If you’re working, living or simply outside of NZ on holiday, you’ll have noticed that watching NZ catch-up TV on the internet isn’t straightforward. Well, don’t panic. In this article, I am going to show you How to Watch ThreeNow outside of New Zealand.
See also: How to watch BBC iPlayer in NZ.
How to watch ThreeNow outside New Zealand: Quick guide
- Spoof your IP address back to NZ
- Sign up to ExpressVPN ($6.66) or NordVPN ($3.99/month)
- Download and install the app on your device
- Connect to a server in NZ
- Watch ThreeNow from anywhere in the world!
Why can’t I watch ThreeNow outside New Zealand
ThreeNow is the online catch-up TV website for New Zealand’s Channel Three. The reason you can’t watch Three when you’re outside NZ, even if you’re a Kiwi, is because Three only has a license to broadcast content in New Zealand.
And even though shows such as The Block are native to New Zealand, the channel is still subject to international laws.
The reason is fair enough.
1) Three sells its home-made content to other territories (Australia).
2) Three licences content from its International partners too. Shows like Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods have global appeal. And TV networks in all major Western Countries will have bid for their own broadcasting rights of these shows.
This means ThreeNow has to restrict where users can access its content from. Failing to do this would result in Three having to pay for global online broadcast licenses – not just NZ licenses.
How does ThreeNow know I’m outside NZ
Every internet connection as a unique IP address. These are a bit like phone numbers. And, just like an area code, websites can detect where you are connecting from based on your IP address.
If you want to watch any catch-up or live, TV from a country that you’re not actually in, you’re going to need to spoof your IP address.
How to watch ThreeNow outside New Zealand
If you want to watch ThreeNow abroad you’re going to need to spoof your IP address to one that’s inside New Zealand.
The good news is that doing this is pretty easy. All you need is a decent VPN and then you can reroute your internet traffic through one of its New Zealand servers/IPs. It’s as simple as that.
Well, it was. Not any more. TV website has started cracking down on users spoofing their location via VPNs. The way TV sites do this is by blanket blocking known-VPN IP addresses. TV websites also now monitor each IP address for abnormal activity. “Abnormal activity” is when the number of simultaneous connects from the same IP exceeds the national average. When this happens, that IP gets blacklisted too.
So you need to choose your VPN wisely. I’ve been using ExpressVPN ($6.66) and NordVPN ($3.99/month) to watch ThreeNow, TVNZ and Sky Go NZ when I’m outside of New Zealand.
Both are high-end VPNs that are world-class at supplying fast and open connections to popular TV websites.
ExpressVPN and NordVPN both let you watch BBC iPlayer (via a UK server) and American Netflix (via a US server). Plus tons of other international channels.
Read next: How to watch UK TV in New Zealand.
