Anyone who has tried to watch sports on their iPhone, iPad or laptop while travelling abroad will know that their favourite TV channels are often blocked. This can be very frustrating when you want to watch a big Champions League soccer game, an NFL/NBA game or a big horse race like the Grand National or the Melbourne Cup.
When TV Networks buy a particular sporting event (or TV Show or Movie) they are only buying the rights for a particular geographic region. For this reason they are required to block users from other countries viewing that particular game, match or tournament.
What a lot of people don’t realise is that it is very easy by-pass these restrictions by using a VPN service. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and what these services do is create a secure channel from your iPhone or iPad’s internet connection to various locations around the world. When you use a VPN you experience the web in the same way that people in those countries experience the web.
Two of my favourite sports are cricket and snooker. Unfortunately, the BBC iPlayer is only available in the United Kingdom so I am not able to watch live streams in the United States. To circumvent this restriction I use a VPN that will connect me to a network in the UK so that I use the BBC iPlayer or Channel 4 On Demand apps. When I’m home in the UK I use a VPN to connect me to a U.S. network so that I can catch up on all my favourite TV programs on Hulu and Netflix.
This might sound very techy and complicated but believe me it’s not. Setting up and using VPN services is very straightforward and easy to do. There are literally hundreds of VPN services out there for you to choose from. I have personally tried about 10 different VPN’s over the past few years but I would just like to feature the two best VPN apps that I’ve found so far.
TunnelBear - www.tunnelbear.com
This is my favourite VPN by far and here’s why...
Half a gig free every month - If you are only a very light user and would only need to use a VPN occasionally then this is the perfect option for you. TunnelBear offer each subscriber half a gig of bandwidth free every month.
It’s really cheap - TunnelBear is the cheapest quality VPN I have found so far. An unlimited bandwidth subscription for a month costs only $5 while their yearly package comes in at just $50. A real bargin.
It's simple to use - If you are a technophobe but you really want to watch your favourite boxing match or football game on your iPhone or iPad, then TunnelBear is for you. The user interface resembles an old transistor radio and it has only 2 switches. One to turn the VPN on and off and the other to select the country you would like to connect to.
The only downside to TunnelBear is that you can currently only connect to networks in the United Kingdom and United States. If you want to watch TV shows in Australia or Canada for example, you will need to find another solution.
Here is a video I found that does a much better job than me at demonstrating just how great TunnelBear is...
When TV Networks buy a particular sporting event (or TV Show or Movie) they are only buying the rights for a particular geographic region. For this reason they are required to block users from other countries viewing that particular game, match or tournament.
What a lot of people don’t realise is that it is very easy by-pass these restrictions by using a VPN service. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and what these services do is create a secure channel from your iPhone or iPad’s internet connection to various locations around the world. When you use a VPN you experience the web in the same way that people in those countries experience the web.
Two of my favourite sports are cricket and snooker. Unfortunately, the BBC iPlayer is only available in the United Kingdom so I am not able to watch live streams in the United States. To circumvent this restriction I use a VPN that will connect me to a network in the UK so that I use the BBC iPlayer or Channel 4 On Demand apps. When I’m home in the UK I use a VPN to connect me to a U.S. network so that I can catch up on all my favourite TV programs on Hulu and Netflix.
This might sound very techy and complicated but believe me it’s not. Setting up and using VPN services is very straightforward and easy to do. There are literally hundreds of VPN services out there for you to choose from. I have personally tried about 10 different VPN’s over the past few years but I would just like to feature the two best VPN apps that I’ve found so far.
TunnelBear - www.tunnelbear.com
This is my favourite VPN by far and here’s why...
Half a gig free every month - If you are only a very light user and would only need to use a VPN occasionally then this is the perfect option for you. TunnelBear offer each subscriber half a gig of bandwidth free every month.
It’s really cheap - TunnelBear is the cheapest quality VPN I have found so far. An unlimited bandwidth subscription for a month costs only $5 while their yearly package comes in at just $50. A real bargin.
It's simple to use - If you are a technophobe but you really want to watch your favourite boxing match or football game on your iPhone or iPad, then TunnelBear is for you. The user interface resembles an old transistor radio and it has only 2 switches. One to turn the VPN on and off and the other to select the country you would like to connect to.
The only downside to TunnelBear is that you can currently only connect to networks in the United Kingdom and United States. If you want to watch TV shows in Australia or Canada for example, you will need to find another solution.
Here is a video I found that does a much better job than me at demonstrating just how great TunnelBear is...
HideMyAss - www.HideMyAss.com
Hide My App is my second favourite iPhone and iPad VPN service and here’s why…
I was very impressed with HideMyAss because of the number of countries it covers. With HideMyAss you can watch your favourite sports in 42 countries, including the USA, UK, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Singapore, France, Romania, Australia, Turkey, Moldova, Finland, Brazil, Hungary, Japan, Panama, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Portugal, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Czech Republic, Ireland, Russia, Latvia, Egypt, India, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Greece, Serbia, Hong Kong, Estonia, Lithuania and Italy.
With the HideMyApp app you can watch any free to air channel with a live stream in any of these 42 countries. Unfortunately, it is a little more expensive than TunnelBear, coming in at $12 a month or $79 for a year. That still represents really great value if you really want to watch the Cheltenham Racing Festival or Royal Ascot on Channel 4/BBC or if you want to catch an NBA or NFL game in the States.
As I mentioned already, there are dozens if not hundreds of different services out there, so if neither of these meet your requirements, then I’m sure there are plently out there that will.
Sports fanatics may also want to check out our article on How to Watch Any Sport for Free on the iPhone or iPad
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