Watching Television In Portugal

I love watching television and must confess that I watch about three hours a day of good old English television especially on an evening. But even though I could force myself to live without it now I am a resident in Portugal I would hope that it wouldn't come to this.

You can watch all the English channels along with freeview for free while you live in Portugal without any cost to you. Also because of where you live you will not be liable for a TV licence like you would be expected to pay in England.

Here is some further information about getting your television set up in Portugal:

Digital television was introduced to Portugal much later than the rest of Europe and digital broadcasts did not actually begin until the end of April 2009. The service consist of six channels that are free to access and a channel which is used as a test channel for High Definition broadcasts.
 

It is widely anticipated that all of the terrestrial channels will start to be broadcast in High Definition in the near future.

Many people who move to Portugal decide to have a package installed that enables them to watch Sky television because to be honest these is not really much on the Portuguese channels to get excited about.

To give you an idea here are a list of the Portuguese terrestrial channels and you will see what I mean.

RTP1 – This is the main channel, much like the BBC in the UK and the programmes on offer comprise of the usual stuff, news, current affairs programmes and dramas and is the second most popular TV channel in Portugal.

RTP2 – In a way this channel is similar to BBC2 apart from it being the only channel in Portugal which broadcasts American TV series during the most popular hours of viewing and it is in fact the terrestrial station in Portugal with the least viewers.

SIC – This is the first privatised TV station in Portugal and it is renowned for its chat shows which can literally go on for hours throughout the day. SIC is the third most popular channel in Portugal.

TVI – This is the most popular of the terrestrial channels in Portugal and is primarily aimed at housewives and the elderly and concentrate on chat shows and human interest stories.

So, as you can probably realise most people who move to Portugal from the UK are interested in receiving Sky television programmes so it is highly advisable that to get the best quality reception you invest in a Digibox. This will ensure that you will receive the best reception if there is a weak signal in your area. Along with this you should get a high grain satellite dish and also a matching Low Noise Blocker which is also known as an LNB.

If you want to get technical a figure of around 0.6dB for the LNB will give you by far the best results and you will find that your reception will vastly improve.
As far as choosing your Digibox goes it is always worth asking your neighbours which one they use but the Pace and Panasonic are usually the choice of most people.
As for installation, you would be again advised to ask for recommendations but if you get any of the English speaking newspapers you will see adverts for sky installers who are offering their services. Installation fees can vary so always get a quote in writing before you go ahead.
Once you are all set up you will be able to enjoy pretty much the same selection of programmes that you watch in the UK.

You will find that watching television in Portugal is no different to England the only difference being the lack of a television licence. Along with the storms during the winter months which can affect your picture.

Thanks for looking



The Living In The Sun Team

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