How to Watch Portuguese TV Abroad in 2025

At a Glance

There is a wide range of TV channels available in Portugal, but each one of them is blocked to viewers in other countries. Whether you’re on vacation, on a business trip, or living abroad as an expat, Portuguese TV channels will be unavailable to you. Even if you live in other parts of Europe.

However, it’s not impossible to get access to Portuguese TV content. All you need is a local IP address from Portugal. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the answer to your dilemma, giving you a Portuguese IP address so you can watch all the Portuguese content your heart desires.

But which VPN is the best for this task? Not all VPNs are the same, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Luckily for you, you have an expert on VPNs at your disposal, and I can point you in the right direction.

In this article, I’ll explain the ins and outs of why and how you’re blocked from watching Portuguese TV from abroad. Then, I’ll give you a review of the best VPN for getting access to Portuguese TV online: NordVPN.

Why Do Portuguese Streaming Services Ban International Viewers?

A subscription to a Portuguese streaming service won’t save you. Even if you’re paying money for the content, if you’re not in Portugal, they won’t let you access their movies and TV shows.

Why? Because streaming services sign contracts with TV and movie studios that require that the content only be available to viewers actually located in Portugal.

If you think about it, it makes sense. If everyone in the world could access that content in Portugal, then TV and movie producers wouldn’t be able to make money selling their content to online streaming services in other parts of the world.

The unfortunate result is having to find the same content from providers in your area, even if that means subscribing to multiple different streaming providers to get the same amount of content.

There’s also an issue with restrictive governments. These oppressive regimes don’t want their citizens accessing just anything, and streaming providers can run into legal troubles with these governments if they let their residents view their streaming content. To avoid this, Portuguese streaming providers restrict access to viewers in their country.

How Geo-Restrictions Work

Geo-blocking works by deciding whether or not you can access specific content based on your IP address. The IP address you use is the gateway to what kinds of content you can view.

Every internet-connected device is assigned an IP address. This acts as an identifier for your device, letting the internet know which device requested what and where a response needs to go. You can think of it as a home address for your device.

But home addresses and IP addresses have another thing in common: They both reveal your physical location.

If you have an IP address from any country besides Portugal, you can wave goodbye to having any access to Portuguese streaming content.

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

In order to view Portuguese video streaming content, you’ll need a Portuguese IP address.

To get one, subscribe to a Virtual Private Network (VPN). The VPN will allow you to connect to one of its VPN servers in Portugal, which will hide your true IP address and give you a temporary, local IP address from Portugal.

Streaming providers will see this Portuguese IP address and instantly let you access all of their precious streaming content, even if your true location is in the next country or next continent over.

Here’s a step-by-step explanation of the process:

1. Subscribe to a reputable VPN provider (I strongly recommend NordVPN).
2. Install its app(s) onto your device(s).
3. Open up the app and connect to a server located in Portugal.
4. Visit your favorite Portuguese TV streaming service. Should you run into any problems, be sure to clear your browser cache.
5. Enjoy the show.

But VPN providers aren’t limited in their scope to just unblocking access to video streaming content in other countries. No, they offer much more than that.

VPN services can also unblock music streaming services, gaming servers, and content, as well as financial services.

But perhaps most importantly, a VPN service provider encrypts your internet connection, making it impossible for hackers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), or governments to monitor your online activities or steal your private information.

Thanks to this encryption, you can also use public WiFi hotspots safely. Public WiFi hotspots are notorious for being unencrypted, allowing anyone also connected to the same hotspot to steal your personal, financial, or business information. But a VPN’s encryption prevents those hackers from having any access to your data.

Another benefit of a VPN is that it prevents your ISP from throttling your connection speeds. ISPs aren’t fond of users who stream from certain “unapproved” websites or share files and will try to throttle your connection speeds in retaliation.

But a VPN’s encryption will prevent them from knowing what you’re up to, so they can’t throttle your speeds based on what you’re doing.

Which VPN Is the Best for Unblocking Portuguese TV?

VPN services once had an easy time unblocking international streaming content. However, times have changed.

Video streaming providers, once they realized that viewers in other countries were accessing their content from abroad, figured out how to tell if an IP address belonged to a VPN, and quickly began blocking these IP addresses.

It became up to the VPN provider to replace these IP addresses with fresh ones so that their customers could still continue to access the international content they were seeking. But streaming providers would just block those, too, and the game goes round and round.

Not all VPNs are interested in continuing this game of virtual whack-a-mole, and so they don’t claim to offer access to international streaming content. However, some VPNs are still in the game, striving to replace IP addresses as they’re blocked.

NordVPN is the best of these VPNs.

Methodology for Assessing a VPN to Watch Portuguese TV From Abroad

Just because a VPN provider may have plenty of servers located in Portugal, that doesn’t mean they can provide reliable access to Portuguese TV streams.

These are several important features to consider when weighing up a VPN for watching Portuguese TV from abroad. These include:

• Connection speed: Connection speeds are an important factor when you’re streaming video. Slow connections may result in a lower-resolution video stream and an extended buffering period. NordVPN offers blazingly-fast connections.
• Server network: Make sure your VPN of choice has a server presence in Portugal. Also, check out what type of server coverage the provider has in other countries around the globe. This will allow you to view your favorite streaming services no matter where you might be. The more servers a provider has in a particular country, the better, as it helps ensure that the servers in a particular country won’t lag in performance due to being hit with too many users.
• Value: A VPN service should always deliver a level of service to justify its asking price. NordVPN provides excellent value for the money.
• Ease of use: VPN apps should be both powerful and easy to use. NordVPN offers easy-to-use and powerful apps for most popular connected devices.
• Security and privacy: High-level encryption, a kill switch, and DNS and IP leak protection are the least you should settle for when it comes to online security. The VPN should also protect your privacy by never saving any types of server logs.
• Streaming: The more streaming services a VPN can help you unblock, the better. NordVPN offers reliable access to Portuguese TV streaming services, along with other popular streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and others.

All of the above are only a small part of my comprehensive VPN testing methodology. This data-driven approach helps me to better understand each VPN provider and its services. This allows me to only recommend providers that are a good fit for my readers’ needs.

NordVPN

NordVPN is the best VPN available for accessing Portuguese TV from anywhere.

The provider offers some of the fastest connection speeds available and lets you watch Portuguese TV channels on almost any device. NordVPN secures your internet connection with bank-grade 256-bit AES encryption, and you’re never left with questions when you consider its 24/7 live chat. VPN servers are available across the world, including in Portugal.

Read the full NordVPN review here.

1. Connection Speed

It’s critical to consider the connection speeds of any provider when you’re on the market for a VPN, as those speeds are what ensures you’ll have a clear picture when you stream and won’t have to wait through long buffering times.

NordVPN provided top 10 connection speeds in my most recent testing. This means that you can watch video in HD or 4K, and if you like to play fast-moving games or share large files, NordVPN is great for that, too.

The provider doesn’t believe in imposing data caps, and you can enjoy the unlimited bandwidth NordVPN provides.

2. Multi-Platform App Support

Streaming video is available on almost any device you can think of, so it’s also important to consider which devices your VPN provider offers apps for.

NordVPN offers native apps for iOS, macOS (M1/M2 support), Linux, Windows, Android, Amazon Fire, and Android TV device platforms. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browser extensions are available too, as well as support for numerous makes and models of routers.

The provider also offers a smart DNS service simply called “SmartDNS”, which lets you connect to Portuguese and other international TV channels on devices that don’t support VPN apps, like gaming consoles, smart TVs, and other set-top boxes. Just be aware that the service doesn’t encrypt your connection like the VPN service does.

You can connect up to six devices at once to the provider’s servers on one account, meaning you and your family can all stream different things at different times on different devices.

3. Customer Support

No VPN service is completely perfect, even one like NordVPN. When problems do arise, you’ll be glad to know the provider offers excellent customer support.

Customer support agents are available around the clock via 24/7 live chat. Email support is also available, as is a searchable knowledge base.

4. Global Server Coverage

NordVPN provides servers in Portugal, of course – I wouldn’t suggest the VPN for Portugal if that wasn’t so. However, having a VPN that offers wide-ranging global server coverage means you can watch TV channels from other countries, too.

NordVPN’s 5,600+ servers are available in 59+ countries, Portugal included.

5. Security and Privacy

NordVPN protects your online travels from being monitored by prying eyes by using banking-level encryption, a kill switch, DNS/IP Leak protection, and more.

No logs connected to your online travels are ever saved and NordVPN accepts Bitcoin to protect your usage and payment information.

NordVPN is transitioning its global server network to a fully owned-and-operated model, which will improve your privacy by keeping third-party contractors away from your personal information. All NordVPN servers are run 100% from volatile RAM, writing no data ever to an actual hard drive. This ensures that all data is securely wiped whenever the server is rebooted.

The provider’s “Complete” level of service offers additional services, including malware protection, a password manager, tracker and ad blocking, dark web monitoring, and more.

6. Pricing

You don’t have to pay much for NordVPN’s excellent service. The provider’s pricing is extremely budget-friendly, especially if you opt for a multi-year commitment.

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

Visit NordVPN.

Portuguese TV Abroad FAQs