How to Watch American TV in Australia
Chris
Chris, a UK-born media connoisseur, is an expert in watching international TV. Known as "The Global Screen Wanderer", he has travelled extensively across the globe with long stints away from home. With over 10 years of experience he has become the go-to guru for streaming content from home and abroad.
In this guide we’re going to show you the easiest way to watch American TV in Australia with no complicated set-up and you certainly won’t need a degree in rocket science to achieve it.
If you’re an Australian and you love American TV or you’re an American travelling in Australia and want to access TV back home then you’re probably disappointed to find most online TV services blocked.
If you visit most online TV networks such as CBS, ABC, Netflix US then they know that you’re in Australia and not the United States so block you from viewing.
Read below to find out how you can bypass those blocks and watch American TV in Australia.
How to Watch American TV in Australia
When you visit any American TV network online to watch the first thing they do is check your internet connection to see what country you’re in.
When they see you’re in Australia they block you with a message similar to the following:
An example of a block message you may see.
To bypass this block all you need is a tool called a VPN.
Follow the instructions below where we’ll show you where to get a VPN, how to use it and ultimately how you can watch American TV in Australia.
How to Watch American TV in Australia:
- Visit the VPN provider ExpressVPN by clicking here.
- Click Get ExpressVPN and sign-up to their service.
- Go back to the main ExpressVPN website and click Products.
- Download the software for your Windows, Mac, Android or Apple device.
- Install, run and login to the software or app.
- Press Choose Location and select United States.
- Press Connect.
Stream US TV in Australia.
It doesn’t take much time at all for the ExpressVPN software or app to get connected and after about 15 to 30 seconds it should inform you that it has connected.
Now you’re connected to the United States anything you do on the internet will think that you’re in America.
This means any US TV websites like CBS, ABC or Netflix will now think you’re in America. Rather than be blocked like before you’ll be able to stream any TV show or movie you want.
This works will almost any online TV stream from America. It will even work for accessing American Netflix which not all VPN providers do.
Other VPN Services for American TV
There are other VPN services available and you don’t need to just select ExpressVPN.
They’re our recommended provider as we found them to be the fastest, one of the easiest and they’re also competitive on price.
If however you want to look around at other available options the following three providers are also a good place to start.
The process is exactly the same as ExpressVPN above. All you need to do is visit the VPN provider’s website. Sign-up for their service, download their software or app for your device and connect to the United States.
You’re then free to watch American TV in Australia or anywhere else in the world.
How you’re blocked from watching in the first place
Every internet connection is given something known as an IP Address.
An IP Address is like a phone number, it’s unique to your internet connection at the time you’re connected.
When you visit a website the IP Address helps that website know who visited and where to send all the bits of information.
One negative is that an IP Address also reveals your location so any website you visit knows what country you’re in.
In the case of American TV websites they know you’re in Australia. With the service being intended only for those in America they block you.
A VPN works by changing your IP Address to one from another country. In this case one from America which is why a VPN allows you to watch American TV in Australia.
American TV Networks
There are plenty of online American TV networks and a quick search of Google will probably give you more than we can list here.
A few to get you started are (some may require a subscription to the service):
