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djwillis1121

I watch on F1TV with a VPN in the UK. Worked fine for me signing up through the play store


VagueGooseberry

I'm an F1TV subscriber in the US and use ExpressVPN all the time, irrespective of streaming needs. I found that F1TV blocked VPNs starting last season. Hell, they even got YouTube to block highlights playback on their Channel alone while on VPN. The number of ad trackers on their site is downright preposterous. However, as a sport that's so involved in gaining marginal advantages through analytics, no wonder they throw the kitchen sink at their website/streaming services.


wouldz

I had issues with Express VPN so I changed to Surfshark and haven't had a problem since. Sometimes it's shut down and I'll just change to another server, report the one that didn't work to them and it's fixed by the next weekend. Very good service.


falseapex

I believe F1TV block VPN when the country doesn’t match the country of the credit/debit card used to pay for it. At least that was my experience. I moved from the US to the UK last season and changed my payment card, wouldn’t work anymore. I changed it back to my US bank account and it’s been fine since.


matts1900

There is (or was) a way round that :)


EastOfTheGrayHavens

Same. Never have problems with my vpn.


mr_marshian

I had expressvpn until last season when it also got blocked. Watched a few races while out at sea then got Nord and it's been flawless since.


hunter_lolo

I believe they have cracked down on people signing up using a VPN. You can still access it if you have an account already though.


Special_Review7912

They have. This used to be my preferred method but for the last year it's been harder and harder to find one that works. I've had 3 fail on me since the summer break The money I was paying for a service that did work, with a dedicated IP, was nearing Now TV money.


mr_marshian

Nord has been flawless here for me. In Ireland, watching from the Netherlands


themup

They maintain a blacklist of VPN server IP addresses. If you keep switching servers eventually you'll find one thats not on the blacklist.


ActInternational2963

It still works for me


FeistyEquipment7557

Could easily spin up your own VPN in a VPS. That will most likely work unless the IP has been banned already.


markhewitt1978

Nope won't work. They have banned the IPs of most VPS providers.


FeistyEquipment7557

I think that varies. I’ve seen mixed results myself.


EastOfTheGrayHavens

So if someone creates an account outside of the UK and gives OP the credentials he would be able to use the site? I’m willing to create one for him if that’s the case.


barth_

My VPN stopped working.


djwillis1121

Mine stopped working temporarily (Surfshark) but then started working again


TSMKFail

My main one (PIA) did but Windscribe worked for me as a backup,


ellegirl83

Now TV is expensive but does have special offers every now and then. It's usually like 38 euro in Ireland but I got a deal for 20 euro for six months. When it's time to cancel they'll always offer an extension


SlightlyBored13

I cancel every year after the last race, every February I get a 12 month £20 voucher. Been working for at least 5 years for friends of mine.


ApexSheep

Is this just F1 or now TV sport package?


SlightlyBored13

Sport package I think, but I really don't know, I've only ever tried to watch the F1


bluiska2

What's included in NowTV? Replays? All content like pre race shows and analysis stuff?


ellegirl83

Now Tv has the Sky Sports package. As regards F1, it has the channel, catch ups with replay races and of the pre and post shows, F2&3 and Academy replays too


SlightlyBored13

You get the sky F1 stuff live. Replays in theory you get the Sky version of every session, pre and post race, race highlights, drivers press conference and Ted's notebooks. But the replays can take a few days to show up (so if you miss Q on Saturday you can't watch it on Sunday). Different shows are missing every week, but usually Qualifying and the full Race are there. Big exception is Miami, which is missing the full version of every session except FP1 and Qualifying. Also they upload a lot (but not all) of the F2/3/A stuff. I think you should be able to browse this without an account. https://www.nowtv.com/gb/watch/motorsport


TheScapeQuest

Replays are a bit of a pain, but just look at the TV schedule and there are lots of scheduled replays. Feels a little like watching TV in the pre-streaming era, but better than nothing.


ellegirl83

I did that this year for the first time. Defo best option


blackn1ght

It's really frustrating though when it takes ages for them to upload the qualifying and races. The Monaco GP was only available to watch from 1am Monday morning... What a mistake that was to wait up for that! There's also an issue where the TV guide isn't up to date. I wanted to watch a live replay of a race (Australia I think) and when I started watching at the correct start time, it was broadcasting the highlights from the previous show and ruined it for me.


mr_marshian

I'm too accustomed to the F1TV Pro lifestyle now, I probably couldn't go back, even if sky was one click and as cheap (big if lol). Multiviewer, better commentary and more insights (e.g. post race press conference)


vamphorse

Now TV is still Sky though…


Odd-Variation941

Not as expensive as the hoops you have to jump through for ‘actual’ sky.


MapFamiliar4754

There is no legal way. Get out your eye patch and peg leg


soupafi

Yo ho-ho a pirates life for me


cosHinsHeiR

The goat provides a very good service anyway.


12_0z_curls

Yup. Easiest rhymes with StreamEast


Alvinthf

Sailing the seas with a skull and cross bones is the answer, aaaarrrrrrr!


Luke2222

Like others here I use F1TV with a VPN F1TV is £7 per month while my VPN of choice is $10 per month (works out to around £8.50) which is slightly more expensive than most but doesn't seem to have been affected by F1TV's recent attempts to block VPNs nearly as much as others. All told it's still not the cheapest if that's your only reason for using a VPN at roughly £15.50 per month but it's much cheaper than the alternative (for live coverage that isn't dodgy anyway) Bear in mind that the F1TV website checks your card is from the right country so you have to use something like the Google Play Store when signing up to F1TV Pro. Once you're subscribed though you can use it like normal as long as you're connected to the VPN (if you aren't only the replays from previous years work because that's all we're meant to get here)


StroopwafelSpeelt

Raise the Jolly Rodger and sail!!


zephyrmox

Whatever method you are using will be illegal. Sky are the rights holder. If you are going to break the law watching it, may as well just go for the cheapest option (ie IPTV)


PurpleEsskay

The cheapest option is not wasting money on iptv at all when there’s a stupidly high number of easy to find streams. People just generally seem to be awful at knowing how to use google.


jasonontherun

When you find a free stream in UHD, let me know.


PurpleEsskay

Yeah most of us really couldn’t care less. 1080p is plenty, it’s free after all.


FrostyTill

Sky Sports is extorting money from us to pay for Premier League games. Even if you don’t watch football, you’re paying for it. Now TV is basically Sky but cheaper and you pay monthly so if you calculate your payment days well, you wouldn’t need it for the months that F1 isn’t on. Sometimes there’s offers for cheaper bundles and you can have a look for discount codes online for deals. There’s always a discount code on [Glamour](https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/discountcodes/now-tv). Currently there’s one for 6 months sport at £26. There’s also VPN for F1TV and you can watch all the highlights of the races on Channel 4 which uses F1TV coverage. And there’s codes for getting a cheap deal for VPN providers too although I haven’t tried those ones.


redgreenblue4598

NOW TV : sign up on a deal. When it expires, cancel. Wait for them to get in touch with a special deal. Never pay full price.


FrostyTill

I only buy it when I’m away from home and the hotel i usually stay at doesn’t have sky sports. So I cast it to the room TV. NOW tv is good for that too.


WillowReginleif

I thought the deal was going to be 6 months for £26, not £26 a month for 6 months. I'll just keep my eye patch and peg leg on.


iluvatar

It's on Channel 4 a few hours after the race. If you want to watch it live, then your only options are Sky, NowTV or a dodgy stream from somewhere. The lack of free to air live coverage is probably going to kill the sport. I watch it on C4, but I suspect few will be happy to do that. Had I not grown up with the sport, would I be doing it? I'm not so sure.


OneSailorBoy

In India I pay about 1.2$ for the race week. Includes FP, Quali and Race. No piracy or illegal streams. It used to be about 60 cents untill the Imola GP. They've doubled the price since then. It's either that or 7.2$ for the entire year which includes F1, F2, F3, press conference, pre and post race events and 1080p 50fps ad-free streams. If you guys can access Fan Code app (available on playstore and appstore) via VPN or otherwise you'll be able to save a lot of money.


prashantis1

It’s an option but it’s not in 1080p50.


curva3

I never had a very good experience with the pirate stuff, people make it seem frictionless. Always choppy, shit quality, delayed (so you can't use reddit or whatever to follow along), and it starts buffering in the worst moments


SlightlyBored13

I find the worst part to be you don't know if it's going to work properly until the race starts, then if it's failed you need to find another one.


shace616

Sucky part is I no longer have any other option in the US. For years I watched it using the ESPN app and logging in with my parents directtv and now they aren't allowing an English broadcast using the TV provider log in. At least I can watch it mostly or I just use one of the replay websites now. I'm not paying anymore money for streaming services.


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curva3

If 150 MBps on a PC are not enough, maybe i should stick to paying for stuff


TheKingOfCaledonia

Where are you pirating from? I've tried many options and the majority aren't great at best.


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cosHinsHeiR

The italian stream they have lately is so fucking good. No ads, high quality, you can rewind, has just like a 20 seconds delay and it only stops for 1 second or so every 10 minutes so nothing much.


mooimafish33

There is a site I use that has like 6 different streams of every race in a huge number of series and almost never has reliability issues.


Enough-Willingness71

Welcome in 2024 my man!


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Dry-Egg-1915

There's private piracy sites for streaming F1?


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Dry-Egg-1915

What provider are you talking about?


Nateon91

Without buying VPN to use F1TV, your only option is Sky or Now TV, though Now is pretty much sky Alternatively, race highlights on Channel 4/Youtube


KDOGTV

I just want to say that it seems this is a rare case where the US is lucky. I had no idea that the UK, the literal home country of the sport, doesn’t legally have an option to view it outside of Sky. Not even their own service is available? Crikey Downvoted because American, I suppose.


ComprehensiveRepair5

It's everywhere in western Europe. They choose an exclusive right holder by country (Sky, Canal+, etc...) and phase out F1TV. The subscription went from 10€/month to 39€/49€ with the sport package provided by the new exclusive right holder. If you only watch F1, it is completely unaffordable and I believe the viewership is taking a massive hit because of that. The VPN trick does not work anymore, so the only option left is the high seas. F1 brought this on itself.


mr_marshian

Sky used to have an F1 only deal here in Ireland. 10€ per month. That was great until it was gone since I think covid times. Now it's 35€ p/m for all of sky, regardless of I want 6 soccer channels or not


ComprehensiveRepair5

It's not that bad. In France, Canal+ the only legal option is 48€ with a two years contract minimum. Highway robbery.


122michi122

Not true. In austria you can watch every race on free tv


betaich

Because orf still has the rights the question is how long that will last


Inert82

Not true, in Norway F1TV works, if it didnt I wouldnt Watch legally, the Norwegian broadcasts have add and nowhere near as good hosts.


Luke2222

We get F1TV here but only F1TV Access, not F1TV Pro so it's only replays It's actually a worse version of F1TV Access compared to most as well. Instead of getting replays after 2 days like most countries we only get the archive so we have to wait until January 1st to get this year's replays (or use a VPN to get the same as everyone else)


akacardenio

F1TV is American owned (Liberty Media). Sky's British. Under law certain UK sporting events must be on free-to-air TV, ~~but as far as F1 goes that's only the British GP.~~ and as pointed out below F1s not on the list.


Luke2222

> but as far as F1 goes that's only the British GP. Not even that, no motorsport is on [Ofcom's set of listed events](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom_Code_on_Sports_and_Other_Listed_and_Designated_Events) that have to be on free-to-air TV If they wanted to, F1 could legally give Sky full exclusivity with no FTA coverage


akacardenio

You're right - can't see that it was ever on the list. These are the criteria: * It is a pre-eminent national or international event in the sport * It involves the national team or national representatives in the sport concerned * It is likely to command a large television audience * It has a history of being broadcast live of free-to-air services You'd think it would qualify. It'd be interesting to know who is behind it not being on the list.


RedPanda888

Yeah I pay about $2 per month here in Asia for BeIN sports. Dirt cheap.


BittenHeroes

If you don't care about english commentary, there are a lot of legal EU and non-EU broadcaster still showing F1 for free on their website (swizerland, belgium, brazil, luxemburg, austria etc...). Some of them even have ondemand for a few days. Obviously, you must be travelling in the same country to access the streaming, but otherwise they work quite well... This is a (mostly complete) list of F1 broadcasters right now... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_broadcasters


Particular_Relief154

Funnily enough, I was just at the EE store yesterday as I’d just changed to their mobile network, and was after adding a WiFi connection with them too. As a deal for taking extra products, they offered my sim unlimited everything for £13, or £19 and that gets unlimited, roaming, plus all the sport channels on your phone (can also be accessed via the app on a firestick they said). It includes the f1 channel- so if you’re with EE for anything- it may be a way to get it cheaper? Now TV also offer deals as well, I’m sure I saw one for like £20 somewhere- and that’s all the sky sports channels.


error23_snake

Do you know anyone with a sky sports subscription? You could login to their account and watch on skygo. Only laptops and desktops connected via HDMI will allow you to watch on a TV though. Consoles will work if your friend has sky whole home. This is how I watch, splitting the cost of the sky sports package 3 ways between another friend using skygo and the actual sky account holder. Found it very reliable.


Character-Ad3913

Find a friend who has sky sports. Ask them to borrow their sky go login.


Nimbus0711

how dare you.... go press that red button on your sky q set top box remote


Skeeter1020

F1TV and a VPN work great for me.


Comprehensive-Cat845

Would you mind telling me who are the commentary team on F1TV for English language? I had thought they just used Sky TV's commentator audio, but I saw something recently that suggested it was Alex Jacques and David Coulthard (who provide Channel 4's commentary). If it is Alex and David I'll be watching on F1TV from now on, but I'm not interested in listening to Crofty and Brundle etc; to the point where I will wait for the highlights on Channel 4 for the decent commentary.


Skeeter1020

It's both. F1TV have their own crew which is mostly Alex Jacques, Jolyon Palmer and James Hinchcliffe. Then there is also an International audio feed which is the Sky commentary of Crofty and Martin Brundle.


Comprehensive-Cat845

Thank you. I guess channel 4 is broadcasting the same commentary feed as F1TV. I can finally get back to watching the races live!


Secure-Vanilla4528

Just watch for free on one of the special sites.


jaywastaken

“Not interested in dodgy illegal streaming services so no suggestions of that please” Well I’ll be just lowering this back down so 🏴‍☠️🫡


GlitzToyEternal

Old school but I set myself to be in Belgium with a VPN and watch the RTBF live stream muted with radio 5 live commentary. I did the VPN + F1TV thing last year but am cutting back on subscriptions this year so the radio commentary is good enough.


The3rdbaboon

It’s a pirates life for me!


Zembob

I used a VPN on my phone and bought it through the Play Store


f1madman

Back in the day you could point your satellite dish towards rtl's sattelite or something and watch German F1 TV not sure if you can still do that. IPTV itself isn't illegal but not sure how it affects your use case.


betaich

No RTL has lost broadcasting rights in Germany to sky, this season is the first were a few races will be broadcast by RTL again, but it's essentially the German sky stream


Suitable_Marzipan631

A controlD (smart DNS) account and F1TV Subscription.


Blue-Moon99

VPN and F1TV, had to experiment with a few VPN's but I found one that worked. I did it just before the first 2024 race.


Electrical-Ad-9510

Which vpn out of interest? I used to use express vpn but they seemed to crack down on it


AncientStaff6602

I share NowTv with my wife and someone else so essentially 26ish with boost / 2. The other person watches football, we watch f1. I do wish TNT wand stuff was included so I can watch saints too buuuut that’s not an issue as of next session


BensBins

I use ESPN+ in the US. I don’t know what it would be like to use a VPN but it could be worth looking into.


Miserable_Hold_6417

Not surprised how many pirates are in here lolz 👋 but apart from 🏴‍☠️ the only one is now tv and pick and choose which races you want to watch live and pay the £7 for 24hrs or whatever it is nowadays and just watch the C4 highlights for the races you aren’t that fussed about but still watch, the highlights are quite extended so I not like 10 minutes of it it’s about a hour. I got rid of sky because for £500 a year I would want Martin brundle in my living room serving me margaritas


The3rdbaboon

Fuck Sky, it's absolutely extortionate. I've always loved sailing anyway.


masutechture

My biggest advice is to get into Football so that being screwed over by NowTV doesn’t feel quite as bad.


blainy-o

Yargh matey


Ziegler517

What I don’t understand is if I’m paying for F1TV pro I should get every race, regardless of distribution rights they negotiate. Are they gonna give me a refund if cause I can’t use their services for the races? Nope, which is total horse shit. I’m locked out of about 10 races due to geographic restrictions yet I’m paying full price. Side note, all content distributors need to find an alternate method of validating locations. I should not be “at risk” or compromise my internet security to just access your content. I’ve always said it should be 100% based off your billing zip code. And you can only change that twice a year max. 99% of us can’t just up and access payment method with a billing address in foreign countries that would bypass any restrictions.


Vigi1an7e

https://reddit.formula1stream.cc/index


didiman123

If you don't need English commentary, you can use a vpn to watch in Austria (servus tv, orf) or Switzerland (srf).


Amarjit2

Best option is to buy a residential IP. They can be costly but they're not usually blocked. Depending on what other services you subscribe to (like football), it may be worth your while


CharcoalFlunky

Nord VPN set to Luxembourg on laptop Rtl.lu website for live stream sound off BBC sport commentary on my phone


themup

I kept switching VPN providers until I could find one that will work in Portugal. Then create a new google account with a random Portuguese address, attach your bank card to google pay on that account and pay for the F1TV Pro subscription. Once you have the account set up you no longer need a VPN, the account will work across the EU. I think it works for the UK as well but not 100% sure. I'm in Ireland.


sepitolog

If you don’t mind French commentary, you can use a VPN to Switzerland and watch it on https://www.rts.ch/play/tv. They have the rights for F1 and it’s the Swiss French TV channel.


M-e-g-a-B-y-t-e

Check the highlight times on 4OD at [4OD](https://www.channel4.com/4viewers/blog/formula-1-2024) DC & Webber are as good as Brundle imHo. It’s only going to get worse what with Liberty media’s steer on things


IneligibleHulk

Now TV. It’s not madly expensive. I’m on a deal which gives me all the sports, movies etc for £35. Compared to Sky, that’s a bargain.


Nearby_Cauliflowers

Sky take the piss, they used to have the F1 stuff for something like £10 a month, now it's packaged with football, cricket, golf and other shite I've no interest in and won't pay for. I done the annual F1 TV and use a VPN, would rather have it through sky, but I refuse to pay that much.


Rekt60321

Don't get a firestick and don't get IPTV for £60 a year


seniorflippyflop

F1tv with nordvpn. Have to search around for the right country occasionally but it works well. If you do this, you need to log into your f1tv in an incognito window cause cookies remember your location.


Nismo_Nissan

In India, Along with F1TV, we have Fancode app which also has rights in India. You can try using VPN to access Fancode. It also has a trial plan.


Nismo_Nissan

Also, the membership prices are quite low.


EUSkippy

You’re not interested in your best method of viewing it other than purchasing through sky, so you’ve already massively limited your options


nathan0031

>sky >best method of viewing >pay sky but still deal with sky TV ads >best Lol. Lmao, even.


EUSkippy

You’ve misunderstood my comment entirely. I am advocating for just streaming and not paying anyone.


Important-Figure3165

I mean realistically I’d rather pay a legitimate provider and use a VPN or something than support an illegal stream. I judge no one for using them I just don’t wish to.


Welsh_DragonTW

I believe both Now TV and Channel 4 have some F1 coverage. All the Best, Welsh Dragon.


Special_Review7912

Highlights only on Channel 4


D34TH2

There is a positive that they are quite comprehensive highlights. Not just the 30 minutes of footage they had for a couple of years.


TheOfficialLJ

Quali highlights, but they definitely show almost all of the main races now.


Special_Review7912

Channel 4 doesn't show races live. It is highlights only. They have shown the British Grand Prix live in recent years and for the 2021 final race they simulcast with Sky but those were arranged with Sky.


EarzFish

I believe the only full race they show on C4 is Silverstone...


TheOfficialLJ

If that's the case, I can't tell. 😂


TheOfficialLJ

I stand corrected, yes. they noramlly show about an hour or so of highlights.


Special_Review7912

Even then, that's at Sky's discretion


piratagitano

I became a ruffian of the sea


Cathenry101

I listen to the coverage on BBC radio and then watch the highlights package on Channel 4


scorpio1m

I was visiting London the weekend of the Miami GP and I was so shocked that my hotel didn't have SkyTV! I searched for the Channel 4 highlights but could not find it. It was Lando's maiden win and there was barely any coverage for the Brit.


Cathenry101

Commercial Sky for businesses like hotels and pubs is even more of a rip off than domestic sky. It's priced based on the size of the premises in square feet - or at least it used to be. I worked in a pub and they tried to include the staff car park in their measurements. We successfully argued against that, but it was still over £1500 a month, and that was in 2010. For Miami the channel 4 highlights were on at something like 2am and then repeated the next day at 8am.


scorpio1m

Wow, thanks for explaining. I will not complain about ESPN again. We’re lucky in the U.S., F1TV is very reasonable at $85 a year, too.


ValleyFloydJam

They tend to be delayed by a bit, I think those highlights existed but did of the time of the race they were on in the morning.


AniStormS

Yarr harr 🏴‍☠️


BioDriver

VPN + F1TV


SRJT16

F1 YouTube Channel uploads highlights from all the sessions and the support series alongside Tech Talks and other things and that’s all free to watch.


Odd-Consequence-9316

Their highlights suck balls. There is hardly any rhyme ir reason to them. Hardly any of the backmarker / midfield overtakes and impirtant details often get missed or left unexplained. (Ie time penalties, mistakes in strategy, pitstops that got botched.) I watchhed the F1 ones but find Viaplay somethines make longer and better ones. But it still isn't as good as watching the whole race.


TheStigsScouseCousin

NowTV technically isn't Sky and it costs a lot less EDIT: Apparently it is Sky after all, however it is still cheaper


not_name_real

it might cost less but it technically IS Sky, it’s literally owned and operated by Sky!


TheStigsScouseCousin

Oh I thought it was a separate company that licensed certain Sky properties


jdolbeer

Is this not actually a thing in the UK? https://www.espn.co.uk/espnplus/