If you are on vacation or traveling for work abroad, you may be wondering why you are receiving an error message. As paying subscribers, most people expect to log in to their streaming accounts from anywhere in the world. This seems like a fair assumption. Unfortunately, that isn’t how things work.
Streaming services and TV broadcasters must abide by licensing agreements. These contractual agreements between copyright holders and streaming services result in limits on where movies, TV shows, and sports competitions can be shown.
When you log in to a streaming service abroad, the service automatically detects a foreign IP address. This signals to the player that you are no longer in the licensed region, which results in an automated error message.
Content producers, including sports leagues, want to be able to license their content to many services around the world. This allows them to make as much revenue as possible from their broadcasts. As a result, each country is subjected to local restrictions, and you will need to use a VPN to pretend to be back home to enjoy watching your account on vacation.