These days in North Cyprus you can have pretty much anything you like in the way of television, ranging from local channels to satellite packages. Below are the main options available to you.
There are local channels which can be viewed via a small ariel installation such as BRT 1, 2 and 3, part of the Bayrak International Group of media companies, which broadcasts English speaking programmes.
There are plenty of choices on the satellite side of things, one of which is Digiturk. You can choose from a standard package which includes movie channels, sport channels, news channels and drama channels, to which you can add more sports, movie and comedy channels for an extra fee each month. At the time of writing a basic family package is around 40ytl but prices do change, and you will need to rent the satellite box at a one-off cost of around 75ytl, and you would need to return this box if you ever cancelled the service.
All you do to get connected is pop to Digiturk’s offices or a branch of electrical retailer Tektan, located around the island in main town centres, to organise an installation which usually only takes a few days. You can then pay upfront for either 6 months or a year, or pay monthly – whichever suits you. The installer will take your credit card details in case you miss a payment though! They also now have a website for North Cyprus – Digiturk Kıbrıs.
One man we can point you to if you want SKY is Mustafa Ozhakki, aka The Iceman, who is one of the most skilled hardware technicians and satellite installers around. Many will know him from chat forums and his website. To find out all about the s
ervices and tailor-made packages that the Iceman can supply visit his website: – http://www.skycyprus.com/ or you can email him on info@skycyprus.com or skycyprus@gmail.com or you can call him on +90 533 861 0329 or +90 392 815 2195 or his SKYPE name is skycyprus – he really is the answer to all your television prayers, and his packages start at just £17, after installation that is!
Other television options are Showtime, which offers a subscription package which includes movies, sports & general entertainment. This will set you back around £550 a year and installation and equipment costs on top of that. You can also have a box which can be used to connect via the internet, such a service is 
usually on a pay per view basis, but most certainly you will need a good internet package to ensure quality of connection. You can also check through Cyprus Today as there are more and more companies offering satellite services with UK channels springing up all the time.
Finally, you might not be aware that you can sign up to watch TV, including your favourite soaps, on the internet for free! www.uknova.com and www.thebox.bz – these are both what we guess you would call ‘file sharing’ – both services offer free downloads upon registration, featuring programmes donated by users, so if you need to catch up with Eastenders or Corrie then you are sure to find them here! Again, you will need a very stable internet connection as the downloads can be pretty big.
There are even further options, some of which may be deemed to be unethical or even illegal, but we think we have mentioned enough to give you a good idea of what’s available on the television front! Whatever your requirements are just make sure you do your homework, as installation costs can vary from free to £500 and sometimes more.
