Watching US Networks in Britain

After four years in the UK, I have found the perfect solution to wanting to watch American TV even though I'm in London. I've subscribed to a service that offers the TV signal over the internet (using slingbox).

It is a bit pricey, especially with the US dollar on the up and me earning in £ - but last Sunday night, we recorded 60 Minutes and watched Lesley Stahl and Andy Rooney, etc. There's reruns of The Cosby Show, Hogan's Heroes, The Beverly Hillbillies and I got to watch Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL. It felt as though I never left home!

Also, it's just fun to be able to watch undiluted CNN and MSNBC coverage during this election period.

There is so much American programming readily available on British TV (is there an hour in the day when Friends isn't shown?) that I can't see the point of making an extra effort to see more of it.

My husband has gotten DVDs of old US TV series though UK shops like HMV. You can also probably get them via Amazon or possibly Ebay.

You have a point - but I prefer to get the news on US topics without the "British" take on it. Also, a lot of my favourites aren't shown here, so it is worth the effort to me, and there's an endless diet of American sports to be had. (Although my wife, who is British, isn't that amused by how thrilled I am)

So, you don't need to set the box up in America at all? 

My husband and I have thought about doing this and leaving the box at my parents house.  Hmmm.

I've been thinking about doing this for a while. There might be old episodes of Friends here, but I'd really like to watch up to date news programs and shows in the season they actually come out, not 9 months later!
Do you just set it up at a house that has internet and satellite tv in the US?

You have two options. You either get a set top box and leave it in the States with the slingbox and then connect to it (don't know the technical steps involved for this one). It's important that it's a dedicated box for you alone. Otherwise, if you leave it at a sister's or friend's house and they change the channel, your viewing is interrupted.

I think I've taken the more expensive option but probably the quickest. A company based in the US will get a TimeWarner subscription, along with a slingbox and a TiVO-like DVR. They charge an upfront installation fee (around $170) for all of this as well as a monthly fee depending on the channel package chosen. Once you're up and running, you can watch and record programmes as usual. It also does live pause.

Hope this helps.

Thank you Gabster!  That helps a lot.

Hmm, I still have my TV in my parents house.  Maybe we will look into it when we are there.

The second option is not to bad.  Worth it to watch TV when it's happening, not months later. (I'm a TV snob, sorry!!!)  Also a lot of times we end up buying seasons of shows on iTunes, which usually costs a lot.

Hmm, so much to think about.

That sounds like a good deal. Can I get a link, please? 

The standard link is attached:

http://www.nationphone.com/pages.php?pageid=55&mode=preview [nofollow]

I got a $20 discount on installation and monthly fee by following this link:

http://www.nationphone.com/pages.php?pageid=26&mode=preview&discount_code=meetupdiscount [nofollow]

Thanks!