Stream Every Winter Olympic Event With VPN. Here’s the Way

This year’s Winter Olympics will feature some of the world’s best athletes in 116 events across a range of sports, trying to ski, skate, snowboard, curl and skate their way to the gold medal. The US has already won gold in four different events, split between skiing and skating.

The Olympics held in Milan and Cortina, Italy, continue until Feb. 22. But you might be disappointed with the lack of options to catch every Olympic game this winter if you don’t have access to the right facilities.

In the US, you can find TV coverage of the Winter Olympic Games on local NBC affiliates, USA Network and CNBC. Peacock is the primary streaming method for US viewers, and streaming is also available on the NBC Sports app, nbc.com and nbcolympics.com.

While your local NBC channel is available for free if you have an OTA TV antenna or DVRyou may not be able to catch everything you want to watch only on NBC. And because cable and live streaming options require a paid subscription, you’ll need to pay to get the best of your US Olympics viewing.

However, with a VPNor virtual private network, you can access free internet streaming from other countries — which may allow you to watch all the events you want without paying a cent. You can download an app to your computer, mobile device or streaming device to detect your physical location, make it appear as if you are connected to the Internet from another country and allow you to access geo-restricted streaming content.

So even if you’re in the US, you can still expand your Winter Olympic streaming options and catch all the action you want for free. Because with a VPN, you can unblock the region-restricted Olympics for free.

Which countries offer free streaming of the Winter Olympics?

Many countries around the world offer free ways to broadcast the Olympics. Keep in mind that most of these international broadcasts are broadcast in a foreign language, so some sites may be difficult to navigate, and the comments may be confusing to you if you don’t understand the language.

Also, some of these sites may require you to create an account and/or enter a valid postal code in the country to access the content. If that’s the case with the site you want to live stream from, just do a quick internet search for postal codes in the active country to connect and get started.

For English-speaking Olympic broadcasts from other countries, you can turn to:

Other international streaming options presented in other languages ​​include:

These are just a few examples of the many international streaming services you can access with a VPN to maximize your Olympic viewing experience. Remember that not all VPNs or server locations are guaranteed to work well for streaming the Olympics from other regions, so you may need to navigate around and try different servers or streaming sites to access the content you want.

Also, be sure to check each site’s terms of service to make sure you’re not violating them by using a VPN. Using a VPN is completely legal worldwide, but some sites and services may try to restrict VPN use.

How to access geo-restricted Olympics broadcasts with a VPN

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic while forwarding it to a secure server in a separate location, hiding your online activity from your internet provider, network administrator, and other online actors. At the same time, VPN it changes your IP address to the IP address of the VPN server you are connecting to, making your connection appear to be coming from somewhere else.

A VPN is an important tool to improve your privacy on the Internet, but it is the function of changing the IP address that allows you to access geo-restricted content from other regions.

Because your IP address reveals your general location, many sites and services that restrict content to certain regions rely on visitors’ IP addresses to determine their location and, therefore, deny or allow access to content. But if you visit a site while connected to a VPN server, the site registers the VPN server’s IP address instead of yours.

For example, if you’re in the US and connected to a VPN server in Australia, the 9Now streaming site will register your connection as being in Australia, and give you access to its content, including its Olympic coverage. Similarly, connect to a VPN server in the UK if you want to access BBC iPlayer, a server in Ireland to access RTE Player or a server in Canada to access CBC Gem. Wherever you want to stream content from, just connect to a server located in that country.

If you want to access the US Olympic broadcast outside the country, you can stream the NBC broadcast through its apps and websites by signing in with your TV provider if you subscribe to one. Or you can access coverage of NBC, USA and CNBC through a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TVDirecTV or Sling TV if you are registered. Just make sure you’re connected to a VPN server located in the US before trying to access content from any of those platforms.

Peacock remains the only option for access to all Olympic events from a US broadcast perspective. So if you’re in the US and already subscribed to Peacock, you don’t need a VPN to catch all the action. However, if you are traveling abroad and you want to stream the Olympics on Peacock, you will need to connect to a VPN server in the US to access the content.

Using a VPN is easy

VPNs are generally very easy to download and use, especially if you choose a quality, verified provider from CNET’s list the best VPNs. To watch the Olympics, you will want a VPN that is fast, delivers reliable streaming performance and offers servers located in the countries you want to stream from. Most of our recommended VPNs have servers in over 100 countries, so you should be well covered for coverage — but it’s still a good idea to check a VPN’s list of server locations on its website before committing.

In addition to that consideration, you may want to think about your budget and how much you are willing to spend on a VPN. Currently, the fast VPN based on our recent evaluation of NordVPN, and The best VPN for streaming is ExpressVPN — two of the most expensive services in the industry. NordVPN it costs $13 per month, $60 for the first year or $83 total for the first two years, and the one-year and two-year plans renew for $140 per year. ExpressVPN it costs $13 per month, $75 for the first year or $98 total for the first two years, and the one-year and two-year plans renew for $100 per year.

If you want something cheapconsider Proton VPN or Surfshark, both great for streaming and easy on the wallet. Proton VPN it costs $10 per month, $48 for the first year or $72 total for the first two years, and one-year and two-year plans renew for $84 per year. Surfshark it costs $15.45 per month, $48 for the first year or $60 total for the first two years, and one-year and two-year plans renew for $79 per year.

Once you’ve signed up, purchased, and downloaded your VPN to your devices, all you need to do is log in to the app and select a server from the list displayed. VPN user interfaces vary from one provider to another, but navigating the server selection process is usually pretty straightforward. You can usually scroll to the server location of your choice from the list of servers or search for specific locations by typing in the search field.

Once you’ve found the server you want to connect to, just tap or click on it, and you should be automatically connected and ready to stream from your favorite location within seconds.

A word of caution when considering a free VPN

You might be tempted to go with one of the hundreds free VPNs available to save some money, but I only recommend paid VPNs for streaming — whether Olympics or otherwise — for a few reasons.

While the free phase of Proton VPN is one free VPN we recommend at CNET, it’s not ideal for streaming the Olympics because its free servers don’t support live streaming and can deliver slow speeds at peak times due to congestion.

Also, you can access servers in only 10 countries, and you can’t choose a server manually, so connecting to the desired location can be tricky. Proton VPN’s free tier is great for protecting your privacy while browsing the web.

Apart from being unsuitable for broadcast purposes, free VPNs can often be very dangerous to use. Many free VPNs make money by logging users’ activity and selling the data to third parties. At that point, it’s best not to use a VPN at all. Some free VPNs have also been found to monitor their users and take screenshots of their online activities, while others may not. full of malware. To stay safe, keep an eye out for some red flags when you sign up for a VPN.

But if you don’t want to commit financially at all, you always can ask your VPN provider to get a refund and still watch all the Winter Olympics basically for free. The Olympics last less than a month, and most VPNs offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sure, you have to pay up front, but you can use the VPN for a month, stream the entire Olympics and get your money back from the VPN if you request a refund within its guarantee window.

However, I would recommend that you keep your VPN for a long time because you can use it to unblock all kinds of streaming content throughout the year, in addition to being an important tool for protecting your privacy online. In addition to using a VPN, I also recommend stocking up your cybersecurity toolkit with password manager again antivirus software.