If you’ve been watching NBC Sports outside the US with a VPN and it’s stopped working. NBC has managed to block all the IP addresses your VPN can provide.
This can be frustrating but don’t panic. There are several fixes you can try to resolve this issue.
This article will explain how you can fix NBC Sports not working with VPN and how you can prevent these issues from arising again.
See also:
- NBC not working with VPN? Try these EASY FIXES (2023)
- Crave not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
- Peacock not working with VPN? How to EASILY fix! (2023)
NBC Sports not working with VPN: Quick Fixes
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Delete Cookies
Some websites and apps use Cookies to streamline your online experience.
Even if you don’t remember accepting Cookies, they may have been downloaded automatically.
To make your online experience better, these Cookies contain information about your location.
Regardless of if you’re using a VPN or not, NBC can potentially access this information, and if it finds you’re outside the US, it will block your connection.
When trying to fix NBC Sports not working with VPN, a good place to start is deleting your Cookies.
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Change to a different US server
If after deleting your Cookies, you’re still running into issues watching NBC Sports with your BPN, try changing to a different US server.
Your VPN has stopped working because NBC has identified the IP address it has given you and blocked it.
Changing to a different US server will give you a new IP and if NBC hasn’t blocked that one, you’ll be able to watch NBC Sports with your VPN again.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If changing to a different US server doesn’t work, NBC has managed to block all of the IP addresses your VPN can provide.
This has happened because your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to get around NBC Sports’ blocks.
You can wait for your VPN to release new IP addresses that NBC Sports hasn’t blocked, however, there’s no telling how long this will take. Also, the IP addresses being blocked already is a clear indication that your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to stay one step ahead of NBC’s VPN blocking techniques.
The best way to fix NBC Sports not working with VPN is to upgrade to a better VPN that’s still compatible with the streaming service.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month). This VPN has measures in place to get around NBC’s blocks. These measures will prevent you from running into the same errors you’ve been coming across when trying to watch NBC Sports with your current VPN.
Why has NBC Sports blocked my VPN?
NBC Sports is a US-based streaming service that’s only available in the US.
NBC doesn’t have the rights to broadcast its content internationally, and because VPNs are well-known ways of watching NBC Sports outside the US, NBC tries to block them from accessing its service.
If NBC didn’t do this, it could breach the copyright and licensing agreements it has with its content partners. These breaches could result in massive fines for NBC. Obviously, it doesn’t want that, so it blocks VPNs.
How does NBC Sports block VPNs?
NBC Sports blocks VPNs by monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections accessing its service via the same IP address.
Usually, only a household of devices will connect to NBC Sports via the same IP address. This is considered normal. Anything over 8-10 devices is considered abnormal. This is a problem for lesser VPNs.
Lesser VPNs, especially free ones, have many customers and not enough IP addresses for each customer to have their own IP. This results in customers sharing IP addresses.
When hundreds or thousands of VPN users connect to NBC Sports via the same IP address, NBC declares this as abnormal and it blocks that connection.
Does NBC Sports still work with VPNs?
Yes, NBC Sports still works with VPNs, however you need a VPN with three things, a lot of IP addresses, reliable servers and measures in place to stay ahead of NBC’s blocks.
VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) still work with NBC Sports because they have a lot of IPs, meaning there’s less chance you’ll share with another customer and they have fast reliable US servers.
Most importantly these VPNs work with NBC Sports because they play a game and cat and mouse with the streaming service. Inevitably NBC Sports will sometimes identify an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) however, when these IP addresses are blocked, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) will close that IP and open a new one.
This means there will always be an IP address for you to connect to, allowing you to stream NBC Sports from anywhere in the world reliably.
The best VPNs to watch NBC Sports
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.
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(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.
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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
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%
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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)
Is watching NBC Sports with a VPN legal?
Yes, watching NBC Sports is legal however it may go against the streaming service’s terms of use.
When you sign up to NBC Sports, you automatically agree to the terms of service. This is a contractual agreement that outlines the conditions and rights you have when using NBC Sports and explains what you are allowed and are not allowed to do with the streaming service.
If you breach these terms of service, NBC Sports has the right to block and or ban your account. The terms of service state “Our content and other Services are not appropriate or intended to be available for use outside the U.S. If you choose to access our Services from other locations you do so in violation of these Terms of Use.”
Basically, what this means is if you use a VPN to access NBC Sports outside a country where it is officially available, NBC Sports may ban your account.
With that said, given the wide-spread use of VPNs, plus the many legitimate and legal use cases for VPNs, it’s fair to suggest that banning customers for using a VPN would be an extremely costly policy for NBC Sports to enforce.
In theory, if you’re trying to watch NBC Sports in a region where it does not traditionally operate, you risk having your account banned. However, as the best VPNs use military-grade encryption, it’s impossible for streaming services to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from. Also, NBC Sports has never banned anyone for using a VPN to access its service.
It’s also important to know that if you’re using a VPN in one of these countries: China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Iraq, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Seychelles, Suriname, Namibia, Slovenia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan, it’s illegal and you may face punishments for doing so.
For more information you can check out our article answering Is streaming with a VPN legal?
