If you are a huge fan of American sports events like UFC, MMA, boxing, however, for some reason you are staying now outside the United States and want to watch the current event and you already have an ESPN+ service or want to buy it now. But, when you are trying to access ESPN+ on your devices it is showing “This content is subject to blackout” because ESPN will determine your current region first.
When you experience a blackout in your region while trying to watch your favorite game you can still be able to watch by using a VPN that hides your IP address and location. In this article, we are going to look at how to bypass ESPN/ESPN+ live blackout restrictions.
Blackout restrictions are common in almost all television networks so that the local broadcaster is given a competitive advantage over other online services. ESPN which is a major broadcaster for leagues such as NBA, MLS, NFL, MLB, and NHL may impose a blackout to prevent people from live streaming from the internet and watching a particular game. A particular TV network may be given rights to broadcast a particular game while other live streaming services may be blocked from airing that particular match.
What are blackout restrictions?
Blackout is a blocking service that prevents people in other areas from live streaming the game from the internet. A particular broadcast station or sports network is given the rightsholder to air a particular event to residents of a particular locality or region. Blackout is put in place so that the right of this local broadcast station or sports network is protected and given a competitive advantage over other TV networks.
How my location is determined?
We can also say the blackout is the telecast that has been sold to a particular locality or region and is bound by the rightsholder’s agreement. Your location is determined using your IP address and in case of restriction, you may receive messages that the TV network is blocked. Sometimes, if you are watching ESPN you can check the local listing to determine if your TV network is blocked from airing the event. If you checked the message and it says “This channel is subject to blackout” then you automatically know that you cannot watch the sporting event on ESPN.
How a VPN works to bypass ESPN+ live blackouts?
ESPN is a broadcaster that has been granted rightsholders to broadcast all major leagues in North America. Because ESPN/ESPN+ uses your IP address to know your location, this is why you have to change your IP address to a valid location. Here a VPN (Virtual Private Network) helps you to avoid your current location’s restrictions. Blackouts are put in place to prevent online viewers and to protect the rightsholders of the broadcaster. To unlock the blocked ESPN event with a VPN, it routes your internet to another server in another location and you will be able to enjoy watching without any restrictions.
Here are the steps to follow to bypass ESPN live blackout
- Sign up then download a quality VPN (Virtual Private Network) which gives you online privacy, enough bandwidth as well as a server in different locations to unlock the blocked region or locality.
- Install the VPN application on your desktop because smartphones might not work well because you can not hide your GPS network which shows your IP address and location.
- Connect to the blacked-out server location where you want to watch the live event. Visit plus.espn.com and log in to your account so that you can watch your game without any restrictions.
How to bypass blackouts on a Web Browser?
You can bypass ESPN+ live blackout on a web browser by connecting the server to a location in which it is not blocked or restricted so that you can watch the blocked game. When you will be assigned a new IP address that will not detect your locality and you will watch the blocked content from the ESPN network. After installing and setting a VPN of your choice you will be able to connect to the server and start live streaming. If you are still blocked after connecting to VPN then you may need to clear the cache and other cookies.
Where does it work properly Mobile or Desktop?
If you are watching ESPN/ESPN+ games on your desktop the ESPN network will use your IP address to detect your location. However, if you are live streaming from your smartphone then ESPN will use your built-in GPS to detect your location if it is within the region which is blocked. When using mobile apps they ask for permission to function properly and therefore, VPN will hide your real IP address but not your GPS location. To resolve live blackout in desktop Virtual Private Network (VPN) will block your IP address from being detected by ESPN and therefore you can unlock the blocked match in another location.
Watch UFC on what TV service worldwide?
| Countries | Paid Channels | Mobile Stream |
| United States | ESPN, ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
| United Kingdom | BT Sports, UFC Fight Pass | BT Sport app |
| Sweden | Viaplay, UFC Fight Pass | Viaplay |
| Spain | Dazn, UFC Fight Pass | Dazn app |
| Russia | Wink, More.TV | N/A |
| Poland | Polstat Sport, ESPN (Prelims) | N/A |
| Nordic Countries | Viaplay, UFC Fight Pass | Viaplay |
| South America | Fox Sports, UFC Fight Pass | Fox App |
| South Korea | UFC Fight Pass | UFC Fight Pass |
| Canada | Videotron, UFC Fight Pass | UFC Fight Pass |
| New Zealand | SKY Arena | UFC Fight Pass |
| Australia | Fetch TV, UFC Fight Pass | UFC Fight Pass |
| Germany | Dazn, UFC Fight Pass | UFC Fight Pass |
| Italy | Dazn, UFC Fight Pass | UFC Fight Pass |
ESPN+ FAQ you need to know
ESPN has laid down rules on how content will be blocked in different cities for different games played to regulate the number of viewers who watch the game.
Why does ESPN black out my current region?
In the U.S, there are two major sports leagues given rights to broadcast the event in the national and local broadcasts. When the sporting event is outside the team’s area then it is broadcast on a national network such as ESPN and when it is happening within the team’s locality then it is broadcasted on a local network such as FOX or CBS. When a sporting event is a blackout in your area then you check your team’s local broadcast network.
Why does ESPN black out Direct TV?
You might not watch ESPN on Direct TV because another channel in your local area is showing the same game.
Why is it Black out Hulu?
Hulu shows sports like NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL on ESPN but you may experience a blackout on the cable provider in case the matches are being shown on another channel via a local broadcast network.
Why do you need to avoid a free VPN to bypass ESPN+?
Free VPN lacks the technology to avoid detection from ESPN’s services and therefore free VPN is easily detected and blocked by ESPN and thus blackout will continue.
Free VPN lacks enough bandwidth to streamline without major destructions; therefore, you will watch poor quality images
Free VPN also limits the amount of data per day that is 150MB to 300MB per day this limits you from watching several minutes of a game and only with the SD quality. The best option for ESPN blackout is a paid VPN.
Follow ESPN Policy first?
Certain live sporting events through ESPN+ network subscription will be subject to blackouts. Blackout will be enforced from your locality where you are live streaming your EPSN+ service subscription and ESPN will verify your location using different methods of technology. If you do not enable location on your device you will not be able to access ESPN service.
Blackouts are common with ESPN/ESPN+ services among different states and cities in the US. Therefore to avoid these blackouts you can use a VPN that does not reveal your real IP address and you can comfortably unlock blocked matches in your area easily.
