How to watch NBC Outside the US
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 article I’m going to teach you how to watch NBC outside the US. NBC is one of the largest broadcasters in the United States and if you haven’t looked at the selection of shows available then you’re in for a treat.
For those of you who are originally from the US but traveling outside, you’ll know the selection NBC offer but if you’re not from the US and want to access NBC then they have a massive range of shows.
For those who like reality TV it’s the network to watch shows like The Voice and America’s Got Talent. If you’re more into drama then Shades of Blue, Law and Order or Heroes Reborn might be more to your liking.
Regardless of what your choice of show is the fact is NBC have a big choice of quality programming and accessing that outside the US directly just isn’t possible.
Luckily there is a way to watch NBC anywhere in the world so if you’re a US expat or there is a show you want to watch on NBC but you don’t live in the States then keep reading as I’m going to show you the quickest and most convenient way to watch NBC Outside the US.
How to watch NBC Outside the US
When you visit the NBC website it checks your internet connection to see where you’re located. When it realises you’re not in the United States it’ll block you and rather than see the video you want to watch you’ll be left hanging with a blank screen or a message letting you know that you’re not in the correct region.
An example of a block message you may see.
You’re probably wondering how NBC even know where you’re located, right?
Each internet connection broadcasts its location to the websites that you access. It can’t pinpoint you down to your very house but it can locate you within a certain area quite close to your location and at the very least it can definitely determine what country you’re in.
To watch NBC outside the US you want to mask your location and the way to do this is to use a VPN service.
A VPN service is a completely legal tool that businesses use to both protect their privacy and access sensitive files remotely.
A by-product of a VPN service is it allows you to mask your location and virtually reside in another country.
When you use a VPN to virtually reside in the United States NBC allow you to access their shows because they think you are in the United States.
Where can I get a VPN to watch NBC Outside the US
To watch NBC outside the US you need to sign up to a VPN provider that offers a United States server. This is critical because to watch NBC you want to appear as if you are in the US.
Good VPN providers usually cost around $5 – $10 per month depending on how long you sign up for, the longer you decide to sign up with them the cheaper the price. Anything over $10 per month is best avoiding.
The last consideration is speed and this is more difficult to find out. You need a fast VPN service to beam video all the way to your location from the US so speed is critical.
I’ve been testing VPN providers to find the best for this purpose and found ExpressVPN to be the best with the three below being the overall best choices.
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What do I do now?
Once you’ve signed up to one of the providers above it’s time to watch NBC outside the US.
The first thing to know is VPN services do work on phones and tablets but you’ll need the NBC app installed first. I’ll be guiding you through the process on a Windows system using ExpressVPN but if you have a Mac then the process is identical. The software from the other providers may look slightly different but the theory is the same.
- First download the ExpressVPN app from their website.
- Open the app and login or activate it when required.
- Press Selected Location (1).
- Then press United States (2).
- The app should connect automatically for you but if not press Connect.
Stream NBC anywhere.
Now you’re connected visit the NBC website and browse through their selection of shows. You can watch as many as you want and disconnect and reconnect to the VPN service as much as you wish.
There is nothing more to it, you’re now free to watch NBC outside the US when you want!
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Image courtesy of winnond at FreeDigitalPhotos.net