viewed well before the TV broadcast. The second season of "Prince Charming" should be seen from around October 26th on VOX, the new episodes of the dating show have been available since October 12th – always on Mondays – but already on "TV Now".