Watch Swiss TV abroad: what works, what is blocked and why

SRF puts it plainly on its help page: for legal reasons its live streams are only available inside Switzerland. Many programmes, sport above all, are licensed per country, so the broadcaster has to block the stream outside the territory it paid for. That blocking is called geoblocking, and it applies to apps as well as websites.

According to SRF, most of its own productions can be watched on demand on Play SRF after the broadcast, also abroad. Productions bought from others carry a geoblock and are available only inside Switzerland, and some programmes are online for a limited time. Special livestreams that are not listed on its livestream page are set up without a geoblock when copyright allows.

Zattoo's help page, read in October 2026, sets out when a paid subscription works abroad. The Swiss column is the one that matters here:

Beyond the account type, the page lists what must be true before you travel:

Operators describe their boxes as home products, and the rules differ by operator and plan. Swisscom's blue TV S page mentions only that customers with a mobile subscription may pay data roaming costs when they watch recordings abroad. If you rely on a Swisscom, Sunrise or Salt app on a trip, ask the operator before you leave which functions work in which country, rather than trying it at the hotel.

Guides sell a VPN as the way round geoblocking. Zattoo's terms for use abroad exclude VPNs and proxies, and its requirements page says VPN use affects streaming quality and is not supported. Using one can breach a provider's terms and can get a streaming account blocked, so it is a risk to the account you pay for, not a fix. The better routes are on-demand content, recordings and national apps in the country you are in.

Leaving for a while does not end the Swiss fee. SERAFE says that someone who goes abroad only temporarily and keeps living in Switzerland remains liable. Only a real move out of Switzerland changes that, in which case the residents' registration office informs SERAFE and the fee is refunded pro rata. The rules are in the radio and TV fee in Switzerland.

See also Zattoo Free, Premium, Ultimate, Copyright revision 2020 and Swisscom vs Sunrise vs Salt vs Zattoo. For the whole picture, start from IPTV Switzerland: licensed providers compared.

Also useful: Replay and recording compared.