{"id":93070,"date":"2014-12-17T15:45:44","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T20:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/watch-german-tv-online\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T02:37:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T06:37:19","slug":"watch-german-tv-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/watch-german-tv-online\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Watch German TV Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

German TV shows<\/a> are a great way to immerse yourself in the culture and language of Germany.<\/p>\n

Keep reading to find out about some great resources to watch German TV online, so you can immerse yourself in German<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Where You Can Watch German TV Online<\/h2>\n

Some services on this list are freely available in their entirety or in part for anyone, anywhere. Others will require you to use one of the aforementioned ways to get around the geoblock. It’s up to you to experiment and figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.<\/p>\n

Media Services From German TV Channels<\/h3>\n

1. ARD Mediathek<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Large
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free<\/p>\n

The ARD is Germany’s first public broadcasting station. Its website includes the programming of almost all public TV channels. Since it’s financed by tax money, there’s no advertisement which is a big plus. The ARD’s programming focuses on informative pieces and documentaries. In Germany, a lot of people watch it for the Tagesschau<\/a> <\/em>(daily news), the crime series Tatort<\/a> <\/em>(only watchable after 8 p.m. Germany time) and soccer games. Watching live TV is also possible.<\/p>\n

2. ZDF Mediathek<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Large
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free<\/p>\n

ZDF stands for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen<\/em> (Second German Television) and it was — you guessed it — Germany’s second TV broadcaster. Just like the ARD, it’s funded by the public and therefore\u00a0provides a mix of information and entertainment free of ads. Tune in to the heute-show<\/a><\/em>, which is a Daily Show <\/em>kind of program.<\/p>\n

3. ProSieben Video<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Small
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free, ads<\/p>\n

ProSieben<\/em> is a part of Germany’s biggest private TV network. Since the channel finances itself through advertisement, prepare for a lot of it. Fans of American TV series will strike it rich here. Grey’s Anatomy<\/em>, 2 Broke Girls<\/em>, How I Met Your Mother<\/em> and other bestselling shows are all available — with German dubbing, mind you! However, the network seems to have abandoned the practice of showing entire episodes on their website. Fear not, below are ways to watch them anyway.<\/p>\n

4. Sat 1 Mediathek<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Selection<\/strong>: Small
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free, ads<\/p>\n

As a subsidiary of ProSieben,<\/em> the site is quite similar. However, the programming is different. The quality of Sat 1<\/em>‘s content is somewhat less than that of its bigger sibling. On the other hand, a lot of their self-produced material is freely available.<\/p>\n

5. RTL Now<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Selection<\/strong>: Medium
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free, ads<\/p>\n

Germany’s third largest TV channel also offers ample online material. The focus here is a lot on tabloid-like infotainment. If you want to see something extra bizarre, consider checking out Bauer sucht Frau<\/a>. It’s a reality dating show about German farmers looking for love. No, I’m not kidding. Plenty of opportunity for fremdsch\u00e4men.<\/em><\/p>\n

Live Streams<\/h3>\n

6. Zattoo<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Small, larger with Premium account
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free, from 9,99\u20ac\/month for premium account<\/p>\n

Zattoo<\/em> allows you to watch many different TV channels as live streams. Besides German national channels, it also offers regional and international programming. The free version is kind of limited. For example, with unpaid access almost all private German TV channels are blocked. The quality of the ones that do work is very good though.<\/p>\n

7. Schoener Fernsehen<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Large
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free<\/p>\n

This one’s another service that collects many different channels in one place and lets you stream their programming live. Surprisingly almost all private German TV channels can be found here including ProSieben<\/em> and Sat 1<\/em>. If you feel like watching your favorite US series without the actors’ lips fitting their speech, this is your best bet.<\/p>\n

Video-on-demand services<\/strong><\/p>\n

8. MySpass<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Medium
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free<\/p>\n

MySpass is a nice selection of German sitcoms and comedy shows. Highlights include Stromberg<\/a><\/em>, which is Germany’s version of The Office<\/em>, TV Total<\/em><\/a>, a German late night show akin to Kimmel, Fallon & Co, as well a wide range of spinoffs which have come out of that show. These include (and I kid you not) celebrity platform diving<\/a> and the world championship in “woksledding”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can find a longer list of video-on-demand services in the article on how to watch German dubbed movies<\/a>. All of them carry their share of German series or series from other countries with German dubbing. However, generally speaking, the amount of available content is relatively small. Even so, it’s still worth a look.<\/p>\n

Online Video Recorders<\/h3>\n

Online video recorders work just like your old VCR (remember those?). They allow you to record any show running on German television. However, instead of putting the recording on a video cassette, your content gets saved in the cloud ready for you to download or stream. Easy peasy. Some of them will even cut all advertisement from the content.<\/p>\n

There’s a legal battle going on regarding whether or not these services should be allowed to exist at all. Especially private TV stations aren’t big fans of them. However, at this point in time, with many details still hanging in the air, it’s completely legal to use them.<\/p>\n

9. OnlineTvRecorder.com<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Large, programming from 123 TV stations
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free, Premium accounts available<\/p>\n

This service has the largest selection on the list. However, keep in mind that not all of the 123 TV stations are German. Drawbacks to using this service are the complex interface and payment system. However, it’s made easier by the fact that you can use it in several languages.<\/p>\n

10. Shift.tv<\/a>\"how<\/a><\/h4>\n

Selection<\/strong>: Small, 38 channels
\nPrice<\/strong>: Free test account, then from 4.95\u20ac\/month<\/p>\n

Shift.tv boasts that you can access anything you have them record from anywhere in the world. Good news for international German students it seems. Test it free for seven days.<\/p>\n

11. Save.tv<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Selection<\/strong>: Small, 47 TV stations
\nPrice:<\/strong> From 4.99\u20ac\/month<\/p>\n

With a slightly larger channel selection than some of its competitors, Save.tv also offers a longer test period of 14 days. The service removes advertisement from all content you record, so there’s no need for the fast forward button. Streaming is also available on iOS and Android devices.<\/p>\n

Other Services<\/h3>\n

12. Deutsche Welle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Deutsche Welle<\/em> isn’t actually a TV station but Germany’s official public international broadcast. Its goal is to inform people around the world about Germany as well as help them learn the language. A large number of shows can be watched on many different topics. One of the highlights is the “slowly-spoken news” program, which helps German students practice their listening and stay up to date on current events.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And if you’re looking for another way to study using German TV, you could try using a language learning program such as FluentU.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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