If you moved or traveling and want to access the CBC Gem, you’ll be surely blocked, but we searched and in this post, we’ll show you How to Watch CBC in USA.
CBC, which stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the oldest television and radio broadcasting networks in Canada. In case you didn’t know, CBC channels and radio stations are also aired in the northern region of the United States.
However, Canadian expatriates in the USA can’t access the channel wherever they want, even though there are so many live TV and on-demand video streaming services.
According to CBC, it holds the broadcasting and streaming rights for its shows and sports events only in Canada and select territories in the US, which means they don’t have the authority to air its content over the air in other countries. Hence, viewers will need a Canadian IP address to access CBC’s content online.
If you want to watch some shows, news, or sports content on CBC while you are in the United States, then you can follow this guide. We have a proper workaround for this problem.
How to Watch CBC in USA (Bypass CBC’s Restrictions)
CBC has its ad-supported streaming service named CBC Gem in Canada, which lets users watch full seasons of 100+ CBC TV shows on-demand, as well as live news and sports events.
Unfortunately, ex-pats in the United States won’t be able to access the service, as it can identify their real location by the IP address. Without your IP address targetting to Canada, there’s no way you can get past CBC Gem’s geo-restrictions. Most television networks are subject to licensing and distribution guidelines, and CBC is no exception in that regard.
A VPN lets you connect to a private server in a different country, then remotely use its IP address as if you are browsing the internet from the server. While you are connected, encryption is used so that the network traffic is safe from prying eyes.
It doesn’t matter which compatible device you use, you can rely on a VPN to unblock websites and bypass geo-restrictions on specific streaming services, such as CBC Gem. You can simply connect to a VPN server in Canada and mask your real IP with a decoy Canadian IP address temporarily.
Watch CBC in the USA
ExpressVPN is one of the industry-leading VPN providers that offer over 3000+ VPN servers in 94 countries across the globe. Four of them are found in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver in Canada.
ExpressVPN reroutes your network traffic through the fastest servers available nearby so that your bandwidth doesn’t get significantly affected in the process. In addition, the provider offers top-level encryption and advanced DNS leak protection for keeping your sensitive data safe on the open web.
Similar to other popular VPN services, ExpressVPN also has a kill switch, which disconnects you from the internet immediately in case you lose connection to the server.
ExpressVPN is one of the handful of VPN providers that can unblock CBC Gem in the USA with a higher percentage of succession compared to the competition. You can follow the instructions below to watch CBC in USA with ExpressVPN.
Step 1: Sign up for an ExpressVPN plan
ExpressVPN offers three tiers of affordable subscription plans, which include 1 Month, 6 Months, and 12 Months. All of the plans are covered by ExpressVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee as well. Here’s how to sign for an ExpressVPN plan:
- First, click here or visit expressvpn.com from a web browser on any of your preferred devices.
- Choose the plan you want to pay for.
- Now enter your email address and select your payment method on the same webpage. You can pay with your credit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin if you want to.
- Complete the transaction by following the on-screen prompts, then check your mail inbox for account confirmation. You will be asked to enter a password for your ExpressVPN account.
Congrats! Assuming that you have followed the steps correctly, you will now have your own ExpressVPN subscription.
Step 2: Install the ExpressVPN Client and Sign in
You can natively install the ExpressVPN client on a Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, or Fire TV device. It is also available as an extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers. Just go to expressvpn.com/vpn-software and select the device you will use to stream content from CBC Gem. ExpressVPN offers detailed guides on setting up their VPN client for individual devices.
Once you successfully manage to install the ExpressVPN client on your device, you can proceed to sign in to your ExpressVPN account. You might have to enter your ExpressVPN activation code too, which will be sent to your email address.
Step 3: Connect to ExpressVPN’s Canadian Server
To connect to one of ExpressVPN’s secure VPN servers in Canada, you can follow the steps below.
- First, launch the ExpressVPN client on your device if you haven’t already.
- Now click the three-dot button next to the server option to bring up the server picker.
- Click the All Locations tab, then select Canada under the Americas section. You can click the star icon next to the server location to mark it to your Favorites list.
- Once you have selected Canada as your server location, click the power icon on the main menu of the client.
That’s it! In a few seconds, the ExpressVPN client will connect you to the fastest VPN server in Canada.
Step 4: Enjoy Streaming Content from CBC in Usa
Now that you are connected to ExpressVPN’s Canada VPN server, you should encounter zero problems visiting gem.cbc.ca, which is CBC Gem’s official website. You can enjoy streaming CBC’s ad-supported shows, news, and sports content for free.
If you want access to CBC’s premium and ad-free offerings, then you will have to create a CBC Gem account and sign up for CBC Premium membership, which will cost you USD $4.99/month (~$6.70 CD at the time of this writing).
If you opt to pay for the subscription using your credit/debit card, then make sure that it supports international payments. Also, you will be required to enter a Canadian billing address to avoid transaction fails.
What Can you Watch on CBC Gem?
CBC Gem is home to CBC’s popular TV shows, including Normal People, Trigonometry, Schitt’s Creek, White House Farm Murders, The National, Murdoch Mysteries, Kim’s Convenience, Heartland, Fortunate Son, Coroner, Family Feud Canada, Fridge Wars, and many more. The service also has a vast library of made-for-TV films and documentaries.
You can also stream live sports events sourced directly from the CBC Sports channel, including the Hockey Night in Canada, Canadian Elite Basketball League, Canadian Premier League, etc. You even get access to 24/7 live news from the CBC News Network channel.
It’s worth mentioning that the service does have closed captioning and described video, which you can enable or disable as per your requirements.
Which devices can you use to watch CBC in the USA?
The official CBC Gem app is available for Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, as well as select Samsung and LG Smart TVs with AirPlay support. You can also watch CBC content on your Windows or macOS PC by using Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to browse the web version of CBC Gem.
However, devices with limited VPN support, such as Apple TV and Chromecast, are not supported by ExpressVPN.
Fortunately, ExpressVPN does have official guides to setting up MediaStreamer or VPN-compatible routers and getting the service working for Apple TV and Chromecast, along with other incompatible devices.
Also, Read – Do I Need a VPN in Canada?
Final Words
We understand your frustration of not having access to your favorite CBC programs while you are in a different country. This is why we have compiled this guide to help you watch CBC in USA using ExpressVPN.
While you will have to pay for a monthly subscription just to bypass geo-restrictions on CBC’s streaming service, ExpressVPN is a trusted and reliable VPN provider. A quick search on the web will lead you to dozens of services claiming to offer free VPN services, but you shouldn’t trust them at all.
Free VPNs are infamous for logging personal user data and browsing history, causing a severe breach of your privacy on the web. We recommend you to stick with ExpressVPN or other premium VPN services, as they offer the fastest VPN connection and have a strict zero-log policy confirmed by independent audits.
