Can You Still Watch Your Usual TV in Portugal?
Mostly, yes.
Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max and Apple TV+ all work in Portugal, with the Portuguese library rather than the American or British one. The Premier League and the NFL are both on DAZN, legally and without workarounds. The hard parts are British catch-up TV and live American channels.
For most people, especially in the first few months, I’d get fiber internet with a TV package that includes the English-language channels you care about, then add one or two streaming services. Unless you’ve used a VPN before and know its quirks, I’d skip that route. It’s the setup that still works on the night you actually want to watch something, and there’s nothing legally questionable about it.
I’ll admit I watch far less TV here than I did before I moved. You may find the same.
Should I get a TV package or rely on streaming and a VPN?
Most people here get TV bundled with their internet, and I’d encourage most newcomers to do the same.
The alternative is a VPN, and a lot of people are disappointed by them. Everyone recommends ExpressVPN or one of its rivals. What they don’t mention is that the streaming services block VPN servers as soon as they spot them, so a setup that works in March can stop working in April. Then you’re back in a Facebook group asking what works now. A TV box just works.
There are a few other advantages:
- Catch-up. The box records everything automatically for 7 days, so you can watch last night’s news or a match you missed.
- English-language channels. The big packages include CNN International, Sky News, Bloomberg, CNBC, France 24 and Euronews in English, alongside Star Channel, AXN and the rest. You can check the full lists yourself: NOS’s 180-channel package, Digi’s channels, and MEO’s channel list on its site.
- Sports. Sport TV and DAZN can go on the same bill or you can add them as separate services.
- The phone line. Bundles often include a landline with free calls to landlines in dozens of countries. That sounds old-fashioned. But if your parents won’t download WhatsApp, it’s a practical way to stay in touch.
The budget operator, Digi, has a noticeably shorter list: about 100 channels, with no Sport TV, Sky News, Bloomberg or CNBC. Oddly, it’s the only one of the three whose list includes BBC News. So compare the lists against what you actually watch, rather than the headline channel count. My guide to internet in Portugal compares all four providers.
If you’d rather skip a package entirely, you can still watch a lot of Portuguese TV for free:
- RTP Play: every public channel, live and on demand. You’re already paying for it through your electricity bill (see the TV licence section below), so you may as well use it.
- Opto (SIC) and TVI Player: the two private networks’ apps.
- TDT: the free digital antenna service. It only gets a handful of channels, but it needs no subscription.
Will my Netflix work in Portugal?
Yes. Your account comes with you, but the library changes to Portugal’s as soon as you’re here. Netflix decides what you see based on where you are, not where you signed up.
The most common frustration is small but constant. A friend back home tells you to watch something on Netflix, you go looking, and it isn’t there. It’s still on Netflix, just not on the Portuguese version.
People who’ve read that Netflix is “the same across the EU” are surprised too. It isn’t. The 2018 EU rule only means that someone living in Portugal can see the Portuguese library while on vacation in Spain. It doesn’t create one European catalog, and it never applied to American or British accounts.
Plenty of people keep their US accounts and use a VPN to reach the American library. It can work for a while. Some people in Portugal have had their US Netflix and YouTube accounts working through ExpressVPN, until they were “soon turned off.”
Can I get Amazon Prime Video in Portugal?
Yes, but there’s no “Portuguese Amazon.” You subscribe through Amazon Spain (amazon.es), which delivers to Portugal. As of 2026 it costs €4.99 a month or €49.90 a year, and it includes Prime Video with Portuguese subtitles.
A lot of people end up with Prime anyway for the free deliveries, which makes Prime Video a good starting point. The catalog isn’t as good as Netflix’s, but for €4.99 you’re mostly paying for the shipping. More on that in my guide to shopping on Amazon from Portugal.
Your American or British Prime membership will still play something while you’re here, but only the limited travel catalog. If you live here, I’d switch to Amazon Spain.
What about Hulu and Disney+?
Hulu is the one people are always disappointed about. It isn’t sold in Portugal as a standalone service.
Since October 8, 2025, though, Disney+ in Portugal has a Hulu section, which replaced the old “Star” tab. You’ll find Hulu originals like Only Murders in the Building, but not the full American Hulu library, and nothing like Hulu + Live TV.
Disney+ itself is fully available.
Which other streaming services work in Portugal?
- HBO Max: available, and it has some of the best TV around. Vodafone includes it with some TV boxes.
- Apple TV+: available, and also good.
- SkyShowtime: Europe’s stand-in for Paramount+ and Peacock, with a lot of Paramount and Universal content. Neither Paramount+ nor Peacock is sold here directly.
- Filmin and Mubi: independent and European films.
How do I watch sports in Portugal?
This is the one area where Portugal is simpler than people expect, and DAZN is the main answer for Americans and Brits alike. One caveat first: sports rights get resold every few seasons, so check what’s where before you subscribe.
The Premier League: DAZN shows every match in Portugal. British readers will enjoy this. You’ll see more games here than you could legally watch at home, where the 3 p.m. Saturday kickoffs aren’t shown live.
The NFL: DAZN shows three games a week plus the Super Bowl. For every game, including RedZone and NFL Network, NFL Game Pass is an add-on on DAZN. It’s the official international version of the service.
Ice hockey: the NHL is on DAZN too.
Basketball: Sport TV carries the NBA, or there’s NBA League Pass, which is sold internationally.
Baseball: MLB.TV offers coverage outside the US.
Portuguese soccer (the Liga Portugal) is on Sport TV, with Benfica’s home games on the club’s own channel, BTV. Soccer is shown everywhere in Portugal, in the cafes and in the restaurants, so if you can’t get it at home, you won’t struggle to find somewhere showing it.
Can you watch American TV in Portugal?
Live American network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) and services like YouTube TV and Sling all check your location, and Portugal isn’t on the list. For most Americans, that means losing local news, some sports and late-night shows.
If you’re determined, a VPN is the usual route, and results vary wildly. For some people, ExpressVPN or a similar service is king. Others can’t get it to work. And by that, I mean streaming services quickly work out that you’re using a VPN.
A few things make it more likely to work:
- Use a dedicated streaming device. An Apple TV or an Amazon Fire TV Stick runs most VPN apps. Roku devices don’t run VPN apps at all, and smart TVs are hit and miss.
- Put the VPN on your router if it supports one, so every device in the house goes through it without its own app.
- Pay for a “residential” or “dedicated” IP address. These are harder for streaming services to spot than the shared addresses most VPNs use.
Then there’s IPTV: paid services streaming dozens of live US channels. Some work well. Most sit on the wrong side of copyright law, but many people living abroad used them anyway.
For news, I’d honestly just use what’s on Portuguese TV. CNN International is on all three of the big channel lists, and it doesn’t stop working when your VPN gets blocked.
Can you watch British TV in Portugal?
You can, but it’s the part that changes most often, and it’s a gray area.
BBC iPlayer is the hardest. The BBC is very good at spotting VPNs, and most mainstream services end up on its block list. There’s also a legal issue nobody mentions: iPlayer requires a UK TV licence, and you’re meant to be in the UK to use it. Even if you have a UK TV license, you may still have issues accessing it from abroad.
ITVX and Channel 4 also block viewers outside the UK, but in my experience they’re easier to reach with a VPN than iPlayer. If you want to try, ExpressVPN is the one most people start with. Just go in expecting to switch servers regularly.
Brexit made all of this harder. Before 2021, EU rules let British subscribers keep using services like Sky Go and BritBox while temporarily abroad in the EU. That no longer applies to UK services.
Among British expats, two other approaches come up again and again:
- Smart DNS. It only redirects the parts of your connection the streaming service checks. People report it’s less likely to be blocked than a standard VPN, and it’s easy to set on a Fire Stick or a second router.
- Routing through a home connection in the UK. If you’ve kept a property in the UK, or family will leave a small device plugged in for you, you can send your streaming through that connection. The BBC then sees an ordinary British household. It’s the most reliable option, but only if you have a UK home to route through.
Beyond that, people use specialist services that stream live UK channels, and Fire Sticks loaded with apps. There are businesses, particularly in the Algarve, that set this up for British expats. Be aware that newer Fire Sticks reportedly block the third-party apps these setups rely on.
What works this month depends on what the BBC blocked last month. So even if you pay someone to provide you with a firestick, don’t expect it to keep working forever.
What’s Portuguese TV like?
Of course, living in Portugal means you can watch Portuguese TV, but what’s Portuguese TV actually like?
A fiber TV package usually comes with 150 or more channels. If you’re somewhere without fiber, both MEO and NOS offer TV by satellite dish, with fewer channels (MEO’s packages run from about 90 to 110) and no 7-day catch-up.
The good news for English speakers is that Portuguese TV isn’t dubbed. Foreign shows and films are shown in the original language, usually English, with Portuguese subtitles. The same goes for the cinema. Only children’s programming is routinely dubbed.
Portuguese-made programs are the opposite. Talk shows, soap operas and the news mostly have no subtitles. This is a shame for people wanting to learn Portuguese, as jumping straight in without subtitles (Portuguese or English) makes this incredibly challenging. If your Portuguese is getting close to this level, this is a good opportunity to hear more spoken Portuguese, particularly with the talk shows, and, obviously, to keep up to date with the news. I’ve written a separate guide to Portuguese TV with subtitles.
Honestly, the only Portuguese TV I watch regularly is the news, plus the occasional telenovela when I’m trying to practice my Portuguese. The news is worth it even if you understand half of it. It’s very easy to live in an English-speaking bubble here and have no idea what’s happening in your own town. If you’ve already read the story in English, hearing it spoken in Portuguese is excellent listening practice. RTP’s morning show, Bom Dia Portugal, even has a regular segment on correct Portuguese, Bom Português. And if you miss something, RTP Play lets you rewind.
The main channels:
- RTP1: the main public channel. News, sports, drama, game shows.
- RTP2: culture, documentaries, children’s programs, and sports other than soccer.
- RTP Notícias: 24-hour news from the public broadcaster. It was called RTP3 until October 2025.
- RTP Memória: reruns from RTP’s archives.
- Canal Parlamento (formerly ARTV): parliament, live. Exactly as gripping as it sounds.
- SIC: Portugal’s first private channel. Talk shows, game shows, Brazilian soap operas.
- TVI: SIC’s main rival, and home of Secret Story, the Portuguese Big Brother.
The other news channels are SIC Notícias, CNN Portugal, CMTV and NOW.
What internet do you need for streaming?
If you’re going to stream most of what you watch, the internet connection matters a lot.
Fiber optic internet is what you want to get. The entry-level plan is now 500 Mbps, at around €30 a month, which is plenty for 4K streaming. Gigabit is around €40, and it’s what I’d pick. You can even get 10 GB/s, although that’s overkill unless you’re heavily gaming or video editing.
Here’s the catch, and I’ve seen it happen in the Algarve especially, but also throughout the entire country: you’re told there’s fiber in your postcode, and there is, in town. A few kilometers outside town, the cables simply don’t reach yet. The coverage checkers won’t tell you that.
You use our internet checker at Portugalist. Someone manually checks this and looks at your specific address, which may not even have a named road, to see if fiber optic internet is available and which options are available there.
If there’s no fiber, 4G home internet is the fallback. I’ve used it for Netflix at home: there’s some buffering, but it’s fine for most things, and it keeps getting better. Other people I know have had real success with Starlink, and if it works better for you, speeds are generally better than 4G.
Do I need a TV licence in Portugal?
Not a separate one like you do in the UK. Portugal funds public TV through the contribuição audiovisual (CAV), a fixed charge on your electricity bill. It’s €2.85 a month plus 6% IVA, so about €3.02, whether you own a television or not. The government froze it again in the 2026 budget. Basically, it’s a very minimal charge.
You pay less (€1 plus IVA) if you receive certain social benefits, and nothing if your home uses less than 400 kWh of electricity a year. That mostly helps people with an empty vacation home.
For British readers, that’s a fraction of the UK licence fee, though it doesn’t cover BBC iPlayer. More on bills in my guide to utilities in Portugal.
Thinking about Moving to Portugal?