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English Football on the TV in the Philippines

I miss English football on the TV in the Philippines. It is one of the very few things I miss about the UK.

I wrote those two sentences way back in July 2015 and it is now July 2017 as I write this. I have some great news for all you fans of English football. Just so as not to confuse you I will place a horizontal line under these fresh ideas on how to watch Premier League football here in the Philippines. ย So anything under the line is the original article – got it?

I did write down below I had no idea if IPTV is legal. It is!

I write about it in a recent post here and if you click here on expat TV you can read all about it. It’s a great system and it really works.

Not only can you get all the football on Sky Sports and BT Sports, you can also watch all major sporting events like the British Lions rugby and the English cricket test matches,

Her indoors will also be happy as there are 1000’s of movies to choose from on demand as well as all the Sky Movie channels. The kids will be happy too because of all the cartoon channels.

In total there are about 300 channels on the Premium pack and all for a paltry ยฃ29 per month with no advance subscription or minimum period. It’s a fraction of what a Sky pack would cost back in the UK.

You can read my article about it by clicking on the link above or go straight through to the site to order by clicking here on Expat Media TV.

watch uk tv in the philippines

Nothing to lose really as you can always cancel after one month but you won’t!

Oh! Bein Sports is now available in Bacolod if you prefer the Indonesian coverage of English Premier League football!

You will need a MAG Informir Set Top Box for the UK Expat Media IPTV and just below is a handy link to Amazon for it. Don’t forget you can use LBC Shipping Cart to ship it here. Find out all about Shipping Cart here.

 
 

 
 

Here is the horizontal line I mentioned ๐Ÿ™‚


 

It does not matter how well or quickly the expat settles into his new country. There are always some things that he would like to have in his new surroundings if at all possible. Not because he is yearning after the old country but he just plain misses certain things. Damn it โ€“ he enjoys them.

There are many posts in Philippines expat retirement forums asking things like where do I find rye bread, A1 Sauce and of course HP sauce if you are a Brit like me.

Other sports mad posters ask where or how can I watch MLB, NBA or English Premier League (EPL) football. Note to all my American friends โ€“ it is football not soccer. I know you will disagree. The thing you call football is just another version of rugby. However rugby players do not wear all that protective gear.

I digress, as the aim of this piece is to enlighten those of you who are interested in following your favourite English football team whilst you are here in the Philippines.

Selma Bears Boys Varsity Soccer 2013 https://www.flickr.com/photos/selmahighsoccer/8807802789/in/photolist-eqjhUM-nPyswD-5sWvuw-ef6Dqb-831gXY-asmscr-pqtX5X-5rHAQP-fxhQkQ-asmTQc-8PAGai-8PCWgu-8PzLXi-8PzGsr-8PCHAu-8Pz7QX-8PBThG-erfT27-asp4SJ-anSuwY-anSopm-anShKJ-anPuL2-anPupT-oMy24C-pmsf2d-ej6HaZ-ejckt3-asmRKr-nfhrbr-8VX56f-db8sFp-831h95-cuVXSE-cuVXky-pGYsPv-g6opxF-askWr8-asoygw-aygcrc-prXcfQ-8NXEEZ-prUG3r-3v12Xz-8PAHkz-8PDHrS-8PAowT-8PAipx-8PzHTD-8PCLz1
Selma Bears Boys Varsity Soccer 2013
https://www.flickr.com/photos/selmahighsoccer/

First of all comes a disclaimer โ€“ some of the methods of watching your EPL footy on the box are highly questionable from a legal standing. Therefore I am making it clear as to what is possible and not what is advisable. The choice is entirely yours.

EPL TV Broadcasting Rights

 

The English Premier League have been most savvy in generating revenues from selling the broadcasting rights to live EPL matches. They know it is one of, if not the most popular league in the world. And they have cashed in on its popularity. They guard the intellectual property in those rights very carefully. As an aside, they are not the only entity to zealously safeguard their media rights in connection with the EPL. Try to download say an action photo from an EPL game. It is all subject to copyright and the fees to use the material are crazy! Hence my use of free stock photos to be found on Flickr.

Bein Sports

English Schoolboy Football - picture by Stephen Bentley
English Schoolboy Football – picture by Stephen Bentley

Having got that out of the way, the only TV channel that broadcasts EPL legitimately in the Philippines is Bein Sports. They hold the rights to sell the EPL content in several Asian countries including the Philippines. Similar to the situation back in the UK where Sky Sports have the rights to televise most of the fixtures and BT Sport covers the remainder.

The downside is that it is only available as an add on channel if you are already subscribed to Sky Cable. A further problem is that at present it is only available in Metro Manila. So not much good if you live in Cebu, Davao or Bacolod like me.

However there are at least three alternatives if either you cannot get Bein Sports or do not want to subscribe to Sky Cable. For example if you already have a cable TV provider such as Cignal.

iPTV

The first is to go the iPTV route (internet protocol television). This involves buying a monthly subscription that gives you access to the desired content. The content can include all major sports as well as movies and TV shows from many countries. Sky Sports showing EPL is certainly available through these providers.

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You will need a STB (set top box) and a good internet connection with a download speed of at least 3 Mbps. An example of the type of STB is the Mag 254. Your TV needs either to have built in wifi or a USB port where you can plug in a wifi dongle. The setting up appears to be simple and ought to work straight out of the box. When set up you can stream the footy or any programme you like straight to your screen.

I have no idea if the iPTV scheme is legal.

Streaming on to Computer

Another method is to stream the match straight to your PC using a provider such as Vipbox. I am not a fan of theirs for two reasons. I find the quality of the feed is unacceptable and you need to run an ad blocker on their website. If you fail to do this you will end up with annoying pop up advertisements all over your screen.

I doubt whether this method is legal.

EPL Teams Web Sites

I believe it is also possible to watch English football but limited to your own team by subscribing to its official web site. For example my team, Liverpool Football Club, is accessible through liverpoolfctv.com. They carry live games but I am unsure as to whether they can be viewed from outside the UK.

iPlayer

Finally if you can satisfy your craving for English football by watching MOTD (Match of the Day) then you can watch that on BBC iPlayer. What? I might have heard you exclaim as you and I both know BBC iPlayer content is blocked outside of the UK.

That is correct. But only if your laptop, PC or other internet enabled device is showing a Philippines IP address, which it will do automatically. It is possible to find programs out there that will disguise your IP address to fool a server into believing that you are watching from another country. In order to watch the BBC video content you would simply click on the Union flag to โ€˜switchโ€™ your IP address to that of a UK based computer.

And please bear in mind that iPlayer is a catch up service so you are not going to be able to watch MOTD live but only after a few days have elapsed.

Again, I have no idea as to the legality of this method.

Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy the game and your team win unless of course you are playing LFC.

YNWA!


Disclosure: this post/page contains ethical affiliate links. I promote certain products and services that I have 100% confidence in. If you purchase as a result of clicking on my affiliate links, I receive a small commission. That commission is not added to the price you pay at checkout.

 

 

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Published inBacolod LifeSport including Liverpool FC

16 Comments

  1. Miguel Rivero Miguel Rivero

    Hi Stephen

    This a good shout and my sentiments are the same after living in the UK for 4 years. We just opened a new place here in Bacolod 5 weeks ago and we show live EPL matches. This is our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Hat-Trick-Sports-Grill-569407293207726/
    It’s located at The Marketplace by Villa Angela nearby the NGC building. I hope you are well and can join us to watch some matches. Cheers

    Kind regards
    Miguel

    • Hi Miguel, Thank you for that wonderful info! It would have been good to watch Norwich vs. Liverpool in your bar. 4 – 5 to the Reds (my team!)! I know exactly where you are so I will come and introduce myself sometime soon ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. kevin saundrson kevin saundrson

    it is no longer to watch bbc i player by using a vpn someone at the bbc have the tech savvy to know your not in the uk i used to watch man u lol those days have gone n sadder for it

    • That is correct. I have also noted that VPNs are becoming harder to use in the Phils. They really slow down the internet connection. That is a fairly recent thing.

  3. Carlos Carlos

    I recently downloaded and subscribed to beIN sports Connect apps at php 300 per month. Got to watch EPL, UCL,La Liga, Ligue 1 among others anywhere there is internet connection. Cheaper than Sky cable though.

  4. Hi Stephen. We have just contacted Cignal who will be coming round to install a new dish and a 2 year (lock in) package for BEIN sports 1,2,3. for the EPL upcoming season. We also use online streaming but will be building a new house a few miles away where there is no PLDT wifi. (Lipa City). The three bEIN sports channels are showing on PLDT_Wifi but are not available for some reason.

  5. John Prideaux-Brune John Prideaux-Brune

    I use Iview HD IPTV it has all of the EPL games as well as the sky movie channels . It also has the EPL channels so you can watch absolutely all of the EPL games (handy when like me you support a team that does not challenge for the title). I pay about P8000 a year for the service

    I run it on a UBTV android box (you can buy them on Lazada). This comes with a build in free IPTV service that also has all of the sky sports channels. It is free but not as reliable as Iview

    • Thanks John! Always good to know what alternatives are out there. How does the quality of streaming (buffering etc.) compare between the paid and the free services? Or is that down to how good your internet connection is? Cheers – Steve.

      • John Prideaux-Brune John Prideaux-Brune

        UBTV considering it is free is very good although mainly for a Chinese market has all the main sky sports, BT sports, Sky Movies and Discovery Channels. The actual box is very high spec so you even if you do not use UBTV you still have a good Android Box. The big disadvantage is that the popular games buffer a lot.

        My paid for service Iview HD (http://www.iviewhd.eu/) is much better. All channels are in HD, It works on a very low internet speed ( I’ve had it working on a 1mb connection) and there is virtually no buffering even with the most popular matches. I am so happy with it I have cancelled my cable subscription and just use it.

  6. John Adamson John Adamson

    Hello Stephen, came across your site that got my attention (English Football always does) am retired here in PH and like you miss EPL. Have tried a few different sites to stream games but with no success. The only consolation is they have “Spurs TV” on cignal. Is there anywhere in Manila I can get that Box?
    Oh and you can get HP Sauce in most SM supermarkets (still waiting for Pickled Onions )

    • Hi John! I just found out you can still get English Premier League games on Sky Cable’s Bein Sports channel. Sky Cable don’t list Bein as one of their available channels but it is available certainly in Bacolod so I’m sure it will be in Manila. They show one 3 pm Saturday game and the Sky Sports (UK) games televised on Sundays.

      I also use an Android box for streaming live football but I find it hit and miss possibly because of my internet connection.

      I hope that helps. I also hope you lot beat City in the league. YNWA ๐Ÿ™‚

      Even SM ran out of HP sauce last year. A world shortage! ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Dave Duckett Dave Duckett

    Sky-Bein Sports is no longer showing Premiership.Replace by French which I cannot stand.I am in Sta Clara Exec,l have lived in Bacolod since 2006.My land line is %^&$#** if you fancy calling(lunch time best)
    I was 20 when we won the World Cup.Regards Dave Duckett.

    • Hi Dave, I’ll call you but I did edit out your number so no one else can see it. Yes, Sky Cable in Bacolod has dropped the Bein Sports channel that showed the Premier League. I do believe it’s still shown by Sky Cable in Cebu and other locations which is no bloody good to us!

I would love to hear from you

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