Spain's broadcasters each built their own streaming platform, and between them they cover almost everything shown on Spanish television. Knowing which one carries what saves a lot of searching.
RTVE Play belongs to the public broadcaster. It streams La 1, La 2, Clan and the 24h news channel live, with a large free library of series, documentaries and archive programmes. Part of the catalogue is offered internationally, while live broadcasts, films and sport are often limited to Spain for rights reasons.
Atresplayer covers the Atresmedia channels, Antena 3 and laSexta among them, with a free tier and a paid Premium tier that adds earlier access and exclusive series. Mitele does the same for Mediaset España's Telecinco and Cuatro. Both decide what to show by checking the viewer's IP address.
The international platforms add their own layer. Netflix, Prime Video and Movistar Plus+ each have a Spanish catalogue with local productions, and Spanish series have become one of the most exported kinds of European television.
A VPN changes one thing in all of this, the country these services see. Accounts, free registration and paid tiers stay exactly as each platform sets them.
Inside Spain the reasons are practical. Tourists and residents alike spend a lot of time on networks set up for guests, in hotels, airports, AVE trains and beach bars, and an encrypted connection keeps logins and bookings private on them.
RTVE Play belongs to the public broadcaster. It streams La 1, La 2, Clan and the 24h news channel live, with a large free library of series, documentaries and archive programmes. Part of the catalogue is offered internationally, while live broadcasts, films and sport are often limited to Spain for rights reasons.
Atresplayer covers the Atresmedia channels, Antena 3 and laSexta among them, with a free tier and a paid Premium tier that adds earlier access and exclusive series. Mitele does the same for Mediaset España's Telecinco and Cuatro. Both decide what to show by checking the viewer's IP address.
The international platforms add their own layer. Netflix, Prime Video and Movistar Plus+ each have a Spanish catalogue with local productions, and Spanish series have become one of the most exported kinds of European television.
A VPN changes one thing in all of this, the country these services see. Accounts, free registration and paid tiers stay exactly as each platform sets them.
Inside Spain the reasons are practical. Tourists and residents alike spend a lot of time on networks set up for guests, in hotels, airports, AVE trains and beach bars, and an encrypted connection keeps logins and bookings private on them.
