How to Watch Italian TV Abroad from Anywhere in the World

There are plenty of entertaining and informative TV channels in Italy. In addition, there are Italian versions of your favorite online streaming services, such as Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Unfortunately, if you’re outside of Italy’s borders – whether because you’re an expat, on vacation or on a business trip – you’ll be barred from accessing the Italian content you enjoy so much. 

That’s because Italian TV channel providers put restrictions on who can view their content, so only viewers inside of Italian borders can access the content. You need an Italian IP address in order to gain access, and if you’re outside of Italy, then you don’t have one.

However, there is a way to get an Italian IP address, even from outside of Italy.

That’s by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). When you connect to a VPN’s server location in Italy, it gives you an Italian IP address. So whether you’re actually in Spain, the U.K., the U.S., Japan or any other country, the internet will think you’re in Italy.

There are many VPNs out there vying for your attention. In this article, I’ll give you an in-depth assessment of the best one to use to access Italian TV content.

Why Do Italian Streaming Services Ban International Viewers?

It’s impossible to view Italian TV and movies from outside of Italy without a VPN, even if you have a subscription to the content. 

But it’s not true that these TV channels do this for no reason. They’re forced to because of the contracts they sign with TV and movie studios, which stipulate that only viewers within the country in question can view the content. 

That way, TV and movie studios can rack up even more profit, as they can sell their content to streaming providers in each country individually. 

There’s another reason why content is not available to all viewers everywhere. Some countries have restrictive governments that don’t want their residents to access certain types of content for various reasons. Geographical limitations help these governments achieve their goal. 

How Geo-Restrictions Work

All devices that connect to the internet have what’s called an IP address. Even an internet-connected refrigerator has an IP address.

An IP address’s main function is to let the internet know which device is requesting content and where to send that content to, much like a home address works for snail mail.

However, an IP address also identifies your device’s location, and by extension, your location.

If a streaming service sees that your device is not located in the right country, they’ll block that device from accessing their content.

How Can I View Italian TV If It’s Blocked?

There’s good news in all of this mess. 

If you pick the right VPN service, you can gain access to all the Italian content that you can handle. A VPN achieves this by “spoofing” your real IP address, making it appear that your streaming device is located in Italy, even if you’re all the way in Timbuktu (literally). 

All you have to do is connect to a VPN’s server in Italy, and you’ll be granted that Italian IP address. 

But granting access to foreign content is not all a VPN can do. I’d like to take this opportunity to inform you about the other advantages a VPN offers.

In addition to unblocking streaming content, a VPN can open access to financial online services, gaming servers, and other sites and services in other parts of the world.

A VPN’s main function is to encrypt your internet connection, hiding your internet activities from any party that might be interested in knowing what you’re doing, whether that be a government, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or advertisers. This keeps your personal data private and secure.

A VPN also makes public WiFi hotspots safe for use. Ordinarily, WiFi hotspots act as, well, hotspots for hackers and other nefarious parties. By using VPN services, you can use a WiFi hotspot without fear of your online activities being tracked or your data being intercepted.

Last but not least, you should know that ISPs like to throttle your connection speeds if they don’t like what you’re doing, such as file sharing or accessing certain streaming providers. Thankfully, because a VPN obscures your online travels from view, your ISP can’t throttle your connection speeds.

Which VPN Is the Best for Unblocking Italian TV?

In the olden days, most VPNs could grant you access to blocked content in other countries. 

But those days are long gone. Streaming providers caught onto the trick of using a VPN to access geographically restricted content, so nowadays, they do their best to block local IP addresses that belong to VPNs from accessing their content. 

This means that VPN service providers have to constantly replace their IP addresses whenever one is blocked. This takes a lot of resources to pull off, as well as the desire to offer customers access to international streaming platforms, and not all VPN providers have either the resources or the desire. 

There’s one VPN provider that has remained up to the task: NordVPN.

NordVPN

There’s no VPN provider that unblocks content as well and as reliably as NordVPN.

Alongside arguably unparalleled content-unblocking ability, NordVPN offers widespread global server coverage. Fast connections are a staple, and they take privacy and security seriously, offering features that are above and beyond the call of duty. They don’t skimp on customer support or multi-platform support, either.

Read the full NordVPN review here.

1. Internet Connection Speed

Connection speed is more important now than ever, as we constantly use our devices for entertainment, work, errands and more. 

NordVPN offers some of the fastest connection speeds in the industry. HD streaming and 4K content pose no problem for this provider, and gaming is an enjoyable experience. And let’s not forget that sharing files is quick and easy, too. 

And because they offer unlimited bandwidth with no daily or monthly data caps, there’s no stopping your online activities right when you get to the good part of that episode or video game.

2. Multi-Platform App Support

If you’re like me, you have multiple internet-connected smart devices all over the house. In order to protect each and every one of them, you need a VPN provider that offers comprehensive multi-platform support.

NordVPN offers native apps for the Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire, iOS, macOS, Windows and Linux platforms. If you want to protect all of your devices at once through a single point of access, NordVPN covers multiple makes and models of routers.

The provider’s SmartDNS service also allows you to use your Apple TV, other set-top boxes, gaming consoles and more to access international streaming content. You should know, though, that this service doesn’t encrypt your connection like the VPN service does.

You can connect up to 6 devices at once to the provider’s servers on a single account.

3. Customer Support

Hopefully, you won’t need to use customer support while you’re using NordVPN. But, sometimes things come up, even if it’s just a billing question.

NordVPN offers a 24/7 live chat service, as well as email support and a searchable support knowledge base.

4. Global Server Coverage

I wouldn’t be suggesting this provider to you if it didn’t have servers in Italy (60+ of them). 

But you should know that it’s not only Italy where NordVPN has server locations. In fact, NordVPN offers over 5,500 servers in 59+ countries around the world. 

So, if you begin to crave streaming options in other countries, you’re covered.

5. Pricing

NordVPN asks a surprisingly low price for its above-average service. If you’re on a budget, you’ll be especially happy with NordVPN’s multi-year subscription price.

NordVPN offers a no-risk, 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Visit NordVPN.

How to Watch TV from Italy Online FAQ