Series and Movies: Free Video Streaming in Switzerland

Not everyone who enjoys series and movies wants to pay for a Netflix, Disney+ or Sky Show subscription.

But if you are not too picky about which of the latest hit movies and series you watch, there are plenty of alternatives to pick from.

1. YouTube

Most videos which are offered free of charge can be found on YouTube. The Google subsidiary is the most popular streaming service in Switzerland. In a representative survey by moneyland.ch, 79 percent of participants across Switzerland stated that they use YouTube.

In addition to music videos, travel reports, cooking shows and video blogs, YouTube is also a good source of free movies and documentaries.

YouTube now also offers a Premium service at a fee, but most YouTube videos are still available free of charge. The catch: Be prepared to endure regular advertising breaks when watching popular videos.

2. Television broadcaster archives

Numerous television broadcasters offer a good selection of broadcasts – including series and TV broadcasts – free of charge in their media archives. Swiss national television broadcaster SRF makes ist archived content available via SRF Play. Public broadcasters in particular generally have large media archives.

In some cases, shows are added to media libraries before they are even broadcast on conventional television.

A disadvantage for Swiss streamers is that some of the media in foreign media libraries cannot be streamed in Switzerland without the use of a VPN service.

3. TV streaming services

A number of TV streaming services are available in Switzerland, including Zattoo and Teleboy. These services offer basic free subscriptions which let you stream various local and foreign TV stations. These streaming services let you access foreign TV stations which you could not access via television broadcaster websites.

Some streaming services even include TV recording functions in their free basic subscriptions. More advanced features like time shifting are generally not included.

4. Live streaming from TV broadcasters

Many television broadcasters now offer streaming of live broadcasts via their websites. Unfortunately, many foreign broadcasters do not make live broadcasts available to Swiss viewers. Some broadcasters let you stream live TV without logging in. Others require you to create an account and log in before you can access live broadcasts.

5. Free streaming portals

There are also a number of free streaming portals. Examples of these include Popcorntimes and Netzkino, both of which only provide legally-available content. The disadvantage of both portals is that they primarily offer classic movies and less-widely-known movies rather than current blockbusters.

6. Trial subscriptions from streaming services

Many video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Sky Show and DAZN offer free trial subscriptions ranging in length from several days to one month. These free trials give you access to all of the content offered. Some service providers limit picture quality for free trials.

Important: Remember to terminate subscriptions on time. If you do not cancel a subscription before the free trial period expires, your contract will be converted to a paid subscription and you will be charged for the next month.

7. Share a subscription

If the shows you want to stream are only available on Netflix, Disney+ or Sky Show, you can ask a friend or relative to share their subscription with you.

All your friend has to do is give you the necessary user name and password. Another option is to share the cost of a streaming plan. While that is not a free option, it is significantly more affordable than paying for a subscription on your own.

Officially, streaming services like Netflix limit shared subscriptions to people living in the same household – meaning families or flat mates. In practice, sharing subscriptions with friends and acquaintances has not been a problem up until now.

8. VPN services

A large portion of content from foreign video streaming sources are not available to Swiss viewers. Geoblocking, the practice of restricting access to certain countries, is now forbidden within EU borders. But it is still a problem for consumers outside of the EU (in Switzerland, for example) who want to stream video from service providers in EU countries. In many cases you can get around geoblocking by using a VPN service.

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Video streaming comparison
TV plan comparison
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