While Germany has its share of quality content on channels like ZDF and Das Erste, many people living there are interested in seeing what other countries offer. When it comes to American TV channels, there’s no doubt in my mind these are the most popular channels around.
If you’re reading this article, I think you should consider yourself lucky. Today is the day you’ll learn how to watch American TV channels live (and on-demand) in Germany and access all blockbusters, series, and entertainment programs that Americans sometimes take for granted.
How to Watch US TV in Germany With a VPN?
In Germany, none of the popular US TV channels will be available. That is unless you get a US IP address from a VPN. Our team of experts recommends ExpressVPN with 1,000+ US servers in more than 22 cities. Read on to see how to use it:
- Get a subscription from ExpressVPN and claim its 49% discount with 3 gratis months for the 1-year plan.
- Install ExpressVPN and connect to the US server.
- Go to ABC, Peacock TV, NBC, or any other US TV channel and watch it in Germany or any other country.
US TV in Germany: Why Can’t I Watch It?
Before discussing how to watch US TV live in Germany, I think I should address the elephant in the room. And that is the reason behind not being able to access these channels in Germany in the first place. You’re all aware of geo-restrictions and their impact on the internet.
But my guess is that you don’t know why they appear. Well, as always, there’s a legal background behind every geo-restriction, and that especially rings true when talking about local TV channels of a particular country or group of countries.
You see, people often have difficulty watching foreign TV channels from any country due to licensing agreements. These agreements allow these channels to stream only in their respective countries, which is why they’re inaccessible abroad.
Take a look at the channels in your country. ZDF, a German TV channel, won’t be accessible in the United States, Italy, Japan, or anywhere else EXCEPT Germany. The same happens with American TV channels that can broadcast only in America and nowhere else.
Thus, when you try to visit an American TV channel outside of the US, you get an error message.
It says you’re located outside of the United States, hence, the channel is inaccessible. Every site you visit can see your IP address, which easily gives out your location to that site. If the IP is located in a country where the site isn’t available, your access is blocked. Conversely, if the IP is within that country, you’re allowed to access the site – pretty simple, right?
How to Unblock and Watch US TV in Germany?
Now, what does that have to do with watching US TV in Germany? Well, it has a lot to do because, when you change your IP to the US, you can access any American TV channel no matter your location. However, to be able to even think about it, you need to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
Not every VPN will let you unblock US TV in Germany because these channels are great at detecting VPN usage. With my 12+ years of experience with VPNs, I found one provider very consistent in terms of unblocking geo-restricted content, especially American TV channels.
That provider is ExpressVPN, which I will use to show you the steps you see below. There are just three steps and you can set it up in about 3-5 minutes initially, yet, you’ll be able to watch US TV live in Germany or anywhere else.
1. Get ExpressVPN
Just to make it clear, ExpressVPN isn’t a VPN that you can use for free. But don’t worry. If you use the red button below, you can get a special 49% discount and 3 free months for the annual plan, where ExpressVPN gives you a 30-day money-back guarantee with no conditions.
Unfortunately, free providers aren’t suitable for this purpose given their inability to unblock geo-restricted TV channels as well as limited bandwidth and very slow speeds for streaming. ExpressVPN offers unlimited bandwidth and excellent speeds, plus 20+ server locations in the US alone.
Given that it also allows you to watch Netflix US abroad, it’s an awesome choice if you’re looking to plunge yourself into the world of US cinematography and entertainment in general. Regardless, if you decide to get ExpressVPN, do it via the red button and follow the steps to subscribe.
Then, you will be able to download and install ExpressVPN’s application to your device. The provider supports every platform and you can use it on Windows (my choice) but also macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, where the dashboard will look identical – like the one in the image above.
2. Connect to a US Server
Now that you’ve installed ExpressVPN and you see the dashboard, it’s time to get a US IP. Thankfully, it’s very easy, as you’ll need to open the server list, and in the “Recommended” tab, you can immediately find the United States.
Simply double-click on it if you’re on Windows like me, or if you’re on iOS/Android, tap once and ExpressVPN will connect to the server. Mobile users might need to allow the VPN connection in Settings previously, but once they do that, the connection will be established in less than two seconds.
You can see that it’s successful when ExpressVPN’s dashboard turns green. This means you’re ready for the final step, so let’s go for it.
3. Watch US TV in Germany
You can now watch US TV live in Germany and gain access to any American content you want. I won’t show you examples of using ExpressVPN for this purpose simply because I can’t show ALL channels, as the article would be flooded with screenshots and descriptions.
Why Should I Use ExpressVPN?
When showing you how to watch American TV live in Germany, I talked about ExpressVPN. This provider works for this purpose and to be honest, it’s not the only one working flawlessly. For example, if you check my NordVPN review, you’ll see that it’s also great at unblocking geo-blocked content.
However, ExpressVPN is the most reliable pick with its 3,000+ servers in 105 worldwide countries. Aside from streaming, ExpressVPN offers many more benefits, so if you buy it, don’t expect to just be able to watch American TV or stream on Netflix.
You see, this provider is famous for its focus on user privacy and security, which every VPN should have. When connected to ExpressVPN, it encrypts your connection using 256-bit encryption and other advanced features like a kill switch, IP/DNS leak protection, and cutting-edge VPN protocols.
Its Lightway protocol is the best on the market and coupled with a no-logs policy, you can be sure all your online activities remain 100% private and anonymous. Not to mention that a VPN like this is also great for torrenting safely, browsing the dark web anonymously, and even saving money on flights!
Therefore, if you live in Germany, I think you’ll appreciate its benefits, especially anonymous P2P activities because torrenting laws in this country are very stringent. ExpressVPN can protect 8 devices simultaneously and it offers state-of-the-art 24/7 live chat support to help you out instantly.
While not the cheapest provider by any means, I found it the best choice your money can get. I mean, you get a big 49% discount, 3 free months for the 12-month plan, AND a 30-day refund period even for the monthly plan, which is something you don’t get in many other providers.
Can I Watch US TV in Germany With a Free VPN?
Using free VPNs won’t make your wishes come to fruition. Free VPNs have limited monthly traffic, usually offering painfully slow speed. While most offer servers in the US, they’re unoptimized for streaming and will, as a result, be detected by US TV channels.
Some great free VPNs include Atlas VPN and PrivadoVPN. Yet, they’re limited to 5 and 10 gigabytes of monthly bandwidth respectively. As a result, watching US TV in Germany will be limited to merely a few hours – a day at best.
Our team isn’t fond of free providers because of their security issues. Some of them, like Hola VPN, will blatantly sell your data to third parties for additional revenue. This is detrimental to your privacy and makes you an easy prey to malicious advertisers.
The good news is that you can avoid these issues by using ExpressVPN. For a few dollars a month, you’ll get access to EVERY American TV channel in Germany but also enjoy rock-solid security, a no-logs policy, torrenting capabilities, and much more.
Do I Need a TV License to Watch US TV in Germany?
Some American TV channels indeed require a TV license to be accessed. What is this TV license? Well, it’s a subscription to a TV provider in the United States that you need to have to watch these channels even online. Some sites require it fully and some partially, depending on the channel.
So, if you want to watch US TV live in Germany, you don’t necessarily need to have a TV license. Having a US IP is far more important in this case because, without it, you can’t watch a single channel, and with it, you can still access a great number of them, which is the goal of this guide.
Summary
Watching American TV in Germany is very simple and requires you to get a US IP address. Because not every provider will allow you to unblock geo-restricted content, it’s always better to use one that works, which is ExpressVPN, my #1 recommendation. With it, it’s quite simple to change your VPN location and access any geo-restricted content, no matter your true location.
Besides, the whole solution is risk-free, as you get a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to get reimbursed at any time during this period. What are you waiting for? Try it out and explore some new content online, it’s fun and exciting!
