Watching US Baseball games in Europe (Italy, Mexico)

In Europe, consider the time zone vs the US location.

And the solution is not a VPN, it's a VPN plus a subscription service that you trick with your VPN (might also known as violating the conditions of service, I think) that shows the games and those can be sort of expensive.

I have a Direct TV subscription and could only access it overseas with my work VPN which has a USA IP address. I watched the Sunday and Monday night football. The only problem was the games air when I should have been sleeping.

The first part of the solution is indeed a VPN. This is an intermediate network node
to which you direct your traffic, and it comes out the other side of the node with network
information that makes it look like it's coming from a different place than it actually
originated from.

You install software/app on your device, usually purchase a subscription (there are some
free VPN's that give you a little bit of data every month), and your VPN is ready to go.

In this situation, most US streaming sites restrict users to being in the US. The VPN
gets you around this restriction.

If your partner has subscriptions on mlb.com and Gotham (Yankees?) sites, you may
be able to log in after the VPN is up and running and then watch the games.

For games on Fox (which is where I'm guessing the World Series will be televised),
they usually give you an hour for free even if you don't have any subscription. If you
have a cable or Directv subscription, that will work for watching games on Fox, ESPN,
or TBS.

For Mexico, I think you need to get more info. Are we talking US baseball or Mexican
baseball? What type of TV package does the rental unit have? A Firestick or any type
of streaming device that plugs into the TV allows you to stream content to the TV without
any other device, but you will still need some type of subscription service to watch games
unless the rental unit TV package has it built in (e.g, ESPN or FOX).

Frankly, if your friend is the one who wants to watch the games, shouldn't they be
the ones doing the research to figure out how to do it?

Good description of a VPN but ... when you read about them these days, it seems most content suppliers are hip to this trick and block many VPNs from accessing them. It seems that Netflix puts the most effort into blocking them.

However I was able to stream a Dodgers game on Fox while I was in London, using a VPN. But a few months later in a US hospital (don't ask) could only watch an hour of baseball before it timed me out.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!!

Is there a "baseball addicts anonymous" he could attend to help him travel during baseball season?

You said 'any and all' so that is my 'outside the box' thought

Happy travels.

I recommend Express VPN, which I use to both watch UK TV from the US, and US streaming channels from France. Whether your apps will work using the tool, hard to say. Often they do, and sometimes they don't. But you can subscribe to the VPN month by month and just drop it if it doesn't work for you.

BAA..I love it, Joe!!! But I looked online and can't find a meeting!!!

Thank you, Kent Christine, Shoeflyer, Phred and others who responded!! I think most games are on regular network US tv., but maybe that's only in New York....I will try to hook up that VPN service and see if it works in Italy. At least then I will be familiar with VPN,, whereas now it's just a bunch of initials to me!!

So he might not need streaming, mostly network tv, like FOX or ESPN and this is for American, not Mexican, baseball.

"Should he not be doing all of this himself????" THANK YOU for that question!!!

Here's the glitch: The Mexico condo is my idea, so I am trying to put it all in place to convince him to go. (He's pretty amenable to my travel ideas). We are speaking here of a person who uses a flip phone. That might give you guys an idea, and if you want more evidence..just let me know!!!!

Thank you both..for the advice AND the comments!!! I have admit, even though I make fun of him for his phone, I'm not that much further along on the tech highway... But at least I can ask questions!!

If anyone is wondering (unlikely) ...it's the Yankees..this is a person who grew up next to the Stadium, so I guess I don't have to say much more than that!!

I am going to read this thread again tomorrow so I am clear about my options here.
Again, thank you all SO much!!

If you have a phone with a US service provider with an international data service plan; and if you have a subscription service that shows the games; and if you are willing to stay up all night watching the games, then you will not need VPN.

Yes I have an intl phone plan and yes, for certain games like playoffs, etc, he will watch at 2am or whatever time the game is on. (Been there..not so much fun when I am trying to sleep, but..)

But I don't understand the "subscription service". What is that....MLB app? Amazon Prime (sometimes shows games??)

I see you are in Hungary...if you wanted to see baseball games, how would you do that?

What is that....MLB app? Amazon Prime

Yes, or Youtube Sports or something that is showing the game on the internet. Ocassionaly things are free but most often you have to pay someone to stream a sports event. It can be a subscription or sometimes a one-off thing.

Then most of those services are limited by their contract with the sports franchises to US viewers only. So they block international viewers on their site. They do this by blocking IP addresses other than US IP addresses. But good news, if you have a US phone plan with international data, you have a US IP address. Otherwise you have to fool the service provider by using a VPN (basically trick them into giving you something that isnt in your contract with them). My US Cable Television provider also provided web based access and as long as I had an active account I could log in when I was traveling and that was nice. Then from my phone I would cast the screen to my Television in Hungary. Now mostly I go to a sports bar and watch the game the next day. Much cheaper and the beer is better.

But I still keep my US phone for this and for similar things like renewing my drivers license and some banking and anything where appearing to be in the US is useful.

The issue with a phone that has a US IP address will most likely be the data plan it has.

When you are overseas, you do not get cell service directly from your US provider, since
they don't exist in foreign countries. Instead, there are (roaming) agreements that allow
you to get service from some in-country carrier. However, those agreements are not as
"all-you-can-eat" as the plan you most likely have in the US. Streaming video, while a
lot more efficient than in the past, will still eat away at your data allowance. So you
would want to confirm how much data costs when roaming before you go full-bore with
this idea.

If you get a data-only SIM card (assuming your phone supports this), I believe your
data traffic will have the IP address of the regional carrier, so it solves the data consumption
issue but does not solve the network access issue, which leads you back to having a VPN.

For the obvious problem of trying to watch a sporting event on a phone, there are more
options (hotspot, casting, etc.), but that requires more technical discussion.

I have met tech luddites from New York. Time stands still for them.

With my US phone, it's a certanity that I will end up buying $5 or $10 in additional data to watch a game and still have enough data left over to get through the month if I used my US phone full time (I dont anymore).

The VPN will cost something too, and it's more technology to screw with. I really dont like the concept of using VPN to get something I am not entitled to have. As far as quality and access to high-speed data here, it has never been an issue, anywhere, on my TMobile plan.

Oh, with the US phone you can use it as a Hotspot for an IPad or laptop or a TV with wifi.

Thank you!! It all seems so complicated, for me!!