How To Stream US Television Shows While Traveling Abroad in 2018

In this day and age, not being able to stream and binge-watch your favorite series whenever you want seems like a distant memory.

But if you happen to be travelling abroad, you might run into this exact problem in the form of: “‘unfortunately, this content is not available in your country.”

Fortunately, there is a way to get around this.Here, we discuss how to watch American TV shows abroad through the use of a USA VPN – a small application that is a frequent traveler’s best friend.

Why Do You Need a VPN?

There are several reasons why a VPN is needed to watch American TV overseas.

• Geo-Restrictions
  Some streaming services limit where some of the shows in their catalog can be viewed. This can be for legal reasons or because of licensing agreements that the service has with other broadcasting and production companies. They have contracts in place that stipulate exactly where content can be seen
• Pricing Contracts
  Money is another reason for streaming services to curtail where their shows can be seen. Companies like Netflix charge different amounts in different countries
• Government Censorship
  In countries with stringent media policies and censorship laws, inhabitants are committing an illegal offense by watching shows that would be banned under that country’s censorship policy. This is an issue in countries like Russia or China
• Illegal Content
  In a similar vein, but one that is more widely understood around the world is a block on malicious or illegal content. This could be due to the content being inappropriate but also because it could contain hidden viruses that wreak havoc on personal computers and their subsequent wider net.

Having a VPN means you can navigate around these restraints, while also staying safe online.

What Is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.

They were created as a way of providing added security to both public and private networks. VPNs help users to send and receive information as if they were directly connected to a private network without the actual physical need to be.

VPNs work for streaming different shows on the internet, therefore, by making your computer look like it is connected to a server in a country, where the content you want is allowed.

More specifically, VPN providers help unblock TV and music by reading your own IP address, which gives your computer’s location. Using the IP address, the streaming service then decides whether streaming to that location is allowed.

It is at this point that a VPN provider enables a connection to a streaming service through its own server, using an allowable IP address. If you want to watch US TV outside the US, your VPN provider will connect you to a US server.

What Makes a Good VPN?

In order to stream American TV shows while traveling abroad, you’ll need the very best VPN. Watching online TV streaming through a VPN will only ever be as good as the VPN provider is.

So what makes a good VPN given that there are countless providers on the internet at the moment?

When we were reviewing our top 7 VPN providers, we considered a number of factors.

• Connection Speed
  Watching your favorite US TV series in chunks of 5-minute intervals so that your show can reload and buffer, is perhaps one of the greatest first world problems out there. A fast VPN is imperative to stop this from occurring
• Number of Servers
  The more servers a VPN provider offers, the more easily it can connect you so that you can start to stream TV shows quickly
• Server Location
  It is no good signing up to a VPN provider that does not have a server in the US as this will making watching American TV overseas impossible. The same is true if you want to watch UK TV shows online – your VPN provider will need a UK server
• Privacy
  Staying anonymous whilst online is important to most people these days so we examined the logging policies, encryption, and confidentiality of providers when weighing up the best ways to watch TV from other countries online
• Price
  Considering the cost comes into any online purchase, not least for a service that you will repeatedly pay for if the service is good enough. You can, of course, get VPN providers that offer their services for free, but this often comes at the price of speed as well as your anonymity and security VPNs do not have to cost a lot- making watching American TV in Europe via the internet a very real possibility.

Choosing the Best VPN to Stream US TV Abroad

Now that you understand how to watch US TV from outside the US, check out our top picks for those much-needed VPNs.

#1 ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN often tops the charts of VPN providers, and for good reason. It allows for streaming blocked content from many locations to pretty much whatever country you are in. It has a robust security policy in place meaning you can be confident that your privacy is in safe hands whilst using the application.

Importantly, it has servers in a massive 94 countries across the globe. The number of actual servers it has is over 2000, which means that it is extremely fast and it offers unlimited bandwidth with absolutely no throttling involved.

Additionally, it offers a 30-day money back guarantee, making it hard to beat.

Price

• $12.95/month for one month
• $9.99/month for six months
• $8.32/month for twelve months

Sign up with ExpressVPN here.

#2 Cyberghost

Cyberghost is pretty close to ExpressVPN in the service it provides and if you sign up for 12 months, it certainly is an attractive offer at just $2.75 a month. When compared to ExpressVPN, it only has a slightly lower number of server locations worldwide, and slightly slower speeds to stream TV shows.

However, it is still pretty fastand is also very safe and secure, so it’s a dependable option for those streaming TV in Mexico or anywhere else life takes you. For those interested in the technology, CyberGhost has an incredible 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch and stringent DNS and IP policies so that logging into NetFlix anywhere in the world is possible.

It also offers a 30-day money back guarantee which gives you time to see whether its 1,100 servers in 59 countries are enough for your online streaming TV needs. They also offer a 7 day free trial with no restrictions to see if it works for you with its unlimited bandwidth and P2P file sharing options.

Price

• $11.99/month for one month.
• $9.99/month for 3 months.
• $2.75/month for 12 months.

Sign up with Cyberghost here.

#3 NordVPN

NordVPN’s longer subscription offers are very good value when the provider’s speed is taken into account. It can just about rival ExpressVPN in terms of quality given that it has nearly 4000 servers dotted around the world.

In addition to its highly reputable speed its service is one of the most secure, as well as having a money back guarantee if you are not happy after a month of use. This is a great option for all those who want to watch American TV overseas.

Price

• $11.95/month for one month
• $5.75/month for 12 months
• $3.29/month for two years

Sign up with NordVPN here.

#4 HideMyAss

HideMyAss is a quality offering that has excellent customer service due to its live chat options as well as email support. In practical terms, it also allows USA TV shows, or any other nation’s TV shows, to be streamed from pretty much anywhere in the world.

It has servers in over 190 countries around the globe and, more unusually, it allows customers to connect to up to five devices at the same time.

Its service relies on its excellent encryption techniques, but it also has a user-friendly interface for the application so it is very easy to use. Customers also have unlimited usage when they subscribe to HideMyAss.

HideMyAss also offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

Price

• $11.99/month for one month
• $7.99/month for six months
• $6.99/month for twelve months

Sign up with HideMyAss here.

#5 SaferVPN

Whilst SaferVPN does not have as many servers as some of the names on our top picks list, it still manages to ensure a high connection speed through the 700 servers it does have located around the world. This also allows for unlimited VPN server switching to ensure a smooth service when watching your favorite TV shows online.

Server switching also makes certain that censorship blocks are never an issue, nor the more normal geo-blocking difficulties that can sometimes affect those wanting to watch American TV in Europe via the internet.

SaferVPN has a handful of other great features along with the usual 30-day money back guarantee. For example, it has a no-logs policy, along with multiple device support and high-grade encryption.

Price

• $8.99/month for one month
• $5.49/month for a year
• $3.29/month for two years

Sign up with SaferVPN here.

#6 PrivateVPN

For those that want unbelievably quick connection times, PrivateVPN should at least be considered. Along with its quick connectivity, it also offers unlimited bandwidth to its customers making it a very attractive option.

Like SaferVPN, it too has a no-logs policy but it also is suitable for use across all OS devices. It has fewer servers than some of its competitors, however, the service it is able to provide off the back of this small group is excellent.

Again, the company offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

Price

• $7.67 for one month
• $5.25/month for three months
• $3.88 for thirteen months today

Sign up with PrivateVPN here.

#7 IPVanish

With over 40,000 IP addresses, IPVanish can hold its own against its competitors. It offers unlimited bandwidth as standard along with comprehensive encryption and no traffic logging.

Given that it has over 1000 servers in over 60 countries around the world, its connection speed is quick enough to allow for stress-free TV viewing when abroad.

Like SaferVPN and HideMyAss, IPVanish allows users to connect to five devices at the same time, while offering a 7-day money back guarantee.

Price

• $10 for one month
• $8.99/month for three months
• $6.49/month for twelve months

Sign up with IPVanish here.

Is It Worthwhile?

A VPN is not only worthwhile, but necessary and invaluable if you want to stream US television shows or movies from abroad.