[coloma gold]

In anticipation of moving to Southern France, I anticipate that the two things I would probably miss the most is American football and American newscasts. As I will not be fully able to follow french newscasts at the rate of speed they are speaking (at least not initially), it would help if I could get American Newscasts... As for football, it would merely be a nice thing to have.. I would assume that I could get both on a dish service? Does anyone have an answer?

 

[Bevdeforges]

Canal Sat includes CNNI (a big step up from domestic CNN in the US, but still basically US based news). I assume some of the various sports channels on Canal Sat must carry some American football, but I think you'd need to take a "sports package" in addition to the basic satellite channels.

You can download the NBC evening news as a podcast the next day. There's an ABC podcast available online, but it's a special "Internet edition" that I find kind of annoying. Sixty Minutes is available as an audio download midway through the week after it's broadcast.

Other than that, stick to BBC World (all news) or Al Jazeera English, which actually does some really good English language news.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[coloma gold]

Canal Sat includes CNNI (a big step up from domestic CNN in the US, but still basically US based news). I assume some of the various sports channels on Canal Sat must carry some American football, but I think you'd need to take a "sports package" in addition to the basic satellite channels.

You can download the NBC evening news as a podcast the next day. There's an ABC podcast available online, but it's a special "Internet edition" that I find kind of annoying. Sixty Minutes is available as an audio download midway through the week after it's broadcast.

Other than that, stick to BBC World (all news) or Al Jazeera English, which actually does some really good English language news.
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks Bev... I will stick to the BBC or CNN... By the end of the day (trying to use French all day) my brain will probably be cooked and I will need something that I don't have to "interpret".

 

[Guest]

Another alternative, a subscription to the British Sky package via the Astra satellite. In theory this is not permitted, but in practice many expats in France have this - dealers can arrange it for you, or a UK correspondence address is used.

The full package costs around 55 pds sterling p.m., for which you get a number of American news channels, several English language film channels, and Sky sports channels, as well as the free UK channels such as BBC 1 , 2 and 3, ITV 1, 2 and 3, Channel 4, Channel 5. Probably 60 or 70 channels in total (of which a fair number are junk, of course).

Baseball and American football on the Sky Sports channels, and occasionally on Channel 5 if I remember correctly.

 

[coloma gold]

Another alternative, a subscription to the British Sky package via the Astra satellite. In theory this is not permitted, but in practice many expats in France have this - dealers can arrange it for you, or a UK correspondence address is used.

The full package costs around 55 pds sterling p.m., for which you get a number of American news channels, several English language film channels, and Sky sports channels, as well as the free UK channels such as BBC 1 , 2 and 3, ITV 1, 2 and 3, Channel 4, Channel 5. Probably 60 or 70 channels in total (of which a fair number are junk, of course).

Baseball and American football on the Sky Sports channels, and occasionally on Channel 5 if I remember correctly.

Thanks... I will have to check when I arrive... I don't need an entire 'sports' package (I don't like sitting in front of the boob tube that long) and therefore don't want to pay for it. An occasional football game will do..

 

[Bevdeforges]

One other thing with Canal Sat (and I think some of the digital tv services) is that several channels broadcast US TV series in VM (version multi) which allows you to select the original sound track rather than the French dubbed version.

Used to be only a couple of the cable channels, but I've caught quite a few series lately on TF1, France 2 and M6. (Not necessarily series I'm that keen on - but still...)

EuroNews also broadcasts in multiple languages, including English.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[coloma gold]

One other thing with Canal Sat (and I think some of the digital tv services) is that several channels broadcast US TV series in VM (version multi) which allows you to select the original sound track rather than the French dubbed version.

Used to be only a couple of the cable channels, but I've caught quite a few series lately on TF1, France 2 and M6. (Not necessarily series I'm that keen on - but still...)

EuroNews also broadcasts in multiple languages, including English.
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks Bev... It's nice to know there are options....

 

[Joppa]

Because of time difference, live US sports coverage is usually overnight, starting around 8 pm for golf and 1 am/2 am for football and baseball games. The worst are games screened from US West Coast, which can start as late as 3/4 am!

 

[coloma gold]

Because of time difference, live US sports coverage is usually overnight, starting around 8 pm for golf and 1 am/2 am for football and baseball games. The worst are games screened from US West Coast, which can start as late as 3/4 am!

Thanks Joppa... I am hoping that I can get TIVO there... it's a wonderful device....

 

[coloma gold]

I have been using a service that I love from a company called NationPhone&TV called USATVAbroad. Watch US TV online overseas, Real time American TV demo, 1 week money back guarantee Watch US TV online overseas, Real time American TV demo, 1 week money back guarantee[/url] I get a 200 channel US Cable subscription with all major networks plus HBO and Showtime. It is streamed live to me over the internet but I bought their optional set top box to watch it on my TV. I am getting excellent quality now but am thinking of upgrading to their HD service which should be really cool.

Thanks... I do not like watching sports on my computer but would be interested on the TV option with HD... HD is especially good when viewing sports or nature shows... I am really not interested in the movie packages. I have it now and only watch movies (PPV) once or twice a year.. thanks for your input.

 

[Coton90]

Thanks... I do not like watching sports on my computer but would be interested on the TV option with HD... HD is especially good when viewing sports or nature shows... I am really not interested in the movie packages. I have it now and only watch movies (PPV) once or twice a year.. thanks for your input.

We're moving to the South of France in November. We don't watch that much TV but there are some shows we enjoy such as the Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report, and some of the Public Broadcating Station shows such as NOVA and the political discussion shows. I'm hoping to watch the first two on HULU on the internet via a proxy server. Hopefully the download speed will be adequate for viewing.

We'll probably get either French satellite or cable, depending on what kind of deals they offer, especially internet/TV/Telephone package deals. We do like to watch the news in French, the Guignols, and some of the cultural programs.

We also like to see fairly recent movies in their original language. I realize there are no Blockbuster Video outlets in France so I guess will be downloading them from Amazon. I'll be surprised if the picture and sound quality is that great but its better than nothing.

 

[coloma gold]

We're moving to the South of France in November. We don't watch that much TV but there are some shows we enjoy such as the Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report, and some of the Public Broadcating Station shows such as NOVA and the political discussion shows. I'm hoping to watch the first two on HULU on the internet via a proxy server. Hopefully the download speed will be adequate for viewing.

We'll probably get either French satellite or cable, depending on what kind of deals they offer, especially internet/TV/Telephone package deals. We do like to watch the news in French, the Guignols, and some of the cultural programs.

We also like to see fairly recent movies in their original language. I realize there are no Blockbuster Video outlets in France so I guess will be downloading them from Amazon. I'll be surprised if the picture and sound quality is that great but its better than nothing.

Good luck on your move.. Hopefully, we will be right behind you.. I'm putting the house up for sale on Nov 1 and depending on the time to sell I will be moving upon the successful sale. Unfortunately, the market is down but showing signs of improvement.

I am glad to find there are several options. I do not want to have a lot of english speaking channels because I want to become more reliant on developing my language skills. However, I would like some english speaking channels to "rest my brain". I also do not often rent dvd's. I do like watching french movies (especially if they have the french dialogue in the subscript....

Perhaps we will meet in the future....

 

[Coton90]

Good luck on your move.. Hopefully, we will be right behind you.. I'm putting the house up for sale on Nov 1 and depending on the time to sell I will be moving upon the successful sale. Unfortunately, the market is down but showing signs of improvement.

I am glad to find there are several options. I do not want to have a lot of english speaking channels because I want to become more reliant on developing my language skills. However, I would like some english speaking channels to "rest my brain". I also do not often rent dvd's. I do like watching french movies (especially if they have the french dialogue in the subscript....

Perhaps we will meet in the future....

You do realize you can watch French TV right now on the internet? As one example:

Les Guignols, tous les jours les vidéos des célèbres marionnettes sur CANALPLUS.FR - CANALPLUS.FR.

Good luck with your home. If the price is right I'm sure it will sell. Understand you'll be in Uzes. We'll be near Sete. We won't exactly be neighbors but close enough. Take Care.

 

[coloma gold]

You do realize you can watch French TV right now on the internet? As one example:

Les Guignols, tous les jours les vidéos des célèbres marionnettes sur CANALPLUS.FR - CANALPLUS.FR.

Good luck with your home. If the price is right I'm sure it will sell. Understand you'll be in Uzes. We'll be near Sete. We won't exactly be neighbors but close enough. Take Care.

Thanks...You are correct, we won't be 'neighbors' (I checked the map). But perhaps we will run into each other somewhere. I checked the internet and find that Sete appears to be a very nice seaport area that has many restaurants.. Perhaps I will visit there someday..

 

[Bevdeforges]

We don't watch that much TV but there are some shows we enjoy such as the Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report, and some of the Public Broadcating Station shows such as NOVA and the political discussion shows. I'm hoping to watch the first two on HULU on the internet via a proxy server. Hopefully the download speed will be adequate for viewing.

The Daily Show is available online the next day - though in France you can't get the "full episode" video. They have rigged up the "clips" to run in sequence, however, and it's easily as good as the video version. I assume the Colbert Report works the same way on the Comedy Central website, though I don't follow that one.

HULU doesn't work from France (but you knew that, based on your proxy server comment). However, PBS does put many of their programs in streaming fashion on the Internet on their website. Someone sent me the link for a particularly good Frontline program on health care, and it looks as though many PBS programs are available either online or by podcast - so you don't really need to mess with the proxy server or with HULU.

As far as current movies go - many of the movie channels available on French cable and/or satellite tv broadcast recent films in VM, where you can switch to the original English language soundtrack. You have to put up with French subtitles, which you can't turn off, but I've actually learned some useful vocabulary that way!
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Coton90]

The Daily Show is available online the next day - though in France you can't get the "full episode" video. They have rigged up the "clips" to run in sequence, however, and it's easily as good as the video version. I assume the Colbert Report works the same way on the Comedy Central website, though I don't follow that one.

HULU doesn't work from France (but you knew that, based on your proxy server comment). However, PBS does put many of their programs in streaming fashion on the Internet on their website. Someone sent me the link for a particularly good Frontline program on health care, and it looks as though many PBS programs are available either online or by podcast - so you don't really need to mess with the proxy server or with HULU.

As far as current movies go - many of the movie channels available on French cable and/or satellite tv broadcast recent films in VM, where you can switch to the original English language soundtrack. You have to put up with French subtitles, which you can't turn off, but I've actually learned some useful vocabulary that way!
Cheers,
Bev

SUPER! For all the good work you do and the many people you've helped in this community, I think you should be nominated for sainthood.

 

[MichaelS]

In anticipation of moving to Southern France, I anticipate that the two things I would probably miss the most is American football and American newscasts. As I will not be fully able to follow french newscasts at the rate of speed they are speaking (at least not initially), it would help if I could get American Newscasts... As for football, it would merely be a nice thing to have.. I would assume that I could get both on a dish service? Does anyone have an answer?

Most tv in France is American TV, its just American tv from a few years ago (endless reruns of Friends, The Simpsons, every version of CSI, etc.) With digital tv, it's becoming more and more common for these shows to have English language versions as well (except for the Simpsons, which is only in French).

Also, I have numericable (www.numericable.fr) for my cable/internet/phone service, and I picked this service because it is the only provider in France that currently carries ESPN. It's a special version of ESPN just for Europe (strangely named ESPN America), and it doesn't have sportscenter, but it does have lots of NFL and College football (and baseball and ice hockey). The French channel Sport+ also carries a couple football games per week too.

I also get CNNI, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV, for news, but those channels are more business focused than I care for. CNNI carries a weekend edition of the Daily Show, which is a sort of summary of the 4 shows per week you would get on Comedy Central.

numericable customer service kinda sucks, but it is the only service I have had here, so I do not have anything to compare it to. It is also about 15% more expensive than the competition, but it provides a faster internet connection and, of course, ESPN

 

[coloma gold]

Most tv in France is American TV, its just American tv from a few years ago (endless reruns of Friends, The Simpsons, every version of CSI, etc.) With digital tv, it's becoming more and more common for these shows to have English language versions as well (except for the Simpsons, which is only in French).

Also, I have numericable (www.numericable.fr) for my cable/internet/phone service, and I picked this service because it is the only provider in France that currently carries ESPN. It's a special version of ESPN just for Europe (strangely named ESPN America), and it doesn't have sportscenter, but it does have lots of NFL and College football (and baseball and ice hockey). The French channel Sport+ also carries a couple football games per week too.

I also get CNNI, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV, for news, but those channels are more business focused than I care for. CNNI carries a weekend edition of the Daily Show, which is a sort of summary of the 4 shows per week you would get on Comedy Central.

numericable customer service kinda sucks, but it is the only service I have had here, so I do not have anything to compare it to. It is also about 15% more expensive than the competition, but it provides a faster internet connection and, of course, ESPN

Thanks, MichaelS...
My basic needs (in transition to understanding French language sufficiently)
is for news and some college football. I don't want to get used to watching American TV too much as I am trying to learn the language... I'm glad there are options..

 

[FrogWife]

Free English TV in France

Hello -

I am new to this group. I am 40 and have lived in France almost three years with my (non-English speaking) French husband. I came here speaking no French and I know watching TV in French has been a huge help.

That said, I LOVE having English speaking TV. When I first arrived, we had BBC & CNN, France 24 and Al-Jazeera for news and BBC Prime (for entertainment) on Canal Sat, our paid satellite TV. When BBC prime was removed, we ended up purchasing a second satellite and a Freeview box (for about 200 euros including installation) and I get about 8 or 10 free channels from England. BBC 1,2,3,4 (commercial free), ITV 1,2,3,4, More 4, E4 and Channel 4. It's is a wonderful mix of English and American TV and it's FREE! (28.2 on Astra 2 - the satellite installer can point your dish in the right direction.)

Another great purchase I made was a TV that I can plug my laptop into - then I can download shows or rent movies off of iTunes and watch them on large screen. You can also use that to stream anything you would like to watch off the internet. I like 48 Hours Mysteries, 20/20 and Dateline NBC - it's nearly impossible to get 99% of US TV programs without having a US proxy, but you can get most news or "news-y" type program (Today Show, Dateline, etc).

Edited to Add - You can buy a Freeview box at Gitem or LeClerc, as well as the dishes (they should be at least 65cm, but double-check all that stuff when you get it installed). My installer was from Gitem.

 

[GALLUS]

Free to air is the answer

For US channels in Southern France, I used Free to Air (FTA in French) systems with a standard 0.80 cm sattelite dish.

It is absolutely Free of Charge , if you point on Astra satellite.
There is a French magazine called Satellite Magazine, not so sure now, that also contains all sort of adverts for firms selling special equipment for Turkish Tv, Chinese channels, UK Sky, and so on.... The magazine also contains all channels names and programmes for each satellite. You just buy the latest issue anywhere.

I bought my system 50 euros a piece, from a local dealer who did the installation according to my requests. It was for him the first of its kind, so I can guess that depending on where you stay, they might not know about free to air.

Local dealers would obviously prefer that you purchase an existing local provider (bouquet) which is expensive and ridiculous for English speaking channels: CNN and BBC world in most cases.

Good luck