International channels without a dish
This is the reason most people end up on these English pages. Watching channels from your home country in the Netherlands has traditionally meant a satellite dish — which many landlords and housing associations simply do not allow. Over an internet connection, that problem disappears.
The dish problem
If you have lived in a Dutch rental flat and tried to arrange a satellite dish, you already know the shape of this. Housing associations restrict them, owners’ associations vote them down, and municipalities have their own rules about what may be attached to a façade.
Even when it is allowed, you are drilling into a building you do not own, for a signal that only carries one region.
Television over an internet connection removes the whole question. The connection is already in the flat, nothing is attached to the outside of the building, and if you move, the service moves with you.
What is in the international package
Coverage is not equal across every country, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. It is strongest in:
- Turkey — the deepest part of the package by a distance.
- Morocco and the Arab world — news, general entertainment and religious channels.
- Suriname and the Antilles — including channels broadcasting in Sranantongo and Papiamento.
- India — general entertainment and news.
- Germany — ARD, ZDF, RTL Television, Sat.1, ProSieben, VOX and the regional broadcasters.
- Great Britain — BBC One and Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
The Dutch and Flemish channels are in the same package. You are not choosing between following what happens here and following what happens at home.
Ask about your channel first
We are going to say this more than once, because it is the single most useful thing on this page: before you pay, ask us whether the specific channel you care about is included.
Not “do you have Turkish channels” — the answer to that is yes and it tells you nothing. Ask for the channel by name. That is a thirty-second question in a chat, and it is the difference between a service that works for you and one that technically has “1,000+ international channels” and not the one you watch.
Channel line-ups also shift over time. Any provider — us included — who publishes a definitive list on a web page is publishing something that will be wrong within a year.
What you need
An internet connection of roughly 20 Mbit/s for HD, 25 Mbit/s or more for 4K, and something to watch on. Most people use a Smart TV; watching on a Smart TV explains what each brand needs and when a small box is the better answer.
If you would rather read the full Dutch channel list, it is on de volledige zenderlijst — that page is considerably more detailed than this one.
And the legal side
We are not going to tell you this is a settled question, because it is not. Broadcasting rights are sold per country, per platform and sometimes per programme, and from the outside it is rarely possible to establish which link in the chain has covered which right.
That is set out properly, without spin, in is IPTV legal in the Netherlands?
Frequently asked questions
Can I watch Turkish channels in the Netherlands without a dish?
Yes. Turkish channels are the strongest part of the international package, and because everything arrives over your internet connection there is no dish, no drilling and no permission needed from a landlord or housing association. That last point is why a lot of people switch.
Which countries are covered?
The package is strongest in Turkish, Moroccan, Arabic, Surinamese, Antillean, Indian, German and British channels. Coverage differs a lot per country, so ask about the specific channel you care about before you order rather than trusting a general claim.
Do I lose the Dutch channels?
No. The international channels come alongside the Dutch ones, not instead of them. All the Dutch channels you would get on cable are in the same package, along with the regional broadcasters and the Flemish channels.
Is there subtitling?
It depends entirely on the channel and the programme. Channels broadcast with whatever subtitling their own broadcaster provides — we pass the signal on, we do not add subtitles ourselves. If subtitling matters for a specific channel, ask before you order.
Why not just use my home country streaming service?
Most of them are geo-restricted and either refuse to work from a Dutch IP address or work badly. That is a licensing decision by the broadcaster, not a technical fault, and it is the main reason people look for another route once they have moved.
Does the channel list change?
Yes. Channels are added, and occasionally one stops or changes name. The list in the app is always the current one. This is exactly why we would rather answer your channel question in a chat than publish a list here that quietly goes out of date.