How to Watch American TV Abroad Online in 4 Simple Step.
Even though Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos have taken over the living room, Live TV still lurks around the corner every time sporting events such as the Super Bowl or the recent Seasons are streamed live NFL.
You can be a trendy expat living in rural Europe, or someone who just wants to watch American TV abroad online, you have a variety of options. You know there are several ways to skin a cat. The most popular of these are Hulu Live, YouTube TV, Sling and DirecTV, etc. In this case we will go with Sling TV as it offers the most bang for your buck.
What exactly is Sling TV?
Sling TV is a service that allows subscribers to watch TV channels live and on demand. Treat it like a cable or satellite TV service, except that it streams over the Internet, you can stream it to your TVs, computers, Apple TV, Roku and smartphones, and there are no contracts and you can cancel or resume the service at any time you want.
Even with the price hike, Sling TV is still one of the cheapest ways to watch TV on the Internet. If we look at similar services that are streaming live TV channels such as – YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV Now, etc., they all start at $ 35 to $ 45 per month. That being said, Sling TV is still at $ 25.
But there are not one, but two obstacles to overcoming obstacles; Firstly, these services are only available in the US, and secondly, you will need an American credit card to sign up for them. I overcame this limitation and watched the NFL from outside the US without a US credit card. I’ll show you how. So let’s see how this is done.
Read: How to Watch HBO NOW Outside the US
Watch American TV Abroad online
First Step: Get a VPN
The first thing you’ll need to access HBO Now outside of the States is a VPN. There are many free and paid VPNs to choose from. And luckily, unlike Netflix where free VPNs no longer work, just about every VPN we’ve tried for HBO NOW.
If you need a free VPN, we recommend Tunnel Bear. It’s safe to have a decent privacy policy. However, the downside is that you only get 2GB in the free version. You can also check other free VPNs for Google Chrome here.
In this case, I recommend getting a Smart DNS proxy. The reason is that it offers both VPN and Smart DNS, which means you set up smart DNS on your router and watch American TV shows from all of your devices. So, go to SmartDNSProxy and create a free trial account. It only costs $ 5 a month, but the good news is that they have a 14-day free trial, so if you decide not to continue, you can cancel before then. Also no credit card details are required.
Once set up, turn on the VPN and switch to the United States.
Second Step: Choose Sling TV Plan
Now that you have a VPN, when you visit Sling TV, you can access the website. Take a look at their various plans. It comes in three different packages: orange, blue and orange + blue.
Sling Orange: $ 25 per month. 22 channels including ESPN and Disney (but not Fox or NBC channels). Limited to one concurrent stream.
Sling Blue: $ 25 per month. 35 channels including Fox and NBC channels (but not ESPN or Disney channels). Up to three simultaneous streams.
Sling Orange + Blue: $ 40 per month. Includes all channels from both. Up to four simultaneous streams, but only one for Orange channels.
In this case, I’ll go with Sling Blue because it comes with Fox, which is eligible for most NFL seasons.
Third Step: Get a Sling Gift Card
Next we need to buy a gift card for Sling TV as it only accepts US credit cards.
So, head over to mygiftcardsupply.com (we have tried several gift card companies and this is the only company that works with non-US credit cards and Paypal)
You can get from $ 25 to $ 100. For now, I’ll just pick the $ 25 plan (for which I have to pay $ 28 including their fees) and pay via Paypal. Enter your name, email address and verify your phone number.
You will then receive the code by email in a minute or two. Sometimes, if their system detects a payment error, you might have to try a different payment method.
Fourth Step: Subscribe to Sling TV
Now that you have a VPN and Sling gift card, you are ready to subscribe to Sling TV. Go to the SlingTV gift redemption page. Click New User? Get it here â€and set up your account.
You need to add a US billing address for tax reasons. They need an accurate address, so make sure you enter something realistic, like the real address of a hotel in New York. Also, some sporting events, such as the NFL, are regionally restricted, so make sure you pick the state you want to see the most.
Select the desired package and optional features. Scroll down to select Next.
Then it will ask you for billing information, do not add a credit card (7-day free trial may be tempting, but don’t fall for it), instead of scrolling down and enter a gift card that you just received in the email. And it’s all. Click Finish & Submit to set up your account.
The downside of the whole plan is that you cannot choose a monthly billing cycle. So you need to maintain your Gift Card Sling account as a gift card seller. Simply go to the My Account Settings page on the Sling website and select the Add Gift Card link. Enter the new code, click the Redeem button, and you’re back in action.
Does it work on smartphones and Apple TV?
Unfortunately, the Sling TV app is region-locked on Android, iPhone, Apple TV and other streaming devices. So, there is no direct way to make it work. However, we tried to load it on the Sling TV Android app using a VPN and it works flawlessly. Just download apk Sling TV from ApkMirror to your Android smartphone and install it. Then turn on your VPN, switch to the United States and sign into the Sling TV app. Make sure you don’t give it location permission when asked and it should work fine. Unfortunately, there is no way to download apps to Apple TV, iPhone, or other streaming devices.