With so many TV channels and content to enjoy, India is one of the best countries in terms of sheer entertainment. Bollywood movies and shows provide tons of fun while cricket live streams are a sight for sore eyes for those in love with this sport.
As much as we’re talking about great content, American TV channels are, for some people, unbeatable. Not only do they broadcast famous movies and series but also sports live streams for the NBA, Superbowl, and other groundbreaking events with millions of views.
We all know that you can’t watch US TV in India, although many residents of this country would want to access channels like NBC, ABC, Peacock TV, ESPN, and others. Fortunately for my Indian friends, today is the day they finally get a solution to this problem.
In this article, I’ll explain to you how to watch US TV live in India and unblock every American TV channel in this country by using one very simple trick.
Why American TV Channels Aren’t Working in India?
Let’s start this article by addressing the obvious issue. If you’re an Indian resident, you can watch channels like Voot, Gemini TV, Sun TV, and many others. However, once you try accessing US TV channels in India, you’ll be met with geo-restrictions.
If I take ABC as an example, when accessing it, you’ll most likely come across something like this.
Does this look familiar to you? And what about trying to watch Peacock TV abroad?
In this case, Peacock TV will immediately prevent your access saying that it’s not allowed to show its content in your country. The same will happen when trying to watch, for example, HBO, which is another popular channel in the US.
So why do these geo-restriction messages appear? The main issue is that American TV channels are allowed to show their content only to people located in this country. Of course, we’re talking about a legal background because of licensing agreements and streaming rights.
However, to simplify things, due to these agreements, licenses, or whatever you want to call them, you can’t watch US TV in India. Don’t think that it’s only in your country, though. The same thing applies to ALL other countries who try to access American TV channels.
And now, another question is – is there a way to bypass these blocks and still be able to watch US TV live in India? Well, the good news is that there is a way, and if you keep reading, I’ll show it to you right away.
How to Watch US TV Live in India? Follow These Steps
American TV channels aren’t as smart as you think. For one, you don’t have to travel to this country to watch them, and second, you can easily trick them by getting an IP address from the US. People in India are aware of VPNs and their ability to change their IP address to another country.
In fact, many Indian residents abroad use a VPN to watch Hotstar effortlessly. This time, a VPN will be used to get a US IP and unblock all US TV channels in this country. In addition, this service is great for securing your connection and preventing your ISP and the authorities from tracking your activities.
India, which moved to a more censored internet model, will surely enjoy this added benefit of a VPN service. For this purpose, you need a provider with no bandwidth limits, great speeds, and hundreds of servers in the United States. Thus, I’m using CyberGhost for this trick.
Not only it is extremely affordable but it does its job wonderfully, so let me show you the three simple steps to use it to watch US TV channels live in India.
1. Get CyberGhost VPN
To begin using this provider, you need to get its subscription. People living in India don’t have the highest possible standard, so I made sure to secure you a special discount on CyberGhost. By using the button below, you can get its longest plan for under $2.3 a month, which is super cheap even by Indian standards.
Moreover, the provider will grant you a 45-day money-back guarantee, making sure you can get a refund in the first 45 days of your purchase for whatever reason. Simply use the red button, choose a plan, and subscribe by providing your payment method and email address.
Once you do that, download and install CyberGhost on your device. Open the application and sign in by using the credentials you provided when purchasing it.
The app will look like this if you’re on Windows and if you’re on iOS/Android, it’s going to look much simpler. Nevertheless, this is what you’re going to get, so let’s move on to Step 2.
2. Connect to a US Server
It’s time to connect to an American server now. CyberGhost offers streaming servers in the US that are optimized for unblocking a wide variety of platforms and channels in this country. However, I found that simply connecting to almost any US-based server will let you watch US TV in India.
If that doesn’t work, you can always choose a dedicated streaming server for the channel you want, as I explained previously.
Thus, you can click on All Servers, scroll down, and find this country. Then, double-click on it, and CyberGhost will establish a connection, giving you an American IP address.
Once the connection button on the right turns yellow and you’re assigned a new IP, you’re ready to go.
3. Watch US TV in India
And now, it’s time to see if I can unblock the channels from above. I’ll give you 4 examples here since I recently watched NBC live and it worked with no problems with CyberGhost.
But what about HBO, for instance? Well, take a look below.
You can clearly see that the provider works and I can watch this channel despite not being located in the United States.
Another channel I could also watch is Peacock TV and finally, when trying to access ABC outside of the US (in India, of course), I had absolutely zero issues.
Needless to say, CyberGhost displayed great performance by unblocking all channels I threw at it, making it a great choice.
12000 servers
100 covered countries
45 days money-back guarantee
7 simultaneous connections
Another VPN to Watch US TV in India: ExpressVPN
If you’re interested in a VPN that’s a bit more expensive but also a lot better, you can take a look at ExpressVPN. In fact, I invite you to check out my full ExpressVPN review to see why this is the absolute best VPN provider you can currently get.
I recommended an inferior option, CyberGhost, because it’s much cheaper and thus, more suitable for watching US TV in India. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, ExpressVPN will work better and provide much faster speeds for streaming.
It’ll also unblock more Netflix libraries if that’s what you want, and with 20+ server locations in the United States, it’ll work perfectly fine for watching US TV live in India. Moreover, the provider is easier to use than CybreGhost, so it should provide a better user experience.
If you’re not on a strict budget and you want to maximize your VPN performance, ExpressVPN is a good alternative. Besides, it offers a 49% discount and 3 free months for its annual plan where you also get a 30-day money-back guarantee that’ll let you get a full refund in the first 30 days if you’re not satisfied.
Beware that this deal isn’t going to last an eternity, so if you’re intrigued by it, make sure you check it out by using the red button above. That way, you’ll get this special discount and save quite a lot of money on its subscription.
Do I Need a TV License to Watch US TV in India?
One thing people always ask is if they need a TV license for US channels. Unfortunately, for the majority of them, you’ll need it, especially if you plan on accessing premium content. ABC requires a license for live TV, for example, while you can watch some shows without a license.
On the other hand, we have a channel like The CW that requires no license, as well as a few other less popular US TV channels. Either way, the best-case scenario is if you’re from America and you’re in India on a vacation or for any other reason.
That way, you’ll already have a license that you can use to sign in to any of these channels and enjoy them fully. If not, some channels like Peacock TV offer the option to buy a “traditional” subscription, so with the help of a VPN, you can do that and enjoy premium shows and movies.
But I think that’s not mandatory as a good portion of US-based channels can be watched without a license. And to be honest, there’s some really good content on these channels that’ll entertain you for weeks and months.
Summary
Even if you’re located in India or anywhere else, you don’t have to miss out on the great amount of content that American TV channels provide. With the trick I showed you, you can unblock and watch US TV in India and tune in to your favorite movies, shows, and live programs.
While I recommend CyberGhost because it’s cheaper and more suitable for Indian standards, its alternative, ExpressVPN, is a better provider overall, albeit, a tad more expensive. The selection of a VPN is up to you now that you know all about the trick. Go ahead and test it out!
Frequently Asked Questions
Let us clear up a few more things related to watching US TV channels live in India.
Can I watch Netflix US in India?
You can, yes. Netflix bases its catalogs on your location, which is why some movies and series are unavailable, depending on the country. In India, you’ll have a catalog for this country, which is by no means bad. However, you’ll find way more content on Netflix US.
Using CyberGhost, you can unblock this library by following the steps above. Instead of going to an American TV channel, simply go to Netflix and it should work. For this purpose, we also recommend ExpressVPN, which works a bit better according to our tests.
Bear in mind that VPN has a policy that forbids the use of a VPN. Users won’t end up in jail for unblocking a foreign library, though, but it’s good to know that unblocking Netflix catalogs is against the terms and conditions of this platform.
We don’t encourage it but yes, you can do it if you want it so badly.
Do free VPNs also work?
No, they usually won’t work. Free VPN providers aren’t the best for unblocking geo-restricted content. While all of them offer US servers, these servers are ruined by limited bandwidth, slow speeds, and inability to unblock US-based sites.
Some providers like Atlas VPN and Privado VPN are solid for unblocking content. Even Windscribe is up there, but none of them offers more than 10 GB of monthly traffic. If you manage to unblock US TV in India with them, that’s not going to last long.
You’ll run out of bandwidth and be unable to access your favorite channels for the rest of the month. Most free VPNs also lack security features, store logs, and offer 2-3 server locations to intentionally limit you. All in all, we don’t recommend free VPNs for this cause.
What if I can’t unblock US TV in India?
You’re likely using an unsuitable VPN – or a free one. Switch to CyberGhost or ExpressVPN and you’ll face no problems. If these VPNs are troubling you, then simple fixes like altering the server, using another protocol, or clearing the browser’s cache should work.
