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How to Watch “Survivor” Online Outside of the USA

By Paul Liu
Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

Survivor is a popular reality game show which made its debut on the CBS channel in May’ 2000. The series is based on the Swedish TV series “Expedition Robinson” that was created by Charlie Parsons in 1997. Survivor is one of the most watched and most profitable reality shows of the last decade and the series has even won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards. The series has inspired a video game and a thrill ride in California and was renewed for its 27th season, named Survivor: Blood vs. Water, in September’ 2013.

Survivor Plot and Premise

Each season of Survivor consists of sixteen participants (divided into two tribes) who are transferred to a remote location for a month without having access to modern comforts of the modern life. The contestants must not only learn to live with the elements but also adjust with other members of the tribe. The tribes are frequented pitted against one another for rewards and luxuries (barbecue, phone call etc.) and the losing tribe must vote one of the members off the competition. Once half the members are eliminated, the tribes are merged and the competitions are held on a one-to-one basis. The last contestant to remain in the show wins the grand prize of one million dollars.

Survivor Availability

Survivor is telecast on Wednesday nights at 8 P.M. on the CBS channel. The latest episodes of the series and other exclusive videos are also available online through the CBS portal (cbs.com/shows/survivor/). But the online episodes of the show are not available outside United States due to content licensing restrictions. Even US expats and frequent fliers cannot watch the series from abroad and just see the message – “The video you have requested is not available for your geographic region” whenever they try to watch the show online.

Why CBS Blocks Access To Survivor And What Can Be Done About it

CBS blocks non-US viewers from watching the show online since it does not have the rights to broadcast the show outside US. CBS has signed content sharing agreements with several international channels which explicitly forbid the channel from broadcasting the show outside United States. To honor the agreements, CBS checks the IP address of its viewers and only allow those with a US IP address to watch the show’s episodes online. International visitors having a non-US IP address can access the Survivor page on the CBS portal but they cannot watch the episodes online.

Since your IP address plays a central role in revealing your location to CBS, you would need to switch to a US IP address if you want to unlock Survivor from abroad. Although changing IP address sounds complicated, in reality it can be done with ease by using an IP changing service such as a proxy or a Virtual Private Network. VPNs deliver faster speeds when compared to proxies plus they never leak your IP addresses so they should be preferred for accessing streaming services online.

How To Unlock Episodes of Survivor From Outside Of USA With A VPN

Step 1: Subscribe to a renowned VPN service that offers US IP addresses. For unlocking Survivor TV series, we highly recommend the services of vendors like HideMyAss, Kepard, IPVanish, ExpressVPN and StrongVPN.

Step 2: Download the custom VPN client provided by your VPN company and install it on your system. It is also possible to configure the service manually by creating a new network connection and modifying its parameters.

Step 3: Save the connection details and reboot the system (required only if you installed a software). For mobile devices, it is also necessary to close and restart the official CBS app so that it uses the VPN connection instead of the default internet connection.

Step 4: Start the VPN service by clicking on the connection’s desktop icon or by tapping the Connect button on your mobile screen.

Step 5: When the connection with the VPN server is established, verify that you have been assigned a US IP address. In case the default server of the VPN vendor is from a non-US location, switch to a US sever manually by browsing through the list of available servers and choosing a US based server. While making the switch, remember to choose a US server that is located closest to your location so that you can get the best streaming speeds.

Step 6: Visit the Survivor page on the CBS portal and click on episode names in order to unlock them. For unlocking the episodes through mobile devices, remember to close and restart the CBS app after switching to a US IP address. You should now be able to watch the latest episodes of Survivor from any location in the world.