Another alternative for television in Berlin is satellite, which generally provides more channels and can even allow you to pick up some BBC stations. The biggest problem is gaining permission from your landlord to strap a dish onto your balcony or roof. If you live in a house, this isn’t a problem.

If you can put up a satellite dish, the number of stations you can get for free is almost endless, including broadcasters from most neighbouring European countries. SES-Astra operates six satellites that beam free content to your dish. It has extensive information in English on what kind of equipment you need and how to mount satellite dishes at www.ses-astra.com.

If that isn’t enough, you can contract with a satellite content provider for things such as high-definition television, sports or foreign-language programming. Arena, Premiere and Euro all provide extra content, such as National Basketball Association games, Bundesliga and Premier League football and high-definition cultural shows – for a price. You’ll need a satellite dish and set-top box for your television, as well as a special chip card from your provider to decode the content.