Over the years there has been a big disruption in the UK when live football is on.
The problem has been since around 2019 some UK internet providers have been blocking IPTV servers when live football is on and this has grown to the top 7 internet providers in the UK.
If you have had IPTV before you may have noticed your channels stop working when there is a football game which can be all weekend and some weekdays.
There has been a lot of confusion related to “The IPTV Block” even from IPTV providers doing or giving out the wrong information or not really knowing how it works.
Now before we get deeper into this let us provide you with the 7 Internet providers who block your internet to IPTV providers when football is on.
- Sky
- Virgin Media
- BT
- TalkTalk
- EE
- Vodafone
- Plusnet
If you are not with any of the above providers in the UK this article is not needed for you but you can read it if you want.
See What To Do If IPTV Not Working On Virgin Media Broadband
This list above will remain the same so with that being said there are 2 easy fixes to this issue.
The first fix is to use a VPN on your IPTV device which you can get cheap and works perfectly it even stops any buffering and freezing with IPTV.
Click the button below to get the best VPN for IPTV and save 82% OFF.
The second method for not having IPTV blocked when any football is on in the UK is to change providers to any that is not in the list above.
This is only viable if your broadband contract is coming to an end and you can switch but there are many other providers such as Shell Energy and One Stream.
The above is a quick overview we are going to get more into this below but if you just want a quick permanent fix to this just click the above button and buy a VPN and you will never get blocked again when live sports are on.
See What To Do If Plusnet Is Blocking Your IPTV.
If you want to read further into this then we are going to cover IPTV blocks and why you need a VPN below.
See The best way to use Anonymous IPTV.
But before we get into this more let’s cover why some small IPTV providers you use or used in the past worked without you needing a VPN.
Why You Must Use A VPN With IPTV
If you are with the 7 internet providers we mentioned at the start of this article then this is a MUST to stop all IPTV not working when football is on and this is all weekends and many weekdays.
Once the football is over around 1 hour later your IPTV will work as normal but obviously having your IPTV blocked by your internet provider gives you no IPTV really.
See What To Do If IPTV Won’t Work On 4G Or 5G.
So once you use a VPN this permanently fixes this problem but not only does it fix this problem it will also stop bandwidth throttling your internet provider does on weekends and evenings.
Bandwidth throttling is where your internet provider service gets busy when everyone comes home from work or is off work over the weekend, and decides to stream IPTV, Netflix, Download, or Kids playing Xboxes, etc, etc.
See How To Turn Off BT Web Protect For IPTV
When there is more bandwidth being used your internet provider will purposely slow down your internet especially if you are consuming a lot of bandwidth and this can make streaming services such as IPTV, Netflix, YouTube, Console gaming, etc slow down or have issues with freezing, buffering and more.
Here is a video below on bandwidth throttling is just another problem on top of your IPTV being blocked so vital you use a VPN when it comes to IPTV.
See What To Do If Your IPTV Is Not Working With NordVPN.
So this is why a VPN is a must with IPTV when you are using the 7 internet providers below with the main reason being to fix the IPTV channels not working when live sports are on.
- Sky
- Virgin Media
- BT
- TalkTalk
- EE
- Vodaphone
- Plusnet
Now we will go over the second method below but this is only good if your internet contract is coming to an end.
See What To Do If BT Is Blocking your IPTV Service.
Change Your Internet Provider To Stop IPTV Getting Blocked
This is maybe the best way as then no VPN is needed at all you can use this link below to find the best deals and more just make sure it’s NOT Sky, Virgin, BT, TalkTalk, EE, Vodafone, or Plusnet.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/compare-broadband-deals/
You have good internet providers such as Shell Energy and One Stream where you can even save money.
What you may not have known, is all internet providers are the same. Yes, we said that, the SAME!!.
Now let’s explain why. When you use any internet provider apart from Virgin Media (who actually use underground cables) all the others use a telephone line or fiber lines.
See Why You Should Use A IPTV Service.
The owner of the telephone lines/Fibre lines is BT Openreach so when you call Vodafone, TalkTalk, Sky whoever you are with and present them a problem you’re having they then have to call BT Openreach and get them to come out and fix the line if it’s outside your house.
If your internet problem is inside the house such as need cabling or router issue yes your internet provider has their own engineers who come out but anything outside your house is all to do with BT Openreach.
WAIT!! Where are you going with this Strong IPTV???
Well, the whole point we are getting at is all internet providers are middlemen to BT Openreach not BT but BT Openreach. This means they just package internet deals and sell them to you and each will market itself differently or have different levels of support.
But when you order internet it doesn’t matter if you go with Shell energy, Tesco broadband compared to BT or Sky internet as it’s all the same broadband just different packages made by these middlemen resellers.
I hope I haven’t lost you with the above let me try and break it down if you didn’t understand.
Take this example, the kids are about to break up for school holidays you have been working hard and decide it’s time for a family holiday so you turn to websites such as travelsupermaket.com, expedia.co.uk, or icelolly.com.
See How To Fix IPTV Freezes Quickly to get the best our of your IPTV subscription.
Now the way these work are they are just middlemen reseller who manage to get packages at a discount and resell them on to you for more and make some type of an affiliate commission.
As look when was the last time you ever saw a travelsupermarket.com or icelolly.com plane in the air…….. Ok glad we cleared that up.
Now, this is how sky, Vodafone, and every internet provider works they just resell internet packages well they rent the lines from BT Openreach as they are the only company that owns all the lines and equipment that gets internet into your house.
Sooooo after that 5-minute explanation, you can see that the internet provider you choose is irrelevant all are the same just different deals and different customer care.
See How To Fix Your IPTV Not Working On Sky Broadband.
With this being said if your contract is ending and you are an IPTV user and don’t want to use the easy method of using a VPN then you can change to one not blocking IPTV and you will never have an issue with IPTVbeing blocked again.
Ok, I’m going to stop here this has been a lengthy article (turning into a uni essay) of why you MUST use a VPN with these internet providers below or just join a provider who is not listed below and enjoy no IPTV blocks when soccer is on.
- Sky
- Virgin Media
- BT
- TalkTalk
- EE
- Vodaphone
- Plusnet
Ok, I lied I’m going to finish this off with some history of the IPTV block, and why in the year 2023 and beyond a VPN is needed in today’s time.
Final Thoughts
Since 2017 there have been many of the UK internet providers teaming up to block IPTV servers when football (soccer) is on.
The blocks happen between around August to May the following year, stretching all across the football season.
This started in the UK but now it’s happening to many internet providers in Spain, Italy, and other European countries internet providers.
In 2023 it’s vital you use a VPN now for IPTV to avoid these blocks altogether and enjoy a nice IPTV experience without freezing all for a low cost of a VPN.
Or if your internet provider contract is ending then join one that’s not on the list, and then no VPN is needed.
If you have got all the way down to the bottom of this page pat yourself on the back champ!! you deserve it.
If you have any questions about this then send us an email.
Make sure you share this article to help other fellow IPTV users in need when their internet provider is blocking their IPTV.
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