How to watch ITV abroad – step-by-step instructions
KEEN to watch ITV from outside the UK? It’s not easy.
But it’s not impossible either: read on to find out how to watch ITV abroad with our simple step-by-step instructions.
Any ITV content, whether that’s on-demand, catch-up or live, can be found on ITV Hub.
ITV Hub is an online streaming service where you can find every single one of the network’s channels – ITV, ITV2, ITVBe, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV – in one convenient place.
However, there’s a problem with watching anything on ITV Hub while you’re abroad: much like BBC iPlayer, the service isn’t available to access overseas.
This means that if you try to load ITV Hub from outside the UK, you’ll be met with a frustrating message: ‘Oop! Looks like there is a problem.’
This is far from ideal, especially if you don’t want to miss a second of I’m a Celebrity or Love Island.
However, there’s a simple enough workaround to this streaming issue, and that’s to download a VPN like ExpressVPN to your device.
VPNs offer a private connection that not only offers users extra levels of online security, but allows them to access geo-restricted content on streaming platforms (which is completely legal, by the way).
Curious? Read on to find out how to watch ITV abroad in five simple steps.
How to watch ITV abroad with a VPN
Using a VPN to access ITV Hub from abroad is actually incredible simple: we’ve laid the process out for you below with easy step-by-step instructions:
1. Purchase a VPN package from ExpressVPN.
2. Download the ExpressVPN app to your streaming device of choice.
3. In the app, make sure you select a UK-based server.
4. Head to ITV Hub and create an account. You should be able to access its content hassle-free!
ExpressVPN is a VPN service our tech experts have tried and tested.
To find out more, head to our in-depth ExpressVPN review.
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Can I watch live TV on ITV Hub?
ITV Hub isn’t just a catch-up service – you can also use it to watch live TV across all of the network’s channels.
There’s the occasional exception to this, when a show only has television rights and not online rights, but these are few and far between.
We explain how to watch live TV on ITV Hub in the section below.
How do I watch live TV on ITV Hub?
To watch live content on ITV Hub, make sure you’ve created an account (this is completely free of charge).
Then, head to the main page via your internet browser or the app on your streaming device.
In the navbar, select the ‘Watch live’ option, and from there, it’s just a case of selecting your channel of choice.
However, there are certain legal restrictions in place when watching ITV live from outside the UK, which we cover in the next section.
Do I need a TV licence to watch ITV abroad?
Not entirely, but there’s an exception and it’s a big one.
Most people in the UK will know that as a privately funded channel, ITV doesn’t receive any money from the licence-paying public.
But by law, if you watch any kind of live UK TV outside of the country, you need to make sure you’re paying for a UK TV licence.
While using VPNs to access UK TV abroad is completely legal, we urge all users to respect UK law while abroad and would never condone any illegal activity.
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Head to our what is a VPN explainer for an in-depth guide to VPNs.
Keen to stream more content from abroad? You’ll find ExpressVPN listed in our pick of the best VPNs for Netflix.
For more info about streaming outside of this country, don’t miss our explainer on how to watch UK TV abroad.