How to Watch Canal Outside of France in 2022 - Quick & Easy
How to Watch Canal Outside of France in 2022 - Quick & Easy
Ari
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If you want the best of French television online, you know the Canal network is the obvious choice. After all, there’s no better way to binge the series Versailles from start to finish or get a preview of the Cannes Festival front runners. What you’re looking for now is a way to watch Canal+ offerings like Cinéma, Décalé, or Sport.
If you’re in France or anywhere else in the European Union, the Canal channels are easy to get to. But eager viewers in the rest of the world still have only restricted access, or no access at all, to this popular piece of French TV.
It doesn’t have to be this way! With a capable VPN like ExpressVPN, you can access Canal channels effortlessly – plus it comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. Follow this guide to find out everything you need to know about how to watch Canal from anywhere in the world.
Quick Guide: How to Watch Canal Outside of France
Subscribe to ExpressVPN.
Download and install the app, then connect to a server in France.
While the Canal network streams are available for free, some Canal+ broadcasts (such as Ligue 1 football matches) require a separate subscription. If you see a message with a timer like the one below, don’t worry – your VPN is working fine, but you won’t have access to that particular broadcast unless you purchase the required TV package. Otherwise, you’ll be able to continue watching the stream once the timer expires.
Why You Need a VPN to Watch Canal Outside of France
Like many other TV networks on the internet, Canal is geographically restricted to a few selected regions. For a long time, Canal was geo-restricted to France only, but the EU’s “TV Everywhere” initiative has recently allowed all viewers within the EU to access the popular French network’s content.
This is great news if you live in Europe, but if you’re located elsewhere (like the US, Canada, or Australia), you’re still out of luck. In some places (e.g. Québec), you’ll have only restricted access to a limited menu of programs. In most others, instead of a live stream, you’ll be looking at the following error:
So you’ll need a way to bypass the Canal network’s geoblocks, because the problem with your internet connection is basically that it’s not in France.
But it can be with a VPN! Here’s how it works – you can connect to a server located in France, effectively changing your virtual location. When you’re loading the stream, you’ll be doing so with a French IP address, which won’t trigger the error message above.
Unblocking content is one of the benefits of VPNs, but there are a lot more. If you’re new to this software, we invite you to our beginner’s guide, where you can learn more about VPNs and why you should consider using one.
You need to know, however, that not all VPNs offer the same experience – some of them aren’t suitable for streaming, and others struggle with unblocking. If you want to make sure you’ve landed on the perfect VPN for watching Canal outside of France, here are a few pointers to help you out:
The more servers, the better. Many geoblocked streams and TV channels on the internet have tight detection systems in place to blacklist VPNs, proxies, and other unblockers. To avoid failed connections and other VPN blocks in your effort to access Canal from abroad, you want a service that offers plenty of French servers – and adds new French IP addresses regularly.
Speed is important. Unless your ISP is throttling your bandwidth, a VPN will slow your connection down. The real question here is by how much. With the fastest VPNs on the market, the difference isn’t noticeable, so you can continue enjoying your streams in HD. So it’s vital that you pick a streaming-friendly VPN.
Never sacrifice privacy. There are VPNs out there that are excellent for streaming, but also keep logs of your connection and bandwidth usage. If you value your privacy, avoid them. You don’t have to trade security for performance – get both instead with our list of best no-log VPNs.
Now you know what to look for – but how do you find the VPN that has all of the important features, and more? Allow us to save you some time, and check out our top five VPN picks for watching Canal from outside France below.
The Best VPNs for Watching Canal Outside of France
ExpressVPN - Reliable and Fast Servers for Watching Canal
8,852 servers in 90 countries, 320 in France
Unlimited devices per license
30-day money-back guarantee
Works with: Canal, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, Showtime, Netflix, and more
Compatible with: Windows, Linux, iOS, macOS, Android, and more
Apps available in multiple languages, including French
For those who want easy unblocking in just a few clicks, ExpressVPN is the ideal choice. This VPN gives “ease of use” a new meaning with its premade profiles, and it doesn’t keep any logs, either, so your sensitive data is safe. There are 320 French servers to choose from, so you should be able to find one that isn't overcrowded.
Overall, ExpressVPN is perfect for beginners and experts alike, and many users praise it for that. Check it out for yourself with the 45-day money-back guarantee.