ISU VPN Blocking

[DC2003]

The ISU website no longer allows watching its videos if you access them through a VPN. The CBC is an alternative, but often gives the message when trying to play a video even with a VPN set to Canada:

Oops...
None of the given sources can be played

With Peacock taking down videos within 72 hours, what other ways are there to watch figure skating anymore? Television coverage is generally incomplete unless it is a major event like the Olympics. It shouldn't be this difficult to follow figure skating!

 

[TallyT]

The ISU website no longer allows watching its videos if you access them through a VPN. The CBC is an alternative, but often gives the message when trying to play a video even with a VPN set to Canada:

Oops...
None of the given sources can be played

With Peacock taking down videos within 72 hours, what other ways are there to watch figure skating anymore? Television coverage is generally incomplete unless it is a major event like the Olympics. It shouldn't be this difficult to follow figure skating!

I just checked, I can still get CBC with a VPN from Australia (Mikhail watching the win come closer and closer will never get old). But it does seem that the ISU yet again is seeing possible growth in the sport's popularity and going "nonono can't have that..."

 

[TT_Fin]

If it is so, it is so. I understand the reason - commercial channels who have bought the rights probably demand it - but the does not me make to buy expensive Viasat, which has rights here in Nordic countries. There is nothing else but FS GPs I watch from tehere, and I cannot watch all of them either. I could buy from small competitions sometimes, if I know I can watch all and especially if I can rewatch if I don't get all live. If I bought Viasat, I should pay for months I watch nothing. So Viasat, no thanks. I am not your new costumer and will never be. The coast will be something like 300 € yearly, I think I save this money to go live events next year and do other things than watch sport instead.

 

[Allikat]

The ISU website no longer allows watching its videos if you access them through a VPN. The CBC is an alternative, but often gives the message when trying to play a video even with a VPN set to Canada:

Oops...
None of the given sources can be played

With Peacock taking down videos within 72 hours, what other ways are there to watch figure skating anymore? Television coverage is generally incomplete unless it is a major event like the Olympics. It shouldn't be this difficult to follow figure skating!

I just checked, I can still get CBC with a VPN from Australia (Mikhail watching the win come closer and closer will never get old). But it does seem that the ISU yet again is seeing possible growth in the sport's popularity and going "nonono can't have that..."

I felt fortunate that my CBC Gemsite account allowed me to view the Olympic FS Gala. via my Canandian VPN. It was wonderful! No PC problems at all, this time. It is becoming nearly impossible to watch ISU events, my own Nationals etc, and I'm wondering to what extent these CBC GEM accounts might screen the upcoming Worlds competition?

It's my understanding that Nord VPN does have a workaround--your own dedicated private network you purchase through Nord as a bonus feature. But it's pricy and out of my budget. Surely other VPNs offer something similar? My Nord VPN account expires this Sept; if I do renew it, it will only be due to the many protections the basic version of it offers. Just--no more ISU comps, for me. I'll lose interest if all I can ever see are Junior events; already I've little interest in those.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

In fact, Olympic Channel videos have become nearly impossible to watch with a VPN too. But otherwise they're in free access.

 

[TallyT]

I felt fortunate that my CBC Gemsite account allowed me to view the Olympic FS Gala. via my Canandian VPN. It was wonderful! No PC problems at all, this time. It is becoming nearly impossible to watch ISU events, my own Nationals etc, and I'm wondering to what extent these CBC GEM accounts might screen the upcoming Worlds competition?

It's my understanding that Nord VPN does have a workaround--your own dedicated private network you purchase through Nord as a bonus feature. But it's pricy and out of my budget. Surely other VPNs offer something similar? My Nord VPN account expires this Sept; if I do renew it, it will only be due to the many protections the basic version of it offers. Just--no more ISU comps, for me. I'll lose interest if all I can ever see are Junior events; already I've little interest in those.

As I said elsewhere I have Surfshark and it seems to work fine. Hopefully the Worlds (and for me more importantly, Junior Worlds) will be on our own SBS channel...

 

[lileychristie]

Actually, the Olympic livestreams archived in the Olympics Channel have been un-geoblocked in the last day or so.
I can confirm that I can watch it without any VPN, and it was definitely blocked in Australia before. Hopefully that means it will work for everyone

Here are the Women's short and free programs for example:

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Here are the Men skates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWSdwxmrm-E


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vago8XC2A7A

 

[lileychristie]

Thanks for that @DizzyFrenchie!

I'll make rewatch threads in the Olympic subforum so that these posts won't get buried in the future

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Here are the Pairs Short and Free Programs:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6mZaRNGTYM

 

[lileychristie]

REWATCH threads for the Team Event:

Thread 'REWATCH 2026 Olympics | Team Event Day 1'

Feb 24, 2026

This should be watchable without any VPN



Note that the audio is problematic in the beginning, so sadly the Chinese and Polish teams' performances don't have any proper music The audio got fixed from 25:42 just before the Japanese team's performance (timestamped in the video above).

• lileychristie
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Team Event | Day 1

Thread 'REWATCH 2026 Olympics | Team Event Day 2'

Feb 24, 2026

This should be viewable without any VPN

• lileychristie
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Team Event | Day 2

Thread 'REWATCH 2026 Olympics | Team Event Day 3'

Feb 24, 2026

This should be viewable without any VPN

• lileychristie
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Team Event | Day 3

• 

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Sorry, I didn't have time to post this earlier, because I wanted to finish the group I was watching at the Maria Olszewska Memorial before I got gathered up to leave for the dentist.

Actually, the Olympic livestreams archived in the Olympics Channel have been un-geoblocked in the last day or so.
I can confirm that I can watch it without any VPN, and it was definitely blocked in Australia before. Hopefully that means it will work for everyone

@lileychristie - never mind CBC; you are a gem!

Aha! So they are on the main Olympics YouTube channel. I had been keeping an eye on the Olympics Figure Skating YouTube channel for them. Although the archived streams are listed as belonging to both channels (never seen that before!), for some reason they are not actually appearing on the dedicated figure skating channel.

Right, I'll add the links for the World Feed streams to the posts that I put up in the competition threads when the TV broadcasts came on air, because all the links already in those posts will become useless by the end of March.

Streams of sport on the BBC only ever stay up for 30 days.

Meanwhile, HBO Max is replacing Discovery+ on 26th March in teh UK. And the last time something like that happened (when Discovery+ replaced the Eurosport Player), they didn't set up re-directs. In fact, when Discovery+ was given a makeover in September, not only did they not set up re-directs, but they removed a whole pile of videos that were not due to expire for months into the future. Including a lot of things that I was planning to watch over the Christmas and New Year period.

Thank you so much for finding them.



CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ah, I just discovered that I can't edit the posts I was talking about, because the competition threads have been locked.

So, thank you @lileychristie and @DizzyFrenchie for posting all the links, both here and in Re-Watch threads in the Olympics forum.



Thank you again.



CaroLiza_fan

 

[lileychristie]

@lileychristie - never mind CBC; you are a gem!

So, thank you @lileychristie and @DizzyFrenchie for posting all the links, both here and in Re-Watch threads in the Olympics forum.



Thank you again.



CaroLiza_fan

No worries, my pleasure

Let's all hope & pray that the Olympics channel won't backtrack and put the geoblocking back

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

No worries, my pleasure

Let's all hope & pray that the Olympics channel won't backtrack and put the geoblocking back

I would take the fact that all the livestreams for the figure skating at Gangwon 2024 and Beijing 2022 are still available as being a good sign.

That said, the livestream for the Opening Ceremony has been made private, and so cannot be viewed. Bet you that was because of Mariah Carey.

The Gala and the Closing Ceremony are available, though.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

I would take the fact that all the livestreams for the figure skating at Gangwon 2024 and Beijing 2022 are still available as being a good sign.

That said, the livestream for the Opening Ceremony has been made private, and so cannot be viewed. Bet you that was because of Mariah Carey.

The Gala and the Closing Ceremony are available, though.

CaroLiza_fan

Some but not all of the Beijing videos had been geoblocked for something like six months? after the Olympic Games, I'm happy that this isn't the case here. I hope that we're also going to have individual skates!

 

[macy]

all the videos are showing blocked for me

 

[dorispulaski]

The exhibition replay was live on the Olympic site this morning:

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/videos/exhibition-gala-figure-skating-milano-cortina-2026

 

[momrk]

Same here- multiple VPN sites tried; all blocked. Dang. So frustrating.

 

[Mathman]

all the videos are showing blocked for me

Me too.