The key omission from JSTV-i’s service is any way to record or catch up on programmes. There’s some sport, too – including huge, multi-hour chunks of Sumo – although rights issues mean that sport clips are often missing from evening news broadcasts. Although related to NHK, JSTV also runs shows from other networks (notably TV Tokyo and Fuji TV), and the overall service is broadly similar to a mainstream BBC channel: morning programming, kids’ shows both before and after school, news broadcasts, documentaries (mainly NHK) and drama – including NHK’s flagship asadora, if you have a couple of dozen hours to sink into one.

The key advantage of JSTV-i for someone learning Japanese as a second language is the breadth of its programming. The interface is similarly good on an iPhone – again, picture in picture worked well for me – and it’s possible to stream via Airplay to an Apple TV the result is good quality.

You can choose from a range of video quality settings, with the best being decent HD quality, and on my Mac I was able to view both fullscreen and as a picture-in-picture window. When I first reviewed the service the browser-based stream was a bit poor, but in 2020 this is very much improved. It’s viewable via a website on PC/Mac or on iOS devices.

JSTV-i allows you to view a livestream of the two JSTV channels: JSTV1 and JSTV2, both of which now broadcast 24/7. You can receive it in the UK and Europe for a fee of £30 / €50 per month – either via satellite (you’ll need a special setup, not the same as Sky/Freesat) or the internet service JSTV-i, which I tried. It’s run from London, but backers include the NHK public broadcasting organisation. Only JSTV covers the whole range of TV programming, from news to sports to the occasional film. If you want to watch Japanese TV in the UK – legally* – you have four options that I’ve found:ġ) JSTV (via satellite) or JSTV-i (streaming)Ģ) Crunchyroll (anime, with a handful of old drama series)ģ) Viki – around 40 drama series, very infrequently updatedĤ) Netflix – quite a lot of anime and also drama series, including some exclusives, alongside an assortment of Japanese cinema Updated November 2020 – Since I first wrote this six years ago, a few things have changed so I’ve tested out the JSTV-i service again and updated this post accordingly, below.

How to watch japanese tv in uk