RWC viewing options outside AUS & UK...help for the expat community.

[jollyswagman]

Hey mods.....this is my 4th RWC as an expat and it has taken 16 years for me to be able to "access" rugby matches with similar ease as to what I was used to before I left Aussie shores. I live in the US these days and although we do have access to a few free-to-air matches with DirectTV, all the other are PPV at $37.95 / match. I would be happy to share my tips for the best alternate & legal viewing options privately with anyone who may be interested or need assistance. I am not spamming anyone and genuinely want to help any other gaggers out there who may find themselves on distant shores during this special time. If anyone needs some help feel free to PM me as I would be happy to share what I know.

 

[Braveheart81]

If you are "in the UK", ITV streams the matches online free of charge on their website.

 

[jollyswagman]

If you are "in the UK", ITV streams the matches online free of charge on their website.

I thought that was going to be the case BH but apparently not. Your are correct in that the RWC matches are being broadcast live on free-to-air ITV channels ITV-3 & ITV-4 but not online through i-player. That was my old "Plan-A" which I was lucky enough figure out early enough for me to come up with Plan B.

 

[Braveheart81]

You can watch live all the ITV channels on their website if you are in the UK.

Replays are available of all the matches through their ITVplayer.

 

[Antony]

all the other are PPV at $37.95 / match.

That's outrageous. Maybe it's just too expensive, but you'd think it would be worth World Rugby subsidising broadcast in the US, even if just enough to allow it to be broadcast on cable on a non pay-per-view basis.

 

[jollyswagman]

Yep, it is pretty outrageous. $37.95 for HD broadcast and $27.95 for standard definition. All of the US Eagles matches are free to air in SD as was the opening ceremony and the England-Fiji Match. That all said, 15 years ago there was nothing, then a few years later we would get a few super rugby matches through FoxSoccerPlus channel on cable. It has come along way since then and gone are the days of having to watch things via illegal online streams of streaming PPV. I now enjoy all the super rugby live, plus TRC, Currie Cup, ITM, a lot of nothern hemisphere rugby except for the Top14. I still have to hook into Foxtel Go to watch the NRC and magazine shows but that's ok with me.

Anyway, its not uncommon to hear the odd punter here on the boards asking for help when they find themselves stuck here in the US during a big game and not knowing where to turn. If any of you find yourself in this position just let me know and I will point you in the right direction.

 

[Novocastrian]

I thought that was going to be the case BH but apparently not. Your are correct in that the RWC matches are being broadcast live on free-to-air ITV channels ITV-3 & ITV-4 but not online through i-player. That was my old "Plan-A" which I was lucky enough figure out early enough for me to come up with Plan B.

That's odd, I could have sworn I was watching the Georgia v Tonga and Ireland V Canada matches live on the itv app on my android tablet, but perhaps I just imagined it?

 

[Hawko]

Anyone got any helpful hints for Spain, Netherlands, Germany?

 

[jollyswagman]

Anyone got any helpful hints for Spain, Netherlands, Germany?

Hawko, how are you "accessing" the media? Phone, tablet or PC....and what type of connection will you be using? Mobile data, hotel wifi, someone's home wifi? Any limitations with the connection speed of amount of data to keep in mind?

 

[Hawko]

Hawko, how are you "accessing" the media? Phone, tablet or PC..and what type of connection will you be using? Mobile data, hotel wifi, someone's home wifi? Any limitations with the connection speed of amount of data to keep in mind?

PC. Hotel wifi (pretty good at this hotel, but some others have been abominable).

 

[Lindommer]

Hawko, if you're in "Spain, Netherlands, Germany" possibly an airline ticket combined with a train connection might help you view the matches perfectly.....

 

[Hawko]

Hawko, if you're in "Spain, Netherlands, Germany" possibly an airline ticket combined with a train connection might help you view the matches perfectly...

Except I am holidaying with my wife, including a 14 day river cruise. I want to remain married!

 

[jollyswagman]

PC. Hotel wifi (pretty good at this hotel, but some others have been abominable).

go to http://www.speedtest.net/ and see what sort of speeds you can get over the hotel wifi. If you can get a solid 3mbs then your best bet is a simple VPN program installed on your laptop (i use IP Vanish). Once you have that running then ITV channel's webplayer will give you the best free streaming video quality. The quality from the NZ v Namibia match today was good enough to be able to stream to my bigsceen in the living room, which was a pleasant surprise. Better than FoxtelGO by a great deal. To keep on top of the broadcast times I recommend installing the UK TV guide app on your phone as it will adjust to you local timezone as you travel.

 

[Tex]

You can watch live all the ITV channels on their website if you are in the UK.

Replays are available of all the matches through their ITVplayer.

Correct me if I've overemphasised this, but the key to unlocking the "in the UK" deadlock is a "Vee Pea En".

I've got a Foxtel Play account now and can't believe I battled with the "temptation" of illegal streams for so long. If you're outside of Aus, combining the Foxtel Play account (or trial) and the "Vee Pea En" should get you excellent access.

 

[Braveheart81]

Correct me if I've overemphasised this, but the key to unlocking the "in the UK" deadlock is a "Vee Pea En".

I've got a Foxtel Play account now and can't believe I battled with the "temptation" of illegal streams for so long. If you're outside of Aus, combining the Foxtel Play account (or trial) and the "Vee Pea En" should get you excellent access.

Yes, you have correctly read between the lines of "in the UK".

I'm pretty sure we're sailing fairly close to the wind in terms of discussing how to watch matches now...

I've got Foxtel so thankfully this is all hypothetical.

 

[Tex]

I might add that for those in Australia the Foxtel Play account is affordable and works reasonably well. A few bugs in the program itself but it delivers a quality feed.

Other means of organising one's personal online privacy are of course their business alone!

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

[Hawko]

go to http://www.speedtest.net/ and see what sort of speeds you can get over the hotel wifi. If you can get a solid 3mbs then your best bet is a simple VPN program installed on your laptop (i use IP Vanish). Once you have that running then ITV channel's webplayer will give you the best free streaming video quality. The quality from the NZ v Namibia match today was good enough to be able to stream to my bigsceen in the living room, which was a pleasant surprise. Better than FoxtelGO by a great deal. To keep on top of the broadcast times I recommend installing the UK TV guide app on your phone as it will adjust to you local timezone as you travel.

Thanks very much!

 

[pissedoffihavetoregister]

a vpn even copes with the great firewall of china. Atleast i hope it speeds up at 3 am tomorrow morn. Don't really want to go to the camel at that hour.

 

[Hawko]

One thing to add. ITV asked for a postcode. I used KT19OJQ and it worked.