How to Watch Dutch & Belgian TV Abroad in 2026

Written by Euroskara Support Desk · Published 12 October 2026

The Low Countries share a language and a border but not a television schedule, and that is the quirk this guide is built around. A Dutch family in Spain misses NPO and RTL; a Flemish couple in France misses VRT and VTM; and plenty of households straddle both, with roots on either side of the Dutch–Belgian line. Rather than treat them separately, Euroskara groups the two together, so one subscription can keep both television cultures on the same screen wherever in Europe you have landed.

Two countries, one subscription

This is the detail that sets the region apart. Most expat TV questions are about a single country; here the honest answer is usually “both”. A mixed Dutch–Belgian household wants Thuis from the south and the NOS news from the north on the same remote, and a single Euroskara plan carries channels from both without a second account or a second bill. The country-by-country structure means Dutch and Flemish channels sit side by side, and you simply scroll between them. There is a nice symmetry to it: the shared language means a Dutch viewer can happily watch a Flemish programme and vice versa, so grouping them is not a compromise but a genuinely bigger line-up for everyone in the house. You can preview how the grouping is laid out on the channels page.

The Dutch channels: NPO and RTL Nederland

From the Netherlands, the public broadcaster leads with NPO 1, NPO 2 and NPO 3, carrying the NOS news, the current-affairs programmes, documentaries and the national schedule people grew up with. The commercial side is anchored by RTL Nederland — RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7 and the rest — for entertainment, series, talent shows and reality formats. Together they cover the bulk of what a Dutch viewer reaches for on an ordinary evening, from the eight o’clock Journaal to the Saturday-night shows the whole country talks about on Monday.

The Belgian channels: VRT and VTM

South of the border, Flemish television has its own rhythm. VRT’s networks — één, Canvas and the Ketnet children’s strand among them — provide the public-service news, culture and youth programming, while VTM leads the commercial Flemish offering with its drama, quizzes and entertainment. For Walloon viewers, French-language Belgian channels can be found in the French grouping instead. The point of listing Dutch and Flemish channels together is that neither community has to settle for the other’s schedule; both are present at once, and a household with a foot in each simply flips between them.

The shared TV moments that pull a household together

Some evenings the whole of the Low Countries watches the same thing, and those are precisely the nights you feel the distance when you are abroad. The Eurovision Song Contest — the songfestival — is a fixture in Dutch and Flemish living rooms alike, as are the big talent finals, the New Year’s shows and a deep run by the national team at a tournament. The value of carrying both countries’ main channels is that these communal moments arrive live, on the proper channel, at the time the rest of the family back home is watching — not as a clip the next morning once everyone has already spoiled the ending in the group chat.

Eredivisie, the Pro League and European nights

Football matters on both sides of the border, and the rivalries rarely overlap. Euroskara includes the channels that carry the Eredivisie in each country for followers of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, and the channels that show Belgium’s Pro League for supporters of Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Gent and Genk. When the Dutch and Belgian clubs meet European opposition, those nights sit in the same place, as do the national teams’ qualifiers and the friendlies that fill an international break. Cycling is close to a second religion across the Low Countries, so the spring classics and the Grand Tours draw their own devoted audience, and the speed skating fills the winter for Dutch viewers in particular. The sports hub shows how both leagues and these seasonal favourites fit into the wider European calendar, and fans who also follow England can glance at the Premier League and Champions League guide.

News and current affairs from the north and south

Daily news is often the real reason the television goes on at all. From the Netherlands, the NOS Journaal and the current-affairs programmes keep you on top of Dutch politics, the weather that still somehow matters when you have left, and the stories your family back home are talking about. From Belgium, the VRT news and VTM’s bulletins do the same for Flemish viewers, with their own take on the issues that cross the border and the ones that do not. Because both run live on their proper schedules, a Dutch pensioner in the Spanish sun and a Flemish family in the French countryside each get the eight o’clock news at eight o’clock, not as yesterday’s clip. For anyone who likes to keep a foot in home affairs, having both countries’ news in one guide is quietly one of the service’s most-used features.

Holiday homes in France and Spain

A good share of the Dutch and Belgian demand for home television comes not from permanent expats but from the enormous number who own or rent a place in the sun. The Dutch and the Belgians are among Europe’s keenest holiday-home owners, with caravans, villas and flats dotted across France, Spain and Portugal. For a property used a few weeks a year, a year-round cable contract makes no sense, yet a blank or foreign-only television sours the stay, especially on a rainy afternoon when the children want something familiar. An app-based line-up solves it neatly: load it onto the TV at the holiday place, watch your own channels while you are there, and there is no box gathering dust or bill ticking over while the shutters are closed.

Films, kids’ TV and on-demand

Beyond live channels, the on-demand catalogue runs to 120,000+ films and series. For families this is where the children’s programming earns its keep — Ketnet and the Dutch kids’ strands help little ones keep the language abroad — while the grown-ups have Dutch and Flemish cinema, drama and series to start when the evening quietens down. Everything plays in the original Dutch, not dubbed into the language of wherever you now live, which is half the reason diaspora families bother at all. The on-demand side also suits the odd hours expat life throws up: a parent working late can still start a Flemish drama at eleven, and a child off school can watch Ketnet in the morning without waiting for the live schedule to come round.

The devices that run it

Euroskara is software, so it fits the equipment you already own. Android TV and Google TV users generally settle on TiviMate for its programme guide; Apple households use the free Smarters Player Lite on Apple TV, iPhone or iPad; and a reasonably modern Samsung (Tizen 6.5 or later) or LG (webOS 3.0 or later) runs Smart IPTV directly on the set. If you are shopping for a new streaming stick, avoid the latest Fire TV Stick 4K Select, which uses Vega OS and cannot sideload players — an older Fire OS stick or an Android box is the simpler path. One login works across whatever devices your plan includes, and the stream arrives in 4K, FHD or HD to match the channel and your connection.

Prices in euros and a free trial

Everything is billed in euros. A single device starts at €15 a month, and the twelve-month plan brings that down to about €5.75 a month at €69 for the year. Households that want NPO on one television and VRT on another at the same time can choose a multi-device plan; the complete breakdown is on the pricing page. You can see it working first through the free 24-hour trial on the trial page, and every plan is backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee. The fastest way to get set up is a quick note — send a WhatsApp to the support desk, which will sort the right plan and player for your TV. Polish neighbours with the same need can read the Polish TV abroad guide, which follows the same idea.

Frequently asked questions

Can one subscription cover both Dutch and Belgian channels?

Yes. Euroskara groups Dutch and Flemish channels together, so NPO and RTL Nederland sit alongside VRT and VTM under a single plan — there is no need for two accounts to watch both.

Are the Flemish children’s channels included?

Ketnet and the Dutch children’s strands feature in the line-up, which many families abroad use to keep the language alive at home. The WhatsApp team can confirm specific channels before you subscribe.

Will I get both the Eredivisie and the Belgian Pro League?

Euroskara carries the channels that broadcast each league in the country you are in, so followers of either can find their matches in the guide. Our sports hub sets out how both leagues sit in the season’s calendar.

Do I need Belgian or Dutch hardware?

No. There is no set-top box to import from either country. The service runs over your internet connection on the Android, Apple, Samsung or LG device you already use abroad.

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