How to Watch Swiss TV Abroad – Switzerland Streaming Guide

There are a lot of Swiss TV channel choices to choose from. There are also Swiss versions of popular streamers, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video streaming and Disney+.

Unfortunately for international travellers, you can only watch Swiss TV content while inside the country. If you’re on business, on vacation or an expat, you can miss out on the next episode of your favorite Swiss drama.

This is because Swiss television providers put restrictions on their content so that only viewers within the country can access their movies and TV episodes. Accessing this content requires that viewers have a Swiss IP address, and if you’re not in Switzerland, you don’t have one.

However, hope is not lost. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have the ability to unblock access to Swiss TV channels by giving you a Switzerland IP address. Then, all the Swiss content you can handle will be at your fingertips. 

While there are many choices of VPNs on the market, few are up to the challenge of unblocking international content. One provider does the best job, and I’ll give you a rundown of their offerings at the end of this article. 

Why Do Swiss Streaming Services Ban International Viewers?

Even if you have a subscription to a Swiss TV channel, if you try to connect from outside of Swiss borders, you’ll be disconnected from the service.

While this is unfortunate, it’s not without reason. Swiss TV providers have to do this in order to remain within the agreements they sign with TV and movie producers, which stipulate that only viewers within the country can view the content.

The reason that TV and movie studios include this caveat is because they can make more money this way. They can sell their content in multiple countries, such as France, the U.K. and the U.S., instead of all viewers getting their content needs met by connecting in one country.

There are also the desires of restrictive governments to consider. Some of them don’t want their citizens to have their minds “corrupted” by outside influence, so keeping access to content within the borders of a certain country is perfect for them. 

How Geo-Restrictions Work

You need an IP address in order to connect to the internet on any connected device.

An IP address is what identifies a device on the internet. Because of an IP address, the internet knows where a request came from and where a response needs to be sent to. It acts similarly to a home address, which lets postal carriers know where mail should go.

IP addresses also reveal where a device is located. 

By checking your IP address, a streaming provider can tell where a viewer is connecting from. Once they see that your IP address isn’t Swiss, they’ll block you from accessing their content. 

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

You can still gain access to Swiss TV content by connecting to a Virtual Private Network.

A VPN can make you appear to be within Switzerland by giving you a new, temporary Swiss IP address, which will make Swiss TV providers think you’re within the country. 

It doesn’t matter that you’re lounging on a tropical island, as far from Zürich as can be. If you have that Swiss IP address, you’re in. 

Just connect to one of a VPN’s servers in Switzerland, and it will give you that coveted IP address.

But that’s not all that a VPN can do for you. I’d like to take a moment to discuss the other benefits that a VPN can provide. 

Other types of streaming content (such as music), gaming content and servers, financial services and other sites and services are all available when you use a VPN provider, even if they’re ordinarily blocked from you.

A VPN also encases your connection in a tunnel of encryption. This tunnel makes it impossible for Internet Service Providers, hackers or governments to see what you’re up to, preventing them from monitoring your activities.

VPNs also make public WiFi hotspots safe to use. Although ordinarily a security hazard because of the fact that the hotspots are usually not secured, the VPN’s encryption keeps your online activities safe from prying eyes.

Finally, you should know that you won’t have your ISP throttling your connection speeds just because you’re doing something they may not approve of, like streaming from certain services or file sharing. Because the VPN’s encryption makes it impossible for the ISP to see what you’re doing, they can’t throttle your connection.

Which VPN Is the Best for Unblocking Swiss TV?

It used to be the case that any VPN provider could unblock access to content all over the world. Unfortunately, those golden days are over.

Streaming service providers are now aware of the VPN trick, and as such, they block IP addresses whenever they catch on that it’s from a VPN provider. 

Nowadays, VPNs have to work tirelessly to replace those IP addresses whenever they’re blocked. That requires a lot of resources and the desire to continue to provide access to their customers, and not every VPN is able or willing to do that.  

Thankfully, there’s a VPN on the market that has the desire and the resources to continue playing this game of virtual cat-and-mouse. That provider is known as NordVPN.

NordVPN

If you want access to Swiss TV, you can’t do better than subscribing to NordVPN.

This reliable VPN service offers access to not only Swiss content, but also content all over the world thanks to its extensive global server network. Its privacy and security protections are the best the industry has to offer, and its connection speeds are also at the top of the VPN food chain. 

In addition, their multi-platform support and customer support are wide and responsive, respectively.  

Read the full NordVPN review here.

1. Connection Speed

Because our lives revolve around internet-connected devices these days, it’s important for a VPN provider to offer fast download speeds. No one wants to deal with a slow connection.

NordVPN doesn’t let you down in this arena, offering some of the fastest VPN connection speeds in the industry today. You’ll be able to watch Swiss TV content in HD or 4K without a problem or any buffering. You can also game without lag and share files quickly.

The provider also doesn’t limit your bandwidth or impose any daily or monthly data caps on your connections, making it possible to binge your shows to your heart’s content. 

2. Multi-Platform App Support

Like connection speeds, it’s important that a VPN offer support for a multitude of platforms. Considering that we work and play on phones, computers, tablets and more, you’re going to want coverage for all of your devices.

NordVPN offers native apps for many of the most popular devices around today, with VPN apps for the iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Android TV and Amazon Fire platforms. 

You can protect your browsing sessions with Chrome or Firefox extensions, and connect all of your devices through a single point of access on many routers.

Thanks to the provider’s SmartDNS service, you can also gain access to Swiss TV through your Apple TV, other set-top boxes, gaming consoles and other streaming platforms. However, you should be aware that the service doesn’t encrypt your connection like the VPN service does.

You can connect up to 6 devices concurrently on a single account. 

3. Customer Support

I’ve had few enough issues with NordVPN to rarely need their support services. However, it’s good to know that I’ll have quality support if I need it.

You can connect to customer support through 24/7 live chat, email and a searchable online knowledge base. 

4. Global Server Coverage

While you may think that your heart only desires Swiss TV, that could someday change, and you might begin longing for content from other parts of the world. Should that day come, you’ll want a VPN with wide global server coverage.

Alongside 100+ servers in Switzerland, NordVPN provides 5,400+ servers in 58+ other countries, meaning Swiss residents can access TV content in most parts of the world. 

5. Pricing

NordVPN is a low-priced provider, meaning you can sign up for the service and still have plenty left over for purchasing subscriptions to Swiss TV providers. 

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

Visit NordVPN.

Streaming Swiss TV Abroad FAQ