Stream series and films for free in Switzerland

1. What is streaming?

Streaming refers to the simultaneous transmission and playback of audio and video files. There is a direct connection between the provider (e.g. Netflix or Amazon Prime Video) and the user.

Users can stream and watch their shows whenever they want to (“on-demand”). This lets users fast-forward, rewind and pause when they wish. Livestreaming is also offered, which functions more like regular TV, meaning you can’t pause or rewind it.

Many well-known streaming services charge for their services, but they do have some free alternatives.

2. Play Suisse

Play Suisse is Swiss Radio and Television’s streaming platform. This service is financed by Serafe and lets you watch shows made in Switzerland. There are over 3,000 shows available for you to watch. The content is not exclusive, which means it can also appear on other channels, such as on TV.

All content on Play Suisse is available in the original language with subtitles in German, French, Italian and sometimes Romansh.

3. Broadcaster’s media libraries

Some broadcasters offer their programmes free of charge in media libraries. The public broadcasting groups SRF, ARD, ZDF and Funk have media libraries where you can watch their content for free and without advertisements.

Play SRF

Play SRF is SRF’s media library. Unlike Play Suisse, Play SRF is specially tailored to the audience in German-speaking Switzerland.

Play SRF lets you watch shows that SRF has previously shown on TV. Content not produced by SRF may be excluded from this.

Play SRF offers live streams of TV channels on its website.

ARD Mediathek

ARD’s media library offers content from broadcasters and providers belonging to ARD. This includes channels such as Das Erste, Arte and Kika along with German regional channels.

Kika is a cooperation between ARD and ZDF. As a result, you can find content from Kika in both media libraries.

The ARD media library offers you shows, feature films, documentaries, news programmes and live broadcasts of major events, among other things.

Around 10-20% of ARD’s TV content isn’t available online in Switzerland. The reason for this lies in licencing and also partly in German law, which only allows online shows to be shown in Germany.

ZDF media library

In the ZDF media library, you will find programmes and films from television providers that belong to ZDF. These include ZDF, ZDFinfo and the partner stations 3sat and Kika.

You can live stream TV content in the ZDF media library. However, ZDF cannot show all programmes online in Switzerland.

Funk

Funk is a network of ARD and ZDF. The videos on Funk are made by various web video producers and uploaded to their channels and various platforms.

Funk is aimed at young adults and includes information and entertainment videos.

Joyn – ProsiebenSat.1 Media SE

You can watch series and shows from ProSiebenSat.1 Media for free on Joyn. Included are the channels Pro7, Sat.1, Sixx and their specialty stations.

The platform also offers clips and bonus material from selected series and shows. Some providers also offer previews on Joyn.

RTL+

RTL Group’s media library is called RTL+. RTL Group includes, for example, RTL, Vox and NTV. On RTL+, you can watch many films and series for free up to seven days after broadcasting, some for longer.

With a paid membership, you get access to in-house productions, previews, RTL radio content and podcasts.

4. Pluto TV

Pluto TV is a mix of livestreaming and on-demand shows. This streaming service is financed through advertisements.

Pluto TV has over 100 channels available for livestreaming. The stations each have a particular theme (e.g. love or crime) or focus on a particular TV show or series (e.g. Star Trek or South Park). With its on-demand service, Pluto TV has over 1,000 films and series available to watch.

5. Rakuten TV

Rakuten TV is part of the Japanese online company Rakuten. According to Justwatch, you can find over 7,000 films and 80 series on Rakuten TV.

You don’t need to create an account to watch films and series. Not all titles on Rakuten TV are available to you free of charge. All free content can be found via a separate menu item. Free content is financed through advertising.

6. Plaion channels

Plaion is a media company founded in 1994 as Koch Media. In addition to films, Plaion also sells video games.

With Netzkino, Plaion offers an advertising-based, free streaming service. You can download over 2,800 films via smartphone app and watch them offline. Netzkino also offers a paid account, which gives you a wider choice of films.

Plaion also operates several YouTube channels where you can watch films free of charge:

• Netzkino

• Moviedome

• Fabella

7. UCM.One

UCM.One (United Content Management.One) is a distribution and licencing company for films, music and images. UCM.One uploads films, documentaries and series to its YouTube channels. The three channels with the most content are:

• Cinenet Deutschland

• Docunet Deutschland

• Cinenet Serien

8. Weloadtv

Weloadtv, the YouTube channel of German company Arenico, has over 3000 feature films, TV films and series from different genres available to watch.

9. Free content catalogue

Some websites offer an overview of free streaming content:

• Dokustreams: Dokustreams has a catalogue of websites where you can watch documentaries for free. Documentaries are available in either German or English
  and are commonly embedded directly into the website. This means you don’t have to leave the website to watch your video, even though it was uploaded to another website (e.g. YouTube).

• Filmstreams: the film streams catalogue provides an overview of Youtube channels where you can watch entire films. The channels listed contain German films.

• Comedystreams: Comedystreams lists shows with humorous content. As with Dokustreams, the content is embedded on the website. The shows listed are all in German.

• Infostreams: the Infostreams catalogue consists of German news channels. Both German-language and English-language programmes are listed.

10. Summary

There are many free streaming alternatives, though they are usually financed by advertising. The services provided by public television stations are exceptions to this rule.

If advertising doesn’t bother you, free providers offer a large selection. If you prefer to watch specific in-house productions or shows without advertising, paid providers are the better choice for you.