The luxury of living in Italy is pretty much about relishing beautiful, highly-developed, yet rustic towns all while having access to one of the best cuisines. To that, we should add plenty of great content on local TV channels such as Rai, Mediaset, Inter TV, La5, and many others.
Unfortunately, people outside of this country can’t enjoy any of these benefits, which especially applies to watching Italian TV outside of Italy. As you’ll quickly find out, we’re talking about geo-restricted channels, which is why it’s so difficult to watch them abroad.
Whether you’re an Italian on vacation in a foreign country or you just want to access the amazing content on Italian TV channels, this article is for you. Today, we’re showing you how to watch Italian TV channels live abroad and gain access to local TV shows, movies, sports, and entertainment programs!
How to Watch Italian TV Live Abroad? 5 Easy Steps
- Subscribe to a reputable VPN service with servers in Italy. We advise NordVPN.
- Set up the VPN on your device.
- Launch the VPN app and sign in with your credentials.
- Connect to a VPN server in Italy.
- Go to your favorite Italian TV channels and watch them as much as you like.
Why Are Italian TV Channels Unavailable Abroad?
The first thing to talk about is addressing the big, enormous elephant in the room. And that is the question of why you can’t watch Italian TV live abroad. As said, local TV channels from this country are geo-restricted, which means they’re not available once you’re out of the country’s borders.
To be honest, Italy isn’t guilty of that particularly. This is the case with almost EVERY local TV channel in almost every country. If we talk about a German TV channel like ZDF, for example, you will see that you can’t watch it outside of Germany.
And then, if we go back to Italian TV, channels like Mediaset and Rai are also inaccessible to people located in other countries. That happens because of licensing rights that each channel has to sign to be able to operate.
However, these licensing rights allow them to broadcast their content only in their native countries, and violating these terms would cost these channels a lot. That explains why you can’t watch Italian TV live outside of Italy in 2026.
We currently reside in Europe and when trying to watch Rai TV through Rai Play, we’re greeted with an error message. As you see above, the message is clear, as Rai politely informs us that we’re outside Italy. This is why we can’t access the content we want.
How can I watch Italian TV outside of Italy and consume what these channels have to offer? Well, the trick lies in the fact that all of these channels and websites, in general, can see your IP address each time you visit them, which also reveals your location.
If the IP address isn’t based in Italy, you’re restricted access and if it’s based in this country, the channels will allow you to access and watch them. But how to get an Italian IP? Well, let’s demonstrate that in the next section.
How to Watch Italian TV Online Abroad With a VPN
You’ll have to use a VPN to get an Italian IP if you don’t plan on starting your new life in this country. A VPN is a service that lets you change your IP address to another country and route your traffic through a VPN tunnel, which encrypts it and makes it untraceable by your internet provider and hackers.
You get several benefits here, such as increased online security but also the ability to bypass geo-restrictions and unblock blocked platforms and websites. The key for this purpose is to find a VPN with servers in Italy and the one we found has dozens of them in this country — it’s NordVPN.
For this tutorial, we will use NordVPN to show you how to watch Italian TV live abroad since it’s the most reliable pick. Rest assured, you can also use ExpressVPN if you want, which we’ll also discuss in a few minutes.
1. Get NordVPN
To be able to use this provider, you first must get its subscription and install it. NordVPN isn’t a free VPN and it’s actually good because free providers offer no servers in Italy — nada! However, the trick is that by using the button below, you can snatch NordVPN’s currently available discount.
It’s a 70% discount for all 24-month plans in which NordVPN occasionally gives you 3 free months on top of that. That’s not the end, as you also get a 30-day money-back guarantee for ALL subscription plans, so it’s easy to get a refund if you don’t need it anymore.
This lets you use it risk-free to watch Italian TV live online and get reimbursed when you get back to Italy or for whatever reason. Once you’re subscribed, download its application for your platform. NordVPN is a VPN that will work on Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, and macOS.
Thus, select your platform, download, and install NordVPN. On Windows/macOS, it’s a setup file, while iOS/Android users can download and install the app directly from their respective app stores. The dashboard of NordVPN looks like the one above.
2. Connect to an Italian VPN Server
From here, everything is simple. As said, we need an Italian IP address and to get it, we need to click on the Globe icon displayed above, scroll down the server list, and locate Italy. After that, all that’s left is a click on Italy and the associated IP address will be assigned to you.
Alternatively, you can use NordVPN’s conveniently placed search bar. Type in Italy and click on the server location that appears. In just about two or three seconds, NordVPN will connect, and you’ll see the Connected” message up top that tells you that you’re connected to an Italian VPN server.
3. Watch Italian TV Outside of Italy (Anywhere)
This, in return, allows you to access any Italian TV channel you want. Don’t believe us? Well, just try it for yourself. The solution applies to watching all Italian TV channels live abroad, so it’s not limited to just the channels mentioned in this article.
Above is an example of Rai TV (Rai Play), but as explained, you can unblock a world of Italian TV channels abroad. Go ahead and enjoy.
How to Watch Italian TV Outside of Italy With ExpressVPN?
Another VPN you can try is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is a bit pricier provider overall and it offers 3,000+ servers in 105+ countries around the world. Not only does it offer many servers in Milan, Naples, and Cosenza, but they’re also streaming-friendly and work well for bypassing geo-restrictions.
You open ExpressVPN, find an Italian server location you want on the list, and double-click on it to connect. After that, with an Italian IP in place, ExpressVPN will let you access any TV channel in this country no matter your real location.
Because it offers great speeds and unlimited bandwidth, much like NordVPN, you’ll have zero problems streaming content on these channels limitlessly. Beware that ExpressVPN isn’t as good as NordVPN.
It’s a smidge slower and lacks a few advanced security features. However, it does unblock all Italian TV channels abroad. Plus, it’s also suitable for Netflix Italy. Newcomers will also appreciate its juicy 61% discount thanks to 4 free months for ExpressVPN’s biennial plan.
Its longest plan costs a measly $4.99 a month and comes with a whopping 30-day money-back guarantee. This is plenty of time to give it a spin and see how it goes. If you’re interested in this provider, make sure you use the red button above to claim this cheapest deal.
After all, despite being inexpensive, this paid VPN is better than any free VPN you can find online. Therefore, it’s absolutely worth giving it a chance.
Bottom Line
The greatest thing about VPNs is that they allow you to access any content you want without geo-restrictions imposing annoying limits. As demonstrated today, you can watch Italian TV channels outside of Italy using a VPN like NordVPN or ExpressVPN.
Once you alter your VPN location to this country, accessing any of the channels is simple. Keep in mind that these providers offer plenty more benefits, so if you’re going to spend money on them, know that this isn’t the only purpose that they can serve.
With these providers, you can stay safe on public WiFi networks, access numerous Netflix libraries, download torrents safely (very important in Italy!), and prevent your ISP from throttling your internet, which is great if you’re into low-ping gaming or 4K streaming.
Now that we’ve said everything you need to know, feel free to test any of the two providers and watch Italian TV online anywhere. The solution is risk-free and best of all — it WORKS!
Frequently Asked Questions
We won’t leave anything on the table in this guide. Here are our answers to your frequently asked questions.
Is it legal to watch Italian TV abroad?
Yes, it’s perfectly fine. VPNs are legal, either way, unless you’re in a country that strictly prohibits it, and these are rare. In 99% of the cases, you can use a VPN to stream region-locked content, and by extension, access Italian TV channels live outside of Italy.
Can I use a free VPN?
Yes, but you shouldn’t. Free VPNs aren’t guaranteed to work, as most of them lack Italian VPN servers. While you’ll find countless free VPN servers in the US, Italian servers are a lot less popular. It doesn’t make sense for free services to invest in them, as they’d lose a hefty sum of money.
What to do if my VPN isn’t working?
If you can’t unblock Italian TV overseas, consider:
- Wiping your cookies and cache
- Using another Italian server
- Switching to a different protocol
- Using a different device (preferably a PC)
- Asking the support team to solve the problem
At least one of these fixes should work if you’re using our recommended VPNs. They’re generally problem-free and should work out of the box, so there will be no need to troubleshoot in the first place.
