How to watch US cable channels from abroad

We’re big fans of delivering TV services from other countries to anyone who wants access to them. We’ll help you bypass the blocks and show you how to pay for services in other countries to get you up and running. But what if you’re temporarily away from home and want to check in with your daily diet of entertainment shows, games and matches, news, and more?

Well, you’ve paid your subscriptions to the cable and satellite services, so you’re entitled to use them, right?

Wrong!

Sadly, accessing all the shows and channels that you’re used to soaking up on a daily basis is more to do with where you are than what you pay for.

You’ve paid for US cable; why can’t you watch it from abroad?

The issue behind blocked access to your usual TV habits is all down to licensing regulations. Because distributors and program creators sell or lease their shows to clients in various global markets—selling the same shows or channels to different networks or services—it creates an issue of who can show what and where.

There has been a little movement recently where services subscribers can log into other regions and countries, but these have mostly been within European access rulings. Because it’s relatively easy to set up accounts from alternative global locations, the standard way of segmenting viewing regions is set to stay, using geolocation tracking and blocking.

How does it work? Every device has an IP address that alerts the servers to where it is. Woe-betide anyone visiting another country that shows an IP outside their usual location, as they’ll suffer the blocks in just the same way as the natives who live in that region.

But you’re missing games and matches you’ve paid for! That’s just not fair, is it?

No. We don’t think it is. That’s one of the reasons we developed StreamLocator. Whether you’re at home or away, we think you should be able to watch exactly what you want.

So, here’s how we help you get around the blocks.

Use your subscription sign-in details to access the online options of all your favourite channels

When you sign up for your chosen satellite or cable provider, many have an online platform where you can watch all the shows, channels, and broadcasts online. Most have apps available for every device you can think of; a few still only offer access through their websites, but it's access all the same.

Better still, each of the channels that bundle into your satellite or cable subscription operate their own streaming services, and almost all of them allow their satellite and cable subscribers to sign in to their services too.

You’ll have to do a little research to find out which streaming services allow your cable or satellite login to make sure that your favourites are accessible, yet that doesn’t get you past the location blocks that the geolocation trackers put in place.

StreamLocator defies the laws of geography!

It’s not magic—just an excellent bit of smart tech. Our StreamLocator smart hub allocates you with a virtual location, making you appear to be back home in the States where your satellite or cable provider needs you.

With that taken care of, everything works just as it usually would.

Whether you’re overseas on holiday, an ex-pat visiting home, or you’re working abroad for the duration of a contract; there’s no reason to miss the latest episodes of all your favourite shows.

5 more outstanding reasons to use StreamLocator

Once you sign up to StreamLocator, gaining access to the shows back home, you’ll soon find out there’s far more to our superb little smart hub that meets the eye.

Here are 5 of our subscribers’ favourite reasons for signing up to our service.

1. Forget about regional game blackouts

When it comes to the big four sports in the US and Canada, fans know all about how annoying it is working with in-market and out-of-market games. Why you can’t access all your team’s games in one place is such a headache.

Headache, you say? Not any more. StreamLocator takes care of those location issues so that you can access every game of the season, all from one provider.

For example, take a look at our walkthroughs to watch the NHL hockey without all the blackout fuss. We’ve got solutions for football, basketball, and baseball too.

2. Access bigger and better international catalogues

You subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime, but you know as well as we do that no two countries’ catalogues are created equal. Each of them holds different rights to different shows and movies, often with local speciality viewing unavailable elsewhere.

Well, we’ve cracked plenty of different countries catalogues, now, allowing you to switch between them for the best of each.

You can read our walkthroughs about accessing services in alternative countries on our support site. We’ve made it as easy as we can for our subscribers, just like the rest of our operation.

3. Watch more sport than you could dream of

National sports rights are more expensive in their native country than abroad. This means that accessing them at home often means subscribing to a premium channel, or worse still, two or three of them if you want access to every game or match.

When it comes to sports, StreamLocator has cracked several awesome sports channels that not only grant access to the entire season’s games but often at a fraction of the cost. Whether you want to watch the NBA, NHL, MLB, or NFL from the States, or any of the European football leagues, we’ve got channels that cover the lot—hassle-free and low-cost.

4. Ditch the cable and cut the cord

More and more American and Canadian viewers are ditching the traditional satellite and cable subscriptions and cutting the cord. With plenty of online live and on-demand services covering all the channels and networks and without having to opt into a long-term commitment at a fraction of the cost, it seems like a no-brainer.

But what has StreamLocator got to do with that? Instead of just cutting the cord to traditional services, you’re opening up to worldwide bundles and packages. No longer are you limited to your home TV networks; you'll have masses of choice from every corner of the globe.

5. Access free TV services from all over the world

Viewers in the States often have to pay for specialist channels delivering the content they love. A lot of that content is licensed to the US channels for a fee, where, in their native countries, they’re often free to view.

With StreamLocator in place, your world opens up, and all the free content you were once blocked from becomes available. We know how much American viewers love cult British viewing; BBC iPlayer, All4, ITV Hub, and My5 all stream for free with StreamLocator—and that’s only some of the UK content!