This page is designed to help when choosing a satellite dish size as it shows in which parts of Europe channels can be viewed, and the approximate dish sizes needed. It is meant as a guide as it cannot be 100% accurate. For more help and advice please feel free to Contact Us.
Footprints?
The Astra 2 (Sky) system consists of 3 satellites close together in space so that your dish will see all of them as if they were a single unit. All 3 transmit signals aimed at Europe but the coverage on the ground varies considerably. The 2 older satellites, 2A and 2B have two beams each; a North and South and can be thought of as flood lights, lighting up a huge area of Europe, whereas the newer Astra 2D is more like a spot light focused on the British Isles.
For the sake of convenience the signals are referred to as the north beam, south beam and narrow beam (or more usually just the 2F beam). All 3 beams cover the UK so all channels are viewable if you have the appropriate Sky contract. However, as you travel further away from the UK, some channels can only be obtained with a large dish.
Will I be able to receive the BBC's & ITV's?
Of the terrestrial channels the first to be lost will be ITV1 and the BBC both of which transmit on Astra 2F, the narrow beam, and once you get down into Spain or Italy you'll also begin to lose Channel 4 and Five (on the north beam).
Many of the Sky channels transmit on the south beam and therefore can be received in virtually all of Europe except for northern Scandinavia and parts of Greece.
To illustrate this the maps below show the footprints of the three satellites. To get a full channel list please see our Channels page.
The 2F Beam
Astra 2F went live near the end of 2012 and so far the countries which have been affected the most are Northern Europe/Scandanvia who have noticed a large drop in signal or even a complete loss. Reports from France and Spain to date have reported only a little drop in signal strength but not the massive loss as was expected. Of course the touring season hasn't started yet so we will get a more accurate idea as the year progresses.
The 2A/2B North Beam:
The 2A/2B South Beam
