Are you going to Italy but you would like to watch your English TV channels? Well, most people love to watch TV, even while traveling in another country. So, I did some research to help you not miss any of your favorite shows or news in Italy.
So, are there any English TV channels in Italy? It is possible to watch English TV channels anywhere in Italy. However, you still need a satellite dish plan to access them. You could also use a streaming service or an online subscription. Many Italian TV channels allow you to change the language to the original one as well.
There are many things you should know to access English TV channels in Italy. I will give you helpful information so that you can watch your series with ease.
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Can You See English TV Channels in Italy?
There are many reasons why you could be looking for English TV channels. The most obvious ones are that you struggle with Italian, or you want to feel at home. Whatever your reason is, you can watch English stuff in Italy.
But remember that English isn’t the first language of Italians. Usually, you will never see English channels by default on any television.
It is unlikely to find English TV shows in hotels. You will only find the basic ones such as BBC News, CNN, Fox News, and Bloomberg. But don’t worry, you have many options to watch your favorite series.
How to Change the TV Language From Italian to English
There are many different things you can do to get some channels in English. The first one is just to change the language of the TV. Many Italian channels allow you to change them to English if you want. You don’t need to have a master engineering degree to do that, just follow these steps:
- Make sure the channel or the show you are watching allows you to change the language. You will be able to do it with a few channels, but they are enough. Some examples are Rete 4 (Ch4), Canale 5 (Ch5), Italia 1 (Ch6), Top Crime (Ch39), and some Rai series.
- Push the bottom “option,” “audio,” or “lingua” in your remote controller. The location or name depends on the brand of your controller.
- When the menu shows up, then select the English language (or another one) and click exit.
- Now you can watch your movie or TV show with the original language. Most of them are American series so that they will be in English. If it doesn’t work, it means that the program is not available in English.
How To Get English Subtitles on Italian TV
Another thing that you can do is to activate English captions on the television. However, there aren’t so many options available yet. You can try for yourself by going to a Rai channel, and activate the Teletext or Televideo option. Just click the text button and when the menu shows up, go to page 778 and click OK.
How Do You Get English TV Channels in Italy?
There are several ways to get English TV channels if you really need them. However, you will need to pay a monthly fee in most cases. The quality is great, and they offer a good amount of international channels. It’s worth the money if you are going to stay in Italy for a long time.
Here is a list of services that you can choose from:
Sky Italia
The first service I want to mention is Sky Italia, which includes a bunch of English Channels. They will give you a package called “Sky Box” that will allow you to watch series, movies, and more. It works in the “On-Demand” mode, so you must have a stable Internet connection to use it.
Sky Italia is a perfect option for everyone who likes to see channels in high definition. They also have a great list of channels, both in English and Italian. If you like to watch sports games, it is the way to go.
However, it is one of the most expensive services that you can find on this list. I recommend it if you watch TV on a regular basis and for a long time.
Channels Examples
| Channel Name | EPG. No | Broadcast Hours | Content |
| Fox News Channel | 523 | 24 hours | News |
| CNN International | 526 | 24 hours | News |
| Fox Business Network | 527 | 24 hours | News |
| Bloomberg Television | 529 | 24 hours | News |
| BBC World News | 530 | 24 hours | News |
| France 24 English | 531 | 24 hours | News |
| Al Jazeera English | 532 | 24 hours | News |
| Disney in English | 619 | 24 hours | Kids |
Source: List of Channels on Sky
Cost
For new customers, the cost is 29.90 Euros charged monthly for the first 12 months. After that time, the price increase to 49.60 Euros/Month. The package includes Sky TV, Sky Family, Sky Sport, or Movie.
There are a lot more packages that you can choose, depending on your needs. I recommend you pick the one that you will take advantage of it. For example, don’t pick the Sport one if you don’t watch any game regularly. Check out the official Sky Italia Website for more information and other packages.
Astra Satellite
If you want a satellite route, Astra Satellite is the one to get. It is the most popular satellite service in Europe. This solution is expensive and needs someone to install and set it up. However, you will get an infinite list of channels in different languages. It includes both UK and US channels.
In order to use it, you must have to set a satellite dish of 60cm in your home. Also, you need a satellite decoder or a digital TV. Here you won’t have to pay any subscription or anything else to view your channels. Some channels are Freeview as well!
Channels Examples
As I already mentioned, Astra Satellite has an endless number of channels. So, I only picked a few ones, but you can check the list by yourself. Simply go to the official Astra Satellite website and see what they have. Some examples are:
| Channel Name | Country |
| BBC World News | United Kingdom |
| Bloomberg TV | United States |
| Cartoon Network | US & Uk |
| Channel 7 | United Kingdom |
| CNBC | United States |
| CNN International | United States |
| Fox News | United States |
| Nat Geo Wild | US & UK |
Streaming Services
Probably, the cheapest and easiest way to watch English TV channels in Italy is via online streaming. Simply visit a streaming site and search for the channel you want.
You can watch BBC iPlayer, BBC Go, Hulu, and ITV Hub in Italy. However, you need to subscribe to a VPN service in order to watch your channels. You will be able to get access to both British and American TV while abroad.
To watch TV shows comfortably, you need a fast and secure VPN provider. If you choose the wrong one, you won’t enjoy your favorite shows at all. You may spend all your time waiting for a video to load.
If you want to use the TV, you can connect an HDMI cable to duplicate the screen of your device. Otherwise, you could connect it via wireless if your TV supports WiFi or screen mirroring. You could also use a Chromecast or Amazon Fire Sticks, but they are locked down in some cases. Some good streaming services are Hulu, Sidereel, and UsTVNow.
Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are available in Italy too. They are both in English and Italian, and it isn’t necessary to have a VPN. These services are very cheap compared to others. Alternatively, you can use a streaming service called “Roku” that you to connect directly to your TV.
