Out of all the countries on the continent of Africa, South Africa continues to be the richest country. Among African countries, this one is the largest producers of meat, and it has the longest railroad system. What South Africa doesn’t have is unrestricted access to US TV. So if you are a local or a tourist enjoying the rich culture, you may want to keep reading to find out the trick to watching US TV channels in South Africa for free.
Why Can’t I watch US TV in South Africa?
It doesn’t matter if you live in South Africa or just on vacation in this country, you will be restricted from watching all of the great content created by entertainment companies from the United States of America.
Companies providing streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or HBO, are blocked in this African country. You are not able to do so because of geo-restrictions and licensing problems. Why? For the same reason most bookmakers won’t grant you access if you’re outside your home country of the USA.
In other words, US television in South Africa is restricted because of the way television networks handle their licenses. Thus, US TV ends up restricted outside of the US border. Despite how this works, there is a solution that allows you to access American content.
Solution – Use a VPN
The solution to fixing this problem is to use a Virtual Private Network – also called a VPN. This allows you to change your IP (or the internet address), from South Africa to the United States.
In other words, your IP now shows that you are actually located in the US, so you have access to American TV channels. Plus, for Amazon Prime Video, a VPN can come in very handy to bypass restrictions.
As the market is full of scams and untrustworthy VPNs that might compromise your privacy, we decided to select the top three VPNs and share them with you in the next sections. But before, let’s focus on how to unblock and watch all the American Channels you want.
How To Use a VPN?
Now that you know how a VPN works, here is how to use it to watch US TV:
- Sign up for and download your chosen VPN
- Validate your account by connecting to it
- Open the servers list and choose one based in the United States
- Click connect and watch your favorite US TV shows
Pretty simple isn’t it? If you still have questions, do not hesitate to leave us a comment at the end of the article.
VPN to Choose to Watch US TV in South Africa
If you want to unblock US TV in South Africa, you need to decide which VPN has the main benefits, according to your preferences and needs.
Before unblocking access to American TV shows, it is important to pick the right VPN. A quick search on the internet will give you a wide selection of unreliable VPNs, and these will waste your time at best.
Any such service that markets itself as free will most likely be infected with spyware and even malicious software. For a streamlined experience, we recommend one of the following Virtual Private Network services: ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or CyberGhost. Let’s take a look at each.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN comes at the top of our list for the following reason: the HD quality is purely outstanding with impressive speeds, exceptional multi-platform support, and it provides 5 concurrent connections under a single account.
You don’t need to be a professional to install and use this service. To top all of that off, ExpressVPN is extremely user-friendly after it is set up.
Another important feature of ExpressVPN is that it is the best choice for power users. The main reason behind this is because it comes with more than 3,000 servers and has consistent performance.
Whether you want to access Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, and many others while you are in South Africa, ExpressVPN offers the highest quality.
Because ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, we classify it as a Virtual Private Network with amazingly private-friendly service.
Like any other great VPN, it has top of the line technologies such as tunneling protocols, a strict no-log policy that ensures your privacy, and great encryption processes. If you are fine with paying a little extra, ExpressVPN will keep all of your data safe and provide the highest speed.
This VPN really is our top recommendation if you want to watch content from ABC, ESPN, US Netflix and more, while being in South Africa of course 😉
NordVPN
NordVPN will also allow you to enjoy American Television while you are in South Africa. It is more affordable and is based in Panama, another country that benefits from relaxed internet laws that ensures your full privacy and security.
For instance, NordVPN also benefits from a no-log policy and includes technologies such as PPTP and L2TP. Other great features that come at an affordable price once you choose NordVPN include an ad-blocker, 256-bit encryption, a malware scanner, and CyberSec.
Compared to ExpressVPN, NordVPN comes with an affordable price tag that offers similar services. Presently, this provider offers you a little over 5,500 servers. Most of these servers are located in the United States of America. Because of this reason, NordVPN is a provider that excels at unblocking US TV channels.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO GO all offer great shows. Unfortunately, they are all companies that actively work to undermine VPNs. This is where NordVPN shows its strengths. Out of all the VPNs on this list, this one is top of the line when it comes to bypassing all of the efforts of blocking access to US TV shows.
CyberGhost
Our final recommendation is CyberGhost, a VPN that offers device compatibility and high general usability at the lowest price. The speed of the connection is the only sacrifice that is needed for the low price of the service. As far as stability goes, CyberGhost is on the same level as ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
CyberGhost has a larger number of servers, presently over 7,000 servers situated all over the globe. This makes CyberGhost the best when it comes to server options, especially if you are in South Africa.
When it comes to privacy, CyberGhost has you covered with the best technologies currently available. Some people consider this VPN to be the safest and most suited to keep your data private.
CyberGhost offers one of a kind Pre-Protection technology, is affordable, easy to use, and might be exactly what you need if you are on a budget.
Wrap Up
All in all, if you are in South Africa and want to enjoy full US TV content, VPNs are the way to go. Any content will be unblocked, they are incredibly user-friendly, and our top three choices are suitable for a wide range of needs and preferences.
ExpressVPN offers the highest speed but at a higher cost. CyberGhost comes with the highest number of servers and the lowest price. NordVPN is the most reliable and an all in one solution. If you want top-quality streaming, you cannot go wrong with any of them!