DirecTV is the top satellite TV provider in the Americas, and one of the most prominent ones in the whole world. Its signal is highly demanded and sought-after in the continent, with the vast majority of subscriptions coming from within the United States of America.
In fact, the company was born there, in 1994, although its origins were actually from 1985 when it came up in the scene as Hughes Electronics Corporation. Now, DirecTV is a worldwide brand and works under a merger with now-parent company AT&T.
The satellite television enterprise provides live and on-demand TV and movies through the DirecTV Everywhere and DirecTV Cinema services, as well as DirecTV Now, which is the online service with which subscribers can watch all the channels that this company provides.
DirecTV: Options for everybody
DirecTV has shows available for every taste: it stands out in the sports arena, with the NFL Sunday Ticket to enjoy the best of the National Football League, the MLB Extra Innings to watch the best baseball on the planet, specialized channels for tennis, basketball, and the most popular football leagues: Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League, special World Cup programming, commentary and analysis, etc.
It also has the whole HBO family available for movies and some of the hottest TV series, FX, Fox, Fox Life, and several others channels for films and arts. It has the whole Discovery series, the History Channel, the Food Network, music channels, radio stations, and more.
DirecTV, however, is only obtainable in the United States of America, although it has extended southbound to Latin and South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela can enjoy the paid subscription services.
DirecTV’s availability is considerably less than its popularity: markets such as Mexico, Central America, Europe, and Canada are well acquainted with the services that this satellite provider offers to its clientele, but can’t access them because of geo-blocking reasons.
Canada’s case is a lot more disappointing. The country represents a lovely opportunity for investment for DirecTV as a brand, especially taking into account that most of the shows that are hot in the United States may be accepted in Canada, as well.
Is it legal to watch DirecTV in Canada?
However, broadcasting DirecTV’s signal in Canada is not permitted, so Canadians that want to watch the NFL Sunday Ticket, the unique features when there is a World Cup, and all the movie channels that this provider has will not be able to do it without some extra aid.
The aforementioned extra help will need to come in the form of a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, which is an encryption tool to be used online with the intention of gaining privacy, anonymity, and security when browsing the web.
The Internet is full of threats of all kinds: there are millions of hackers out there looking to intercept your connection and steal critical data from you: usernames, passwords, photos, videos, or even your credit card number, or your online shopping favorite site’s account.
There are also thousands of new viruses and malware developed every day, some of them very dangerous to your digital assets. If these developers can’t track you online, the chances that you are a target for these attacks are significantly lower than if you surf the web without protection. However, those are only some of the many benefits that VPNs can bring to your life.
If you are in Canada and want to watch an international page or service, for example, the BBC iPlayer for streaming content, or a cricket tournament in India’s Hotstar, you will not be able to do it because of geographical reasons. Most online streaming services and hubs around the world can only be broadcasted in their respective nations of origin, leaving international markets wanting more.
Unblocking online content with VPN
However, with VPNs, the previously explained issue is in the past. If you are in Montreal, Toronto, Manitoba, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Vancouver, the British Columbia, or any part of Canada, you will unblock DirecTV’s online streaming service with a VPN.
The “how” is easy: VPNs let users like you hide their actual IP address, the number that assigns your device its online identity. But you can’t go around the web without an IP address, right? So, to solve this issue, most VPN clients have a pool of existing addresses to give among its customers.
What is the point of giving users a borrowed IP address? To “pass” through as a citizen from a country of the client selection. If a Canadian citizen wants to enjoy DirecTV Everywhere (which is only for Americans under normal circumstances, so the “Everywhere” part is a little iffy), DirecTV Cinema or DirecTV Now, all it has to do is finding a reliable VPN service with a US server and establish a connection to it.
That way, the user will “trick” the DirecTV system into thinking the connection request is coming from within the United States territory when it is coming from Canada. Reading the American IP address, the page will allow the person to enjoy DirecTV services with not much hassle. DirecTV is a paid service, though, so you will still need a subscription. What VPNs give you is the opportunity to watch the signal without being blocked by the system.
How to watch DirecTV Now in Canada with VPN
DirecTV is a satellite signal that users can only obtain in the United States of America and several Latin American countries. However, they put together an online streaming service so Americans can enjoy some of the best content from the comfort of their laptops, personal computers, smartphones, and tablets.
The problem is that these online streaming shows are also available for US-residents only. However, with a VPN, you can unblock the service and watch your favorite DirecTV shows. All you need to do is:
- Enter the www.directvnow.com.
- Start a free trial or sign up for a streaming service (for Canadian residents, PayPal works just fine).
- Acquire a VPN that fulfills all your essential needs and requirements: remember you are going to unblock international content and stream online, and you will need a VPN option that has servers in the country that hosts your preferred channel (in this case, DirecTV now). You need a provider of servers in the US.
- Sign up for the VPN you chose and enter all the information that the site requires, including payment methods. Most VPN offer monthly plans, but some of them have free trials, money-back guarantees after a few days, semester plans and yearly plans.
- Install the app or software on your selected device.
- Log in to the VPN account you recently created.
- Choose to connect to a US server.
- After connecting to the American server, enter the DirecTV Now website again
- Log in to your recently created account.
- Open a channel within the DirecTV Now app.
- Done! You will now be able to get DirecTV in Canada.
Best VPN to get DirecTV in Canada
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| Visit VPN Provider | Visit TorGuard | Visit PIA |
Getting DirecTV in Canada is possible, thanks to the Internet and VPNs. The four most efficient VPN providers for this goal are:
- TorGuard: TorGuard is best suited for torrenting, privacy and security, but you can use it to stream DirecTV Now content from the comfort of your home.
- IPVanish: one of the speediest alternatives when it comes to VPN, IPVanish is perfect for streaming DirecTV online content.
- Private Internet Access: PIA is an affordable VPN client with satisfactory speeds and the ability to cover your Canadian IP address and lending you an American one to enjoy DirecTV online.
In conclusion, you can get DirecTV in Canada, in spite of the service’s restriction to residents of the United States. All you need is the Internet, a device that allows you to stream online content (a Smart TV, smartphone, tablet, iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC will work) and the aid of a Virtual Private Network.
