If you’re overseas but still want to catch up with the latest episode of Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Jeremy Kyle (!?) or any ITV show, then you’ll notice the streaming service doesn’t work.
If you try and access ITV Hub outside the UK, you’ll come across errors and won’t be able to access any of its content.
This is obviously frustrating however, there’s a simple way to get around these problems. All you need is a reliable VPN.
Here, we’ll show you how to watch ITV Hub abroad.
How to watch ITV abroad: Quick Guide
ITV won’t work abroad, because it only has a licence to broadcast in the UK. This applies to internet connections that aren’t from the UK too.
This means, if you want to watch ITV Hub abroad, you need to spoof your IP location (internet connection) to make it appear as if it’s coming from inside the UK.
Doing this is pretty easy. You just need to use a good VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
Free VPNs won’t work anymore – read the section below to find out more.
Total Time: 5 minutes
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Create an account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
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Download and install the new VPN app
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Select a server in the UK
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Watch ITV Hub abroad
Why can’t I watch ITV Hub abroad?
ITV Hub is blocked abroad because it’s a UK based streaming service. ITV does not have the rights to broadcast its content internationally, it’s only available in the UK where it does have the rights to broadcast its content.
In order to protect itself from copyright and licensing issues, ITV blocks users from outside its broadcast zone (the UK) from viewing its content.
This is why when you try and watch ITV outside of the UK, you run into errors that say “Sorry, this video is not available right now.”
How does ITV block my connection?
It’s all about IP addresses. IP’s are similar to physical addresses or landline area codes. They contain information that determines your location when you connect to the internet. Whenever you go online, on any device, you are allocated a unique IP address.
Websites and apps like ITV Hub scan your IP address to identify whether or not you are within its broadcast zone. When it finds that your IP address isn’t based in the UK, it blocks it, stopping you from accessing its content.
The most effective way to get around ITV Hub’s blocks is to change your IP address to one based in the UK. This will allow you to get around ITV Hub’s blocks and fortunately VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) allow you to do this easily.
Will any VPN work with ITV Hub?
Unfortunately, not every VPN will work with ITV Hub.
This is because ITV Hub actively tries to block VPNs from accessing its content. It does this by monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections coming from the same IP address.
VPNs have more customers than IP addresses. This results in IP’s having to be shared between customers. When this happens, it is easy for ITV Hub to identify an IP address that has been provided by a VPN.
Usually, only a small household shares the same IP address. So when hundreds of connections are coming from the same IP, ITV Hub knows it’s an IP provided by a VPN and it blocks it.
Lesser VPN providers don’t have any measures in place to counter these blocks. Good VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) stay one step ahead of ITV’s blocks by playing a game of cat and mouse with the service.
When ITV identifies and blacklists an IP address, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) close that IP address and open a new one. This keeps them one step ahead of ITV Hub and allows you to watch ITV abroad.
How to make an ITV Hub Account abroad
Making an ITV Hub account abroad is very easy.
First, you need to make sure you’re connected to a UK server on either ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month).
Second you need to visit Watch ITV live – ITV Hub and select create an account. To create an ITV Hub account, you’ll need an active email address and a UK postcode. If you don’t live in the UK you can simply select any postcode and it will work. To get one you can go here.
It’s that easy.
The best VPNs for ITV Hub
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2023
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
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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. 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
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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.
Read our NordVPN review.
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3. 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
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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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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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How to get the ITV Hub app outside the UK
If you’re outside the UK, you may notice the ITV App isn’t available to download on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. IT can be a bit tricky getting them, but it is possible. The process changes based on what your device you’re using and what country you’re in.
The easiest way to watch ITV Hub abroad is by visiting the website while connected to a UK server on a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month). All you need is an internet browser and a reliable VPN and you’ll be able to watch ITV Hub anywhere in the world.
If you want the ITV Hub app, use the guides below.
Apple Devices:
To get the ITV Hub app on Apple devices, the first thing you need to do is gain access to the UK version of the Apple App Store. To do that you need to create a UK based Apple account.
This process is easy. You can read out article on how to get BBC iPlayer on the App Store outside the UK, and the process is exactly the same.
Although you may be able to download the ITV Hub app, you need to go one step further to gain access to its content. Once you’ve downloaded the ITV Hub app, you need to download ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) and connect to a UK server.
You’ll now be able to watch the ITV Hub app on your Apple device, anywhere in the world.
Android Devices:
If you’re outside the UK, you’ll notice ITV Hub isn’t on the Google Play Store.
To get the ITV Hub app on Android devices you need to download and install the ITV Hub APK file. You can get it here. An APK file is an Android Package Kit. Basically, it’s a file containing all the elements an app needs to install correctly on an Android device.
After installing the ITV Hub app via the APK file, you need to download ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) and connect to a UK server.
Now you’ll be able to open ITV Hub on your Android device and watch its content anywhere in the world.
