How To Watch SRG SSR Online Outside Of Switzerland

SRG SSR is an abbreviation taken from the name of the constituent channels in four different languages. The four media outlets, which came together to create the organization known as SRG SSR, speak the official languages of Switzerland.

People can access SRG SSR, only if they are located in Switzerland. The website uses restrictions based on the location of the person accessing it to ascertain whether to allow or block their request which can become troublesome for travelers in particular. People leave their native country for business, vacations or study among other things. A follower of the five channels, which fall within SRG SSR, will want to tune in so that they don’t miss out on the content that they enjoy. This won’t be possible unless the user has a VPN like Ivacy.

An Introduction to SRG SSR

SRG SSR is an organization which began its radio transmissions in 1922 and television broadcasts began in 1953. The whole collection is made up of five channels, each of which is a representative of the different official languages of Switzerland. These five channels are:

1. Romansh: Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR),
2. German: Schweizer Radio und Fernshen (SRF),
3. Italian: Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI),
4. French: Radio television Suisse (RTS),
5. Swissinfo: A news platform which broadcasts in ten different languages.

This association represents the system of government followed in Switzerland. The country has four recognized languages of the state which are German, Italian, French and Romansh. The country has a direct democracy where the people are directly responsible for formulating legislation and rules which affect them.

The organization has headquarters in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. It also uses the initials ‘SBC’ or Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. It is a nonprofit conglomerate whose revenues are driven by the license fees which broadcasters pay to receive signals. The remaining is covered by payments from advertisers and funding from the government.

The Individual Channels and Programs

The channels which make up SRG SSR all cater to native audiences which speak the respective language. They cover almost every type of content there is. From news to sports, documentaries to culture, politics to entertainment and everything in between. Here is a breakdown of what each channel is about and the programs which air on them:

1. Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR): The first channel caters to Romansh speakers in Switzerland. This broadcaster has both radio as well as television transmissions. It doesn’t have a dedicated channel. Instead, the 150 hours of programming a week for RTR are aired by other channels by splitting them into a few hours per day. Most of the shows are in-house productions while others are purchased,
2. Schweizer Radio und Fernshen (SRF): This channel is for the citizens of Switzerland who speak German. The content is targeted generally towards all the people around the world who speak the language. SRF has six dedicated radio stations where one is for news only and the rest play various types of music like jazz, pop or electric etc. There are also three TV channels which again broadcast various kinds of programs,
3. Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI): The next channel is for the Italian speakers who live in Switzerland or anywhere else on the planet. The channel has three radio stations and two television channels. The radio broadcast mediums air general, cultural and youth-centered programs respectively while the television channels are for general shows (RSI La 1) and mostly sports (RSI La 2),
4. Radio-television Suisse (RTS): The fourth channel which is part of the SRG SSR collection is exclusively for the French speakers in the country. This channel also has four radio stations and 3 television channels which broadcast content divided along the same lines as the rest.
5. Swissinfo: This channel began on both radio and television like the others but in 2004, all other transmissions stopped and all resources were diverted towards the internet stream of this part of SRG SSR live. The ten languages in which this channel broadcast programs Japanese, English, Russian, French, Chinese, German, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Each of these channels has their own coverage areas with some available internationally while others are limited to Switzerland and its surroundings only.

SRG SSR membership

The association offers a membership program which is open to everyone. The members have a say in allowing SRG SSR to develop more programs which suit the audience tastes better. According to the organization’s website, there are currently over 24,000 members across the country helping them improve their services.

Conclusion

The whole concept of SRG SSR may sound complicated. This is because of the multiple channels and their subdivisions. It is a lot to get your head around. The whole thing becomes easier to understand by focusing attention on the channel which concerns the user.

Each channel has different areas in which it is available. Swissinfo is the only channel which is available worldwide through their website while the rest are restricted within the borders of Switzerland. In order to unlock these while you are traveling or living abroad, all you have to do is install Ivacy and relax.