Watching Euro 2024 on BBC iPlayer and ITVX from abroad

A VPN app allows you to unlock UK channels everywhere

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After four years, the long-awaited UEFA European Football Championship is back. Will England finally manage to bring football home?

The good news is that you can find out without spending a penny. The full tournament is available to watch for free everywhere in Europe, in fact, with BBC One and ITV1 taking turns to broadcast matches in the UK.

If you’re abroad during the next month, don’t worry—using one of thebest VPNservices is an easy way to unlock UK channels. A VPN, short forvirtual private network, is software that encrypts internet connections and spoofs your IP address. The latter skill is exactly what you need to unblock BBC iPlayer and ITVX no matter where you are. Keep reading, and I’ll explain everything you need to know to get started.

How to unlock Euro 2024 with a VPN

NordVPN: the best football streaming VPNNordVPN is currently the best service to stream all the Euro 2024 matches wherever you are. The provider boasts a great unblocking track record, meaning you won’t have any issues unblocking BBC iPlayer or ITVX , and is one of the fastest providers we’ve tested. Plus, Nord’s apps are super easy to use, even if you’re a beginner. Why not take NordVPN for a risk-free test drive with its30-day money-back guarantee?

Spoofing your IP address can sound like a very techy task. The truth is that navigating the most popular VPN apps is as easy as using any other app on your phone, tablet, or laptop. Simply follow these steps:

How to install your VPN on multiple devices

Whether you want to watch Euro 2024 matches on your phone, tablet, laptop, or TV, you can easily do so as NordVPN—along with all of our top-rated providers—supports the most popular devices.

As mentioned above, installing a VPN on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC is the same as downloading and installing any other new app.

Things get a little bit more complicated with streaming devices, gaming consoles, and smart TVs, as not all of them come with VPN support. This means it may need a little bit of workaround.

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For instance, whileAmazon Fire Stick offers dedicated VPN apps, others, likeRoku, do not—and I recommend checking our guide toset up your VPN on Roku. It’s worth mentioning, though, that Apple finally introducedsupport for third-party VPNapplications with the tvOS 17 update. Some providers (including NordVPN,ExpressVPN, andIPVanish) even have a dedicated Apple TV VPN app.

Likewise, if you have an Android TV you can download your VPN app by heading toGoogle Play Store. For other smart TVs or gaming consoles, the easiest solution is toinstall your VPN on a router.

Is a free VPN up for the task?

Unfortunately, even the bestfree VPNsaren’t very useful when it comes to streaming.

Reliable providers likeProtonVPN, for example, are good at unblocking content with their premium plan, but they don’t include streaming support for the freebie version. Many free providers also have a very limited server network. Having said that,PrivadoVPN Freeis one of the few that can unblock the likes of Netflix and BBC iPlayer. However, it applies a monthly cap of 10 GB at full speed, so it might not be enough for following the entire Euro 2024 tournament.

I recommend anyway to take advantage ofVPN-free trialsas much as possible. This usually comes in the form of a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means you’ll have to invest the money for then claim the cash back.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1.Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2.Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up.She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com

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