It can often seem as if the Americans get the best TV. And also that they get it first, before it appears on streaming and broadcast networks across the rest of the world. This may be a symptom of how much TV content is produced in the States, or perhaps a measure of how much is watched there.
Whatever the mechanism behind it, being locked out of watching US TV can be a frustrating matter, especially in the days of internet streaming video when we expect the latest shows to be at our fingertips, instantly. Happily, there’s a way to at least attempt to circumvent these restrictions, and that’s to use a VPN.
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What a VPN can do is hide your IP address, replacing it with one of its own. And with servers in countries across the world, including in the USA, a VPN can make it seem as if you’re browsing from the States, potentially unlocking region-locked US TV streaming for you.
Getting yourself a US IP address (the numeric identifier you’re assigned when you browse the internet) is key to watching US streaming TV. Services such as Hulu and Netflix segment their content depending on the rights they have to show it, which may not be worldwide. Blocks of IP addresses are allotted to ISPs in particular countries, and a record is kept of this. Try to access a US-only service from an IP address that’s not from the US, and you’ll be locked out, or allowed to watch only content that the service has worldwide rights to.
The trick is to use a VPN server that hasn’t been flagged as such by the streaming provider. This can be tricky, and can mean a little trial and error as you try different combinations of VPN providers and server locations. Eventually, however, it should be possible to get in. You’ll also have to make sure that your browser isn’t leaking location information about you, for example by disabling location services in Windows.
Get up to speed
It’s worth subscribing to a VPN if you’re going to try to watch US streaming TV through your browser in this way, as free services not only won’t allow you to choose the particular location of your server, but also can throttle the speed at which your data comes through. Streaming requires a minimum of around 5Mbps for HD content, and you’ll want to bump that up to 15Mbps for 4K. While these are attainable through an average UK internet connection, using a VPN can add an overhead to this and slow things down, so make sure you’re getting a decent speed before you try streaming.
When it all comes together, you’ll be able to access geo-restricted content on US streaming services, and even some local and national broadcast TV channels that are cast over the internet. All by taking the simple step of using a VPN.