I want to cheer for Germany as they play in the World Cup, but hate that I cannot watch the German channels online in France. Can you help me? Is there any way to stream the German TV channels online outside Germany? Right now all I get is an error message saying that it is impossible abroad!
What you describe is a common problem as one tries to watch national TV channels online outside the given nation. If you try to watch RAI in Italy abroad, you will get the same trouble. The same is true if you want to stream the FIFA World Cup on BBC/ITV in England from abroad… it doesn’t work. The TV channels only have rights to show the matches in their given nation, meaning that they block people with IP addresses outside their own country. As a result, you will be blocked as you try to watch the FIFA World Cup (and other programs) on ZDF/DasErste from abroad.
What is the solution?
If you want to bypass such regulations, you need to get an IP address in the nation you are interested in. So, to watch ZDF and ARD from abroad, you need to get a German IP address. The best way to get a German IP address is by using the services provided by IPVanish, a brilliant VPN provider with IP addresses in lots of nations worldwide. How exactly is it done? Do as follows!
- Visit the IPVanish website and sign up for their services (they have a 30-day full refund policy).
- Download the IPVanish client to your computer, tablet or phone.
- Connect to a server in Germany.
- Restart your browser or ZDF/ARD application.
- Reopen your application or browser and watch the FIFA World Cup on German TV abroad.
You are now ready to watch the FIFA World Cup. Hopefully, Germany will make it all the way to the final (as we all expect them to). Germany will play their opening match against Mexico on June 17th, then against Sweden on June 23rd, and their final group stage match against South Korea on June 27th.
