In this article I will show you how to watch 9Now in NZ.
If you’re trying to watch 9Now in NZ you’ll run into an error that says “access is not available in your area.” You won’t be able to access any content that the streaming service provides.
This is happening because 9Now doesn’t have the rights to broadcast its content in NZ, which can be frustrating.
Luckily there is a simple fix. You need a reliable VPN, that lets you connect to the internet via an Australian IP address, to watch 9Now from NZ (or anywhere in the world)
In this article I will explain how you can get a VPN that will allow you to reliably watch 9Now in NZ.
See also:
- How to watch Foxtel Go abroad: Watch Foxtel in NZ, UK, US & Canada
- How to watch Hulu in NZ
- How to sign up to Sharesies NZ
- How to watch Sky Sports Now outside of NZ
How to watch 9Now in NZ: Quick Guide
To watch 9Now in NZ, the process is simple. You need a VPN that is compatible with 9Now, and that has reliable Australian servers.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
Follow these steps to watch 9Now in NZ:
Total Time: 2 minutes
Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
Download and install the new VPN app
Select a server in Australia
Watch 9Now wherever you are
What is 9Now?
9Now is an Australian video on-demand service run by the Nine Network.
With more than 7 million signups, 9Now offers access to catch-up TV and live online streaming of Channel 9, 9Gem, 9Go!, 9Life, and 9Rush.
Devices that support 9Now
- Apple iPhones and iPads
- Android phones and tablets
- Apple TV 4
- 2 & 3 (Airplay only)
- Chromecast
- Telstra TV
- Fetch TV
- Freeview Plus
- Playstation 4
- Sony TV
- LG TV
- Samsung TV
- Android TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chrome
- Safari
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
Why can’t I watch 9Now in NZ?
You can’t watch 9Now in NZ because the streaming platform blocks users from outside Australia from accessing its content. It does this to comply with licensing and copyright agreements.
9Now does not have the rights to broadcast its content internationally, it only has the rights to broadcast to Australian residents.
To avoid copyright and licensing issues, 9Now uses geo-blocking technology to stop anyone from outside Australia from accessing its content. When you connect to the streaming service, it’s able to identify your location. When it sees you aren’t inside Australian borders, it blocks the connection. This is why you’ll come across an error saying “access is not available in your area”
How does 9Now block my connection?
9Now blocks your connection by scanning your IP address. Every time you connect to the internet, your device is assigned a unique IP address. This IP contains information that identifies your location.
When you connect to 9Now, your IP is sent to its servers. 9Now scans this information and identifies where you are located. If it finds you aren’t in Australia, it blocks you from accessing its content.
How do I get around 9Now’s blocks?
To get around 9Now’s blocking techniques, you need to have an Australian IP address. Good VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) allow you to do this.
VPNs allow you to hide your location when you connect to the internet. They reroute your internet connection through their own servers (which you can choose) and send your data to an IP address in that location. This process allows you to achieve an anonymous internet connection and it will enable you to surf the web from a virtual location of your choice.
To get around 9Nows blocks all you need to do is use a good VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), connect to an Australian server, and this will fool 9Now into thinking you are trying to watch the service from inside Australian borders. This will unblock the content and allow you to watch 9Now in NZ.
Will any VPN work?
The short answer is no. There are many VPNs out there, some good, some not so good.
9Now tries to block VPNs, it does this using three main techniques:
- Streaming services constantly monitor for IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks. This test is basic. But cheaper VPNs will fail it, meaning your connection isn’t fully secure and will be blacklisted. Good VPNs such as ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will not fail this basic test.
- There are GeoIP databases that collect IP information and verify the IP address you are connecting from. If your VPN is using an IP address in one of these databases, you won’t be able to stream 9Now in NZ.
- 9Now makes its own IP checks. If the channel detects a large number of connections coming from the same IP address simultaneously, they kNow that that is an IP address provided by a VPN and they will blacklist that IP address.
Lesser VPNs will fail these checks as they do not have measures in place to cope with them.
To reliably watch 9Now in NZ you need a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) that plays a game of cat and mouse with the streaming service.
When 9Now blacklists an IP address, good VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will close that IP and open a new one. This keeps them one step ahead of 9Now and allows you to watch 9Now in NZ reliably.
Below is a list of VPNs compatible with 9Now and all of them play cat and mouse with 9Now’s security measures.
VPNs that work with 9Now in NZ
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2022
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
Special Offer for you!
Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $6.66/month for 15 months
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) is still the best VPN. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites. Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevents its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Check out our full ExpressVPN review.
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2. Private Internet Access 🥈
The BEST low-cost VPN for streaming!
Pros
- ✅ Fast and reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Only 48 server locations
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speed: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.03/month for 3 years
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $11.99/month for 1 month
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1-million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If – for whatever reason – you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
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3. NordVPN 🥉
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ No logs
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 6-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ No refunds for purchases from iTunes/App store
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $3.49/month for 2 years
- $6.99/month for 1 year
- $11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And it’s easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers.
It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired a full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers’ connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations.
Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunneling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
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4. Ivacy
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ Dedicated streaming servers
- ✅ 5-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
Cons
- ❌ Only 5 devices
- ❌ Sometimes runs slow
- ❌ Occasionally block by streaming sites for several days
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for Ivacy and enjoy a 7-day trial with no strings attached
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $1.16/month for 5 years
- $3.50/month for 1 year
- $9.99/month for 1 month
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option.
This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease.
The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer.
For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
5. CyberGhost
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ 1-day free trial
- ✅ Reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 7-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
- ❌ Average speed scores
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
Take advantage of CyberGhost’s 1-day FREE TRIAL!
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.75/month for 3 years
- $3.69/month for 2 years
- $5.99/month for 1 year
- $12.99/month for 1 month
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
(30-day money-back guarantee)
9Now top shows
9Now is a free to air service where you can watch popular shows like:
- 100% Footy
- Married At First Sight
- 60 Minutes Australia
- Ninja Warrior
- Botched
- Blue Planet 2
Known VPNs that don’t work with 9Now
- PureVPN
- IPVanish
- Tunnelbear
- Hotspot Shield
