How to Watch German TV Without a Cable Contract
You have moved into a flat in Germany, the sofa is in place, the Tatort episode everyone at work mentioned is on tonight, and the wall socket marked for cable TV may no longer be paid for by anyone. For many renters, that last detail is new, and it is the reason a lot of people are looking again at how they watch German television.
The Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg explains that since 1 July 2024, landlords can no longer pass cable TV fees on to tenants through the service charges. If you want cable, you now arrange it yourself, which turns TV into a choice rather than something that simply comes with the flat.
That choice is good news, because the alternatives are flexible and easy to set up. Here is how the main options compare, what to look for, and where the streaming service waipu.tv fits in.
📺 Compare waipu.tv packages
Who needs to sort out their TV now
Renters in shared buildings. The change mainly affects tenants in multi-occupancy buildings whose landlord used to hold a collective cable contract. The Verbraucherzentrale suggests checking your service charge statement: a line for a broadband or TV cable connection means a collective contract existed.
Newcomers to Germany. If you have just arrived, you are starting from scratch anyway, so it makes sense to pick the option that fits how you watch rather than whatever was installed by the previous tenant.
Cable, satellite, DVB-T2 or streaming: the four ways to watch
The Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg lists four alternatives to building cable.
Satellite. According to the consumer advice centre, all the common German channels can still be received free and unencrypted by satellite. The catch for renters is that you need your landlord’s permission to fit a dish.
DVB-T2 HD. This is reception through an antenna, with around 40 channels in high definition according to the Verbraucherzentrale. The private channels in HD come at an extra charge.
Classic IPTV. Television delivered over your internet line, usually bundled with a broadband contract and needing a rented or purchased receiver.
Streaming IPTV. TV through an app on a smart TV, a streaming stick or your phone, needing only a broadband connection. This is the category waipu.tv belongs to, and for most renters it is the most flexible, because there is no dish, no aerial and no dependence on the building’s wiring.
What to look for in a TV streaming service
Channel range and picture quality. Check that the public broadcasters and the big private channels are included, and how many of them come in HD.
Recording and replay. Cloud recording means you never need a hard-drive box. Look at how many hours of storage you get and whether you can pause or restart a programme that has already begun.
Streams at once. In a household where one person watches football while another watches a crime drama, the number of simultaneous streams matters more than the channel count.
Contract length. If you are in Germany on a fixed-term job or study placement, a monthly cancellable plan is worth far more than a small discount on a long contract.
Where waipu.tv fits
waipu.tv is a German TV streaming service that works over the internet, with no cable or satellite connection. On its cable-replacement page, waipu.tv says all you need is an internet connection from 6 Mbit/s. It runs on TVs, laptops, smartphones and tablets, and waipu.tv lists support for Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, smart TVs and its own waipu.tv Stick and waipu.tv Box.
Pause, rewind and restart. According to waipu.tv, you can pause, carry on later or jump straight back to the start of a programme that is already running. Its packages include cloud recording, with series recording available.
On demand. The waiputhek library adds films, series and shows on demand alongside the live channels.
🎬 See waipu.tv channels and features
How the waipu.tv packages differ
Perfect Plus. The top package, according to waipu.tv, brings 300+ channels, all of them in HD including RTL and ProSieben in Full HD, plus 70+ pay-TV channels, 150 hours of recording, 40,000+ titles in the waiputhek and up to four streams at once. waipu.tv also offers bundles with streaming partners such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, DAZN, WOW and Joyn+. The site advertises a free first month to try Perfect Plus.
Comfort. waipu.tv lists 260+ channels, with 220+ public and New-TV channels in HD, 50 hours of recording, 20,000+ waiputhek titles, two streams and a monthly cancellable term.
Start. The entry package carries 260+ channels and a single stream. waipu.tv says it runs for 12 months and is then cancellable monthly.
Prices change with offers, so check the current rates on the waipu.tv site before choosing.
Getting set up is the easy part
When it adds less. If your internet connection is unreliable, or you only ever watch the free public channels and already have satellite in place, a streaming service adds less for you.
For everyone else. Download the app on the device you already own, or plug in a waipu.tv Stick, sign in and the channels appear. There is no technician visit and no dish to negotiate with your landlord.
Why streaming is the switch that makes German TV simple
Streaming turns the change to the cable rules into an upgrade. You get German live TV with recording, restart and on-demand titles, it moves with you when you change flat, and with a monthly cancellable package it keeps pace with your plans in Germany. Starting with a trial month on Perfect Plus lets you see how it fits your evenings before you commit.
âš¡ Start your waipu.tv trial month
