To watch 9Now abroad, connect a VPN to an Australian server and sign in to a free 9Now account. Nine’s streaming service checks for both: without an Australian IP address the stream won’t load, and without an account nothing plays, including live channels. The account is free and requires an Australian postcode.
NordVPN, Proton VPN, and ExpressVPN unblocked 9Now on a PC and a phone, with NordVPN our first choice. The app is harder to install: it appears only in app stores set to Australia, so 9Now’s website is the simpler way in.
9Now Abroad: Quick Guide for 2026
- Get a NordVPN subscription and install the app on your laptop or phone.
- Connect to an Australian server from the VPN’s country list.
- Register for free at 9now.com.au, entering an Australian postcode on the second screen.
- Sign in and choose a channel or show in your browser.
Signing Up for 9Now From Overseas
Select an Australian server in the VPN first, so 9Now sees an Australian IP address, then go to 9now.com.au and start the sign-up. Registration has two short steps. The first requires an email address and a password. The second requires your given and family name, birth month and year, and an Australian postcode.
I created three accounts this way, and a random Australian postcode worked on each. No verification code arrived from 9Now, so each account was ready straight away. The marketing email checkbox on the second step is optional, and at no point does the sign-up request payment details.
9Now Test Results on Australian Servers
In October, we checked 9Now from Europe on a Windows 11 computer with a 190.36 Mbps connection, then on a phone. Download speeds come from each VPN’s Melbourne server.
| VPN | Melbourne server speed | Live and catch-up on PC | 9Now on a phone | Australian locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 137.66 Mbps | Played | Played | 5 cities |
| Proton VPN | 101.53 Mbps | Played | Played | 281 servers in 5 cities |
| ExpressVPN | 118.09 Mbps | Played | Played | 7 locations in 5 cities |
Expect higher ping on Australian servers when you’re far from Australia. Now and then a stream took longer to load, but once it started, it played smoothly on each VPN, with no buffering. No free VPN we checked offers an Australian server.
Windscribe, PrivadoVPN, and Hide.me list Australia as a premium location, and it isn’t among the countries in Proton VPN’s free plan. TunnelBear’s free plan chooses the server for the user. Our list of free VPNs covers what free plans do well, and the cheapest paid VPNs start at about $2 a month.
VPNs That Unblocked 9Now
- NordVPN: Best for a Dedicated Australian IP Address, with dedicated IPs in Sydney and Melbourne.
- Proton VPN: Best for Long-Term Value, with a renewal price of roughly $84 per year.
- ExpressVPN: Best for TV and Router Setups, with an Aircove router that covers a whole home network.
1. NordVPN: Best for a Dedicated Australian IP Address
Pros
- Servers in every mainland Australian state
- Fast Melbourne server
- Obfuscated Australian servers
- Next-gen antivirus on the Complete plan
Cons
- Price increases at renewal
NordVPN unblocked 9Now’s live channels and catch-up library on Windows and on a phone, and its Melbourne server came in at 137.66 Mbps, the quickest Australian result we recorded. That speed also puts NordVPN first among the best VPNs for Australia. For long-term viewing, it sells a dedicated IP address in Sydney or Melbourne for about $4 a month.
No other NordVPN subscriber uses that IP address, so 9Now sees the same Australian location every time you sign in. For extra privacy, Double VPN sends traffic through two servers instead of one. Paid up front for 27 months, NordVPN’s Basic plan comes to about $94, and the price increases to about $139 a year at renewal.
2. Proton VPN: Best for Long-Term Value
Pros
- Large Australian server network
- Affordable renewal price
- Open-source apps
- Browser extension for Chrome and Firefox
Cons
- Big speed loss on distant servers
Proton VPN unblocked 9Now on both devices, and streams played smoothly. Distance is the drawback: on the Melbourne server, download speed dropped 46.7% to 101.53 Mbps. Proton VPN loses more speed than NordVPN and ExpressVPN on long-distance connections, and for most 9Now viewers abroad, the connection to Australia is a long one.
Proton VPN is cheaper over the long term. On a two-year subscription, the VPN Plus plan averages about $3 a month, then about $84 a year, which is less than NordVPN or ExpressVPN charge once their first terms end.
3. ExpressVPN: Best for TV and Router Setups
Pros
- Several Sydney locations
- Fast Sydney servers
- Lightway protocol
- Ad blocking on every plan
Cons
- Less customizable than other VPNs
ExpressVPN unblocked 9Now in the browser and on a phone. Its Melbourne server recorded 118.09 Mbps. For the living room, it has apps for Apple TV and Fire TV. Its Aircove router puts every device on the home network on an Australian server, including smart TVs with no VPN app.
The 9Now TV app still requires a store account set to Australia. A 28-month Basic subscription costs about $84, just under $3 a month, and later years cost about $100 each.
9Now on Phones and TVs Outside Australia
The 9Now app doesn’t appear in app stores outside Australia. It shows up only when the Google Play or App Store account is set to Australia, so on a phone, 9now.com.au in the mobile browser is the easier way in. It played on each VPN that way. Our iPhone VPN guide covers the iOS apps.
TVs have the same store restriction. A laptop connected to the VPN can send 9Now to a TV over HDMI. Chrome can also cast the tab to a Chromecast or Google TV, and the stream still comes through the laptop’s VPN connection.
What 9Now Streams for Free
Nine’s five broadcast channels stream live on 9Now: Channel 9, 9Gem, 9Go!, 9Life, and 9Rush. It also has online-only 24/7 channels built around single shows, such as Seinfeld and Top Gear, plus a catch-up library of Nine’s series. Nine’s biggest sport and shows stream there too:
- Tennis: 9Now streamed every Australian Open match free in January 2026, and Nine has the tournament’s rights through 2029. Wimbledon, Roland-Garros, and the US Open also air on Nine.
- Rugby league: Nine’s NRL matches and State of Origin.
- Reality and news: The Block, Married at First Sight, Love Island Australia, A Current Affair, and 60 Minutes.
Time zones are the main practical issue. During the Australian Open, Melbourne is 11 hours ahead of London, so a 7 p.m. night session starts at 8 a.m. in the UK and 3 a.m. on the US East Coast. Full match replays appear on 9Now afterward. The same Australian server also unblocks other services, such as SBS On Demand and 7plus, and our guide to foreign TV channels covers stations from other countries.
When 9Now Still Blocks You Abroad
- Delete 9Now’s cookies. The site can remember a location from a visit made before the VPN connected. Remove its site data, reload, and sign in again.
- Change Australian cities. Each city provides a different IP address, so moving from Melbourne to Sydney replaces an IP address 9Now may have flagged.
- Use the browser extension. NordVPN’s extension provides an Australian IP address to the browser alone, which helps when the desktop app conflicts with other software.
- Enable obfuscation on restrictive Wi-Fi. Hotel and office networks sometimes block VPN connections. Obfuscation disguises VPN traffic, the same feature VPNs depend on in China.
Verdict
Once the VPN is connected to Australia and you’re signed in, 9Now works abroad much as it does at home. Live channels, catch-up, and the 24/7 streams played on each VPN we tested, on a computer and a phone. NordVPN comes first for us, and its dedicated Sydney or Melbourne IP address keeps the same Australian location for regular viewers.
Proton VPN renews for less, though its Melbourne server was about 36 Mbps slower than NordVPN’s. ExpressVPN’s TV apps and Aircove router cover the living room. For other uses, see our full list of the best VPN services.
9Now Abroad FAQ
Does 9Now work outside Australia?
No. Nine's streaming service plays only for Australian IP addresses. Viewers overseas require a free 9Now account and a VPN with Australian servers, like NordVPN or Proton VPN.
Is 9Now free?
Yes, it's free with ads, and a free account unlocks its live channels, 24/7 streams, and catch-up library. Signing up requires no payment details.
Why does 9Now say it's only available in Australia?
That message appears when 9Now detects an IP address outside Australia. Nine licenses its shows and sport for Australian viewers only, so the service checks every visitor's location before a stream starts.
Can I download the 9Now app outside Australia?
No, unless the phone's app store region is Australia. The app is missing from Google Play and the App Store in other countries, so viewers abroad stream through 9Now's website.
Can I watch the Australian Open on 9Now overseas?
Yes, through an Australian VPN server. Nine owns the tournament's Australian rights and streams the matches free on 9Now, live and on demand.
Can a free VPN unblock 9Now?
No. Windscribe, PrivadoVPN, Hide.me, and Proton VPN offer Australian servers only to paying subscribers, and TunnelBear's free plan assigns servers automatically, so a free account can't connect to Australia.
Does 9Now require an Australian postcode?
Yes. The second step of 9Now's sign-up form requires an Australian postcode, together with a name, a birth date, and a gender answer. The form accepts any valid Australian postcode.