On February 4th, the Winter Olympics will begin in China. The games are being broadcast by NBC in the US and are available on NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
Unfortunately, if you’re outside of the US, Peacock won’t work. When you try to connect to the streaming service, you’ll find an error stating “unavailable in your region.”
This is happening because Peacock doesn’t have the rights to broadcast its content outside the US. The only other countries it’s available in is the UK and Ireland.
This can be frustrating, especially if you’re already a Peacock subscriber. But don’t panic. There’s a simple way to get around this issue.
To watch the Winter Olympics outside the US, you need to make Peacock think you’re still watching it from within the US. This sounds complicated, but it’s incredibly easy. Follow the steps below, and you’ll be able to watch the Winter Olympics anywhere in the world.
See also:
- Peacock not working with VPN? How to EASILY fix! (July 2023)
- How to watch Peacock in the UK: The EASY method! (July 2023)
How to watch the Winter Olympics outside the US: Quick Guide
To watch Peacock outside the US, you need to make Peacock think you’re watching from within the US.
To do that, you need a US IP address. To get one, follow these steps.
-
Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
-
Download and install the new VPN app
-
Select a server in the US
-
Connect to Peacock
-
Watch the Winter Olympics anywhere in the world
How to create a Peacock account if you don’t have one
To watch the Winter Olympics on Peacock, you’ll need at least a Premium account. Unfortunately, free Peacock accounts won’t get access to the Winter Games.
If you don’t have a Premium account, the process is easy, even if you’re outside of the US.
All you need is a valid email address, a US postcode and a credit card or PayPal account.
To get a US postcode, simply Google search “US postcode,” copy and paste that into the registration form and it will work.
Why is Peacock blocked outside the US?
Peacock doesn’t work outside the US because it only can broadcast its content in the US.
The copyright and licensing agreements it has with its content partners stipulate that Peacock isn’t allowed to broadcast its content outside US borders. If Peacock breached these agreements, it could be punished financially.
To avoid this, it blocks anyone outside of the US from accessing its content.
These blocks are why you’re coming across the “unavailable in your region” error when trying to connect to Peacock outside the US.
How does Peacock block my connection?
The way Peacock blocks your connection is all to do with your IP address.
When you go online, you’re allocated a unique IP address. This IP is like an area code on a landline phone, only for your internet connection. It contains information that discloses where in the world you’re physically located.
When you connect to Peacock, it scans your IP address to determine where you’re connecting from.
After scanning your IP, if it finds you’re outside the US, it will block your connection.
How do I get around Peacock’s blocks?
To get around Peacock’s blocks, you need to make the streaming service think you’re connecting from within its broadcast zone. In this case, the US.
To do this, you need a US IP address. And the easiest way to get one is with a reliable VPN.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). These VPNs are very effective and allow you to watch Peacock anywhere in the world.
How do VPNs work?
VPNs do two things. Both are important in allowing you to watch Peacock anywhere in the world. The first thing a VPN does is give you an anonymous internet connection so Peacock cannot ascertain your location. Second, it will provide you with an IP address in a country of your choosing.
VPNs do this by encrypting all of your internet data and rerouting it through one of their servers. You’re able to choose where the server is based. This selection determines where your VPN provided IP address will be based in the world.
Once your data reaches your chosen server, it’s decrypted and sent to an internet service provider based in the country where the VPN server is located. This process will give you an IP address in that country.
If that doesn’t make much sense to you, don’t worry, all you have to do is download ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), connect to a US server, and you’ll be able to watch Peacock anywhere in the world.
Does Peacock block VPNs?
Peacock does try to block VPNs; however, it can’t block them entirely, only the IP addresses they provide.
Peacock blocks VPNs by monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections coming from the same IP address.
Usually, only a household worth of devices will connect to Peacock via the same IP address. This is, on average, 7-10 devices. Anything more than this will alert Peacock.
VPNs have a massive amount of customers. So much so they can’t give each customer their own individual IP address. This means customers are forced to share IP addresses.
When this happens, Peacock is able to easily identify the VPN IP address as abnormal and block it.
Fortunately, the best VPNs, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). have measures to get around this problem.
What VPNs work with Peacock?
The VPNs that work with Peacock are the ones that can stay one step ahead of Peacock’s VPN blocking techniques.
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), are very good at doing this.
First, they have a lot of IP addresses so the chance of you sharing an IP with another customer is much less than other VPNs. Also, most importantly, when Peacock blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will close that IP address and open a new one.
This allows you to stay one step ahead of Peacock’s blocks and it means you can watch Peacock anywhere in the world reliably.
The best VPNs to watch the Winter Olympics 2022
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
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.
Special Offer for you
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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
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.
Read our NordVPN review.
SPECIAL OFFER – SAVE 70%!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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
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).
Special Offer – Save 83%
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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)
