There is no denying that television was arguably the most impactful invention of the 20th century. It changed the world in numerous ways that we can’t yet conceive, and it provided us with an exciting entertainment resource.
With the inception of the Internet in our society, we have been able to combine it with TV to create online streaming, which is growing in popularity in almost every country in the world. Now, we can watch our favorite news shows, TV series, and movies from our smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and laptops.
One of the most “equipped” nations for online streaming is Germany. It is among the most developed countries in the world, which means its people have easy and cheap access to smartphones and data plans, as well as various TV channels, networks, and services. One of them is RTL Television and its digital signal TVNow.de.
How to watch TVNow.de from outside Germany
- Choose a reliable VPN provider with servers in Germany.
- Go to the VPN’s website.
- Sign up for the VPN service.
- Download and install the VPN app in your device.
- Launch the VPN app.
- Connect to a German server.
- Open TVNow.de streaming site and watch the best of the channel from anywhere.
TorGuard: the best VPN in the market
TorGuard is by far the best and most reliable VPN provider to watch TVNow.de from abroad. It has more than 3,000 servers available, several of them located in Germany. With AES 256-bit encryption and multiprotocol availability, it is equipped to protect your data privacy like no other. TorGuard’s “special weapon” is the dedicated IP, which is unblockable streaming solution. You can get those on checkout.
TorGuard costs $10 per month, and with it, you will be able to connect five devices simultaneously and enjoy the best and most responsive customer service in the field, highlighted by an excellent live chat feature.
In conclusion, TVNow.de is RTL’s online streaming channel, and it is a very accurate representation of German TV: excellence, creativity, and responsibility at the people’s service.
However, the site is not available outside of Germany, unless you use a reliable VPN service like TorGuard. A VPN app will help you temporarily change your IP address so you can spoof your location and enjoy TVNow.de without geographical restrictions.
German TV: quality material
Germany is a paradise for free television. The government doesn’t impose any censorship, and TV stations have modern cameras, networks, wiring, antennas, and equipment to provide a quality service.
The country has nearly 1,500 online TV channel services available as we speak, attracting more than 160 million viewers per day on average. However, due to geo-blocking restrictions, the majority of those networks are online viewable in German territory.
Popular Germany TV channels
- de
- ARD
- ZDF
- Sky Deutschland
- Pro Sieben
- German Amazon Instant Video
- Netflix Germany
RTL Television and TVNow.de: excellence for the people
Known as RTL Plus in the past, RTL Television is one of Germany’s market share leaders concerning audience. It is a commercial TV network that offers content via satellite, cable, and digital terrestrial methods.
The RTL Group is the owner of this network, which functions as a private free-to-air broadcaster. It has been in the market since 1984, with its roots being tied to Luxembourg. The company moved its headquarters to Cologne, Germany, in 1988.
Keeping up with recent times, RTL Television has an online streaming channel called TVNow.de. It has some of the hottest TV series and movies from Germany, the United States, and the rest of Europe.
Programming aired by RTL Television
News:
- Guten Morgen Deutschland – weekdays, at 06:00 (2013–present)
- Punkt 12 – weekdays, at 12:00 (1992–present)
- RTL Aktuell – main news programme broadcast daily at 18:45 (1988–present)
- RTL Nachtjournal – every night, at about midnight (1994–present)
- Explosiv – daily tabloid programme (1992–present)
- Exclusiv – celebrity news programme (1994–present)
- Stern TV – newsmagazine based on the print magazine Stern (1990–present)
- Spiegel TV – newsmagazine based on the print magazine Der Spiegel (1988–present)
- Extra – Das RTL-Magazin – a weekly magazine (1994–present)
Drama:
- Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police (1996 – present)
Entertainment:
- Wer wird Millionär? – the German version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1999–present)
- Deutschland sucht den Superstar – a German version of Fremantle’s Idols (2002–present)
- Let’s Dance – a German version of Strictly Come Dancing (2006-2007, 2010–present)
- Bauer sucht Frau – German version of British programme Farmer wants a wife (2005–present)
- Raus aus den Schulden – (Out of the debts) (2007-2016)
- Das Supertalent – a German version of Britain’s Got Talent
- Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! – The German version of Granada format I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
- Der Restauranttester (2014–present, former Rach, der Restauranttester) – German version of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
- Die Bülent Ceylan Show (2011-2013, 2017–present)
- Der Bachelor – German version of The Bachelor (2003-2004, 2012–present)
- Die Bachelorette – German version of The Bachelorette (2014-2015, 2017–present)
- 500 – Die Quiz-Arena – the German version of 500 Questions (2016–present)
- Es Kann nur e1nen geben (2011-2014, 2017–present)
- Paul Panzer – Stars bei der Arbeit (2011-2014)
- Hotter than my Daughter (2014)
- Willkommen bei Mario Barth (2009–present)
- Mario Barth deckt auf! (2013–present)
Comedy:
- Der Lehrer (2009, 2013–present)
- Die Kaya Show (2012–present)
- Magda Macht das schon! (2017–present)
Soap operas:
- Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten – prime time, since 1992, the adaptation of the Dutch format Goede tijden, slechte tijden
- Unter Uns – daytime, since 1994
- Alles was zählt – daytime, since 2006
Sport:
- Formula One
- Boxing
- 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Other American series
- Bones (as Bones – Die Knochenjägerin) (2006–present)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (as CSI: Vegas from 2013, formerly CSI: Den Tätern auf der Spur) (2006–present)
- CSI: Miami (2005–present)
- Person of Interest (October 2012–present)
Geoblocking limitations
TVNow.de is RTL’s online streaming channel; it has virtually all the content that the RTL signal shows. However, as it happens with most networks and services on an international level, TVNow.de is only available in Germany.
TVNow.de has an IP recognition system that grants access only to German-based IP numbers. Any connection attempt from abroad would mean access restriction from the platform’s part. After all, these services are meant to be enjoyed only in their country of origin.
VPN: the solution for privacy, security, and accessibility
However, and thankfully, there is a workaround to this issue, and it involves installing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) app on your streaming device. VPNs can encrypt the user’s traffic and online identity (namely, its IP address) while lending it another one from a host of servers and countries.
VPNs can guarantee people’s privacy and online security because they build a virtual tunnel for the user’s IP address and shared content online to pass through. That way, the information will be protected from Internet Service Providers feeding data logs to third parties, governmental surveillance agencies, censorship, hackers, and other threats.
The best attribute of VPN apps, however, is their ability to spoof people’s location to access streaming sites and services that would be blocked under normal circumstances, like TVNow.de from outside of Germany.
If you are, say, in Denmark, and want to enjoy the best of TVNow.de, all you have to do is hire the services of a reliable VPN provider with servers in Germany. The service will see that your IP address is a German one, granting you all access.
