We're asked about television on the island often, so I thought I'd write a piece explaining how it works here for you.
Terrestrial Television
There are a dozen or so channels available free of charge through a normal aerial. These are from both local Canarian and national Spanish broadcasters, and offer the usual mix of drama, news, sport and documentary. Of course these channels are only available in Spanish.
Digital Terrestrial Television
This is also accessed via a normal aerial, but requires a decoder box to operate, which can be purchased for a one off fee of around €50. This offers a few additional channels, but again is only available in Spanish language.
Spanish Satellite Television
The Spanish satellite system is called Canal Plus - www.plus.es - and it's similar to Sky TV in Europe, in that they offer a number of channel "packages", ranging in price from around €18 per month up to around €60 per month for the full system. Installation of the dish and supply of the box is free of charge, but you need to sign up for a year's contract. These channels can be switched to both English and German language, as long as the program was originally made in that language. Most of the programming is American, so you can enjoy series like Lost, CSI, House and even some British favorites like Cold Case.
Imagenio
Imagenio is a new system, which used the same channels as Canal Plus, but delivers them through the telephone system, which means you don't need a dish. Prices are similar and again you can switch language. This service is available in most areas and can be ordered through Telefonica at the same time as you order your telephone or broadband service. www.telefonica.es
Other Satellite Systems
There are a number of suppliers on the island offering a huge choice of systems, ranging from the Astra European service, to middle eastern (English language) service, to the full UK Sky service. The latter is expensive, and if you want all the channels, you will need a very large dish. You'll find adverts from all the various suppliers in the local magazines and newspapers, so shop around for the best deal.
Streaming Media
There are now a number of really quite good websites from which you can download or watch streaming media. My favorite, and one I use all the time is Watch Direct TV. You pay a one off fee, but you can download thousands of films and hundreds of TV series, and either watch them on you PC, or burn them to DVD to watch on your television. Have a look at their site here for more information
So, which should you go for? That very much depends on your budget and circumstances, but do bear in mind that television plays a less important role in life here in Lanzarote, than it does in northern European countries - you'll be spending much less time indoors, looking for something to do!
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