Going on holiday or travelling for work doesn’t have to mean missing your team. But football rights are sold country by country, so the service you pay for at home may not work when you land somewhere else. Here’s how it works.
Why your app stops working abroad
Broadcasters buy rights for a specific territory. Sky Sports has the Premier League for the UK, Peacock for the US, Stan Sport for Australia, and so on. When you open the app abroad, it detects your location and blocks content it isn’t licensed to show there. It’s a rights restriction, not a fault with your account.
Travelling within the EU
If you live in an EU country, the EU’s portability rules let you use your paid streaming subscriptions while temporarily travelling in another EU country, as if you were at home. You may need to verify your country of residence in the app.
These rules don’t cover the UK since Brexit, so whether a UK service works in the EU depends on the provider. Some allow it, some don’t; check the help pages of your service before you travel.
Using a VPN
A VPN (virtual private network) can make your device appear to be at home, which some travellers use to access their own subscriptions abroad. Two things to know:
- Check your provider’s terms. Many streaming services prohibit using a VPN to bypass location restrictions and may block VPN connections.
- Use a reputable paid VPN. Free VPNs are often slow and can log or sell your data, which matters if you’re signing in to accounts.
Check what’s available locally
Often the easiest option is the local broadcaster. The match you want may be on a channel in your hotel, at a sports bar or on a local streaming service with a short free trial. Each match page on KickoffTonight lists broadcasters for several countries, so you can see who’s showing the match where you are.
Don’t get caught out by time zones
Kick-off times shift when you travel: a Saturday 3pm UK match is 4pm in Paris, 10am in New York and between midnight and 2am on Sunday in Sydney, depending on daylight saving. Our match pages show kick-off times in your device’s local time automatically.
Quick summary
- Rights are sold by country, so home apps often block content abroad
- EU residents can use their subscriptions while travelling in the EU
- A VPN may work but can break your provider’s terms; check first
- Check the local broadcaster for the country you’re in