Part 1 of our series:

How can I watch American television outside the United states?

The big question for TV show junkies like me is often: How can I watch American TV outside of the United States? There are more than enough reasons for that thought! First of all, most TV shows are broadcast much earlier there than anywhere else in the world.

This time discrepancy can take up to 1 year for example here in Germany. Another reason is the pure selection of world famous TV stations such as FOX, NBC, TBS and many (I mean really MANY!) more. And they are all really cool!

[tkp_image width="443" zoom="no" alt="The 5 largest "over the air" network stations: NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS and the CW."]The-5-large-US-Cable-Channels.jpg[/tkp_image]

Besides the newest TV shows, you can find the very famous late night shows like Conan, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live, all of which are loved in America and around the world. After all, every single night you will see celebrities, and even more viral videos have their origins there. We would usually see those videos only days later, if at all!

[tkp_image width="469" zoom="no" alt="A small overview of American Cable TV stations"]A-small-overview-of-American-TV-Stations.gif[/tkp_image]

I want that! So, what options are there to watch American TV from everywhere?

It is almost unbelievable, how little this insiders' tip is known. There is this page www.ustvnow.com, which officially serves as a solution for American soldiers abroad to watch the stations they know and love from back home.

But we did a little digging and it's simply an open page for everyone that is interested in. This service is online for many years now and it's really as easy as simply creating an account.

And the best of all: This service is entirely free in the basic-version.

[tkp_image width="640" zoom="no" alt="Home page from www.ustvnow.com with TV Guide"]TV-Guide-from-www.ustvnow.com_.png[/tkp_image]

It's true! You can watch the stations ABC, NBC, CW, FOX and CBS online from anywhere right now. Just head over to www.ustvnow.com.

UPDATE: When signing up, the site asks you to confirm that you are an American Citizen. It's obviously up to you to decide if you want to confirm that. Maybe you have an American friend whose spot you can use. However, there is no further check at all: if you tick the box, you are in. No questions asked.

Once you sign up for the free account, they will even give you 45 days access to their HD package in the basic-version. After that they will downgrade it to SD quality, but this SD quality is more than good enough for getting a little USA feeling right at home.

While writing this blog post I am watching the Ellen DeGeneris show live:

[tkp_image width="640" zoom="no" alt="Screenshot of the Ellen DeGeneris Show watched live from outside the US."]Screenshot-of-the-Ellen-Degeneris-Show-watchend-live-in-Germany.png[/tkp_image]

A nice feature, which is even part of the free basic-version, is the pop-up-window for the player. You can continue watching while you surf the TV guide or external web pages:

[tkp_image width="640" zoom="no" alt="Pop Up video window from www.ustvnow.com"]Pop-Up-Video-Player.png[/tkp_image]

For those of you who want to watch more than the 6 basic channels (as well as watching them in crystal clear HD) can do this for $19 (after 4 month this becomes $29) per month. For that price you will get a package with 28 TV stations.

[tkp_image width="1186" zoom="no" alt="Pricing of www.ustvnow.com"]pricing-www.ustvnow.com_.png[/tkp_image]

For $10 more (so $29 at first and then $39) you'll get another feature that is pretty awesome for all of us in time zones far away from the United States:

There even is a DVR!

You can get a digital video recorder to record your favourite shows or sports at night (European time, etc) and you can watch them whenever you like after that.

And we even have one more secret tip for you: With a little creativity you can earn so-called "DVR points" in the free basic-version. Just take a look at the options.

Another nice touch: You get a weekly newsletter from ustvnow.com with suggestions what you could watch this week.

Here is one for tv shows and sports:

[tkp_image width="613" zoom="no" alt="Newsletter from www.ustvnow.com for tv shows"]Newsletter-from-www.ustvnow.com-Serien.png[/tkp_image]

And this is the newsletter for movies:

[tkp_image width="602" zoom="no" alt="Newsletter from www.ustvnow.com for movies"]Newsletter2-from-www.ustvnow.com-Movies.png[/tkp_image]

Did I mention that the paid versions work on all your devices? While the free basic-version works "only" on your computer, the other packages will even work on your smartphone or tablet.

I hope, we could help you a little.

In the next part of our series about "How to watch American TV from outside the US" we will show you how to use the online-offerings of the American TV stations from abroad.

Stay tuned and have fun watching American TV for free at ustvnow.com.