Follow World Cup Abroad: So It Works With A German Commentator

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

You can find ARD and ZDF on the remote control in almost every reasonably modern hotel with a television. If you cannot receive the German channels or do not want to lose the vacation days in the hotel room, you can use the live streaming offers of the public channels. For this you should put a laptop, smartphone or tablet in your luggage. For legal reasons, however, the live streams on the ARD and ZDF station websites are only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. However, there are several ways how you can get around this lock abroad.

What awaits us at the World Cup (video):

All information about the 2018 World Cup

While the direct streams are only available in the three countries mentioned, the contents of the streaming services such as Magine TV, TV Spielfilm Live, Zattoo or waipu.tv can also be accessed in other EU countries after the ruling on the lifting of geo-blocking. However, an account should be created before departure. In order to be able to use the TV streaming services abroad, a premium account with the respective provider is required. As a rule, all services can be tested free of charge for 30 days after the first registration.

Test Magine TV for free

Overview of the costs for the providers:

providers	costs per month	Free trial period after first registration
Zattoo	9.99 euros	30 days
Magine TV	10 Euro	7 days
TV feature film LIVE	9.99 euros	30 days

Follow World Cup 2018 abroad via VPN

If you want to tinker a little more, you can also access the direct live streams on the ARD and ZDF websites abroad. An IP comparison determines which country you are using to access the website with your smartphone, tablet or PC. With the help of a VPN service, you can pretend to be abroad while sunbathing at the pool in Mallorca, for example. After installing the corresponding VPN service, select "Germany" to land on the website with an appropriate IP address.

Tip: set up VPN under Android, that's how it works

However, free offers in particular offer only a low data transfer rate. Aborts or stutters in the stream are therefore likely. Paid services work more reliably. Here, too, there is usually a free period for testing after the first registration. Most VPN services such as CyberGhost or Hide My Ass also encrypt the data transmission. So you can also tune in online via hotspots at the World Cup. The detour via a VPN is also suitable if you are traveling in a non-EU country and want to cheer with jogis boys.