Sony LIV and ZEE5 both offer international versions in the USA, the UK and Australia, so the legal route is a local subscription. The IPL is on Willow TV in the US and Sky Sports in the UK. JioHotstar’s 2026 international launch covered the UK, Canada and Singapore, not the US. Sony LIV’s terms ban VPN use.
Disclosure: this page contains one affiliate link to NordVPN, marked “(affiliate link)”. If you buy through it, Best VPN India may earn a commission. There are no affiliate links to any streaming service or broadcaster. Terms, help pages, broadcaster announcements and app store listings cited here were checked on 27 October 2026.
Which Indian streaming services are officially available in the USA, UK and Australia?
Start with the official route. The big Indian platforms now reach some countries outside India, not all the same ones, and each market has its own IPL broadcaster.
| Service | USA | UK | Australia | Legal way to watch | Does a VPN help? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony LIV | Yes: US premium packs (US help page) | Yes (terms, clause 1.3) | Yes (terms, clause 1.3) | Local subscription; the account works only in its country of registration | No. Clause 4.4 bans VPNs |
| ZEE5 | Global app in the US App Store | In the UK App Store | In the Australian App Store | Local app store; catalogue varies by country | No. Section 6.1 bans circumventing geo-filtering |
| JioHotstar | App in the US App Store; no US launch announced | Yes, launched 2 September 2026 | No launch announced; app not in the Australian App Store | UK: app stores. US: check the plan in the app before paying | No. The site blocks VPN and proxy users |
| IPL (live) | Willow TV, also carried by Fubo | Sky Sports or NOW; deal to the end of 2027 | 2026: Fox Cricket, Foxtel, Kayo (per Wisden); confirm for 2027 | The local rights holder | Not needed: the local broadcaster has the rights |
If you searched for JioCinema in the USA, the answer is the JioHotstar row. JioStar’s February 2025 announcement describes JioHotstar as “bringing together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar”.
How do you watch Sony LIV in the USA?
Sony LIV’s help page for the United States says it “has launched monthly and yearly subscription packs” for premium membership for all US users.
Two rules on that page matter more than the price. Registrations are geo-blocked to each country, and “Your LIV account will be accessible to you only in the country of registration.” Someone who moved from Mumbai to New Jersey therefore needs a US account, not the old Indian one. The page also says browsing, playback and purchases “are not supported over VPN”.
For the UK and Australia, clause 1.3 of Sony LIV’s terms of use lists both countries, along with the EU/EEA, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand, as places where its content may be viewed.
How do you watch ZEE5 in the USA, UK or Australia?
ZEE5 runs a global app sold by Z5X Global FZ-LLC, the Dubai-based company named in ZEE5’s terms. The app is listed in the US, UK and Australian App Stores, and the listing warns that the “availability of some content may differ based on content rights” in each country. A show that is on ZEE5 in India may be missing abroad, or arrive later.
ZEE5’s terms (section 5.6) are blunt: “Zee 5 is available in select countries only.” They add that you are “solely liable” for using ZEE5 in the countries where you use it.
Is JioHotstar available in the USA?
Not officially. On 2 September 2026 JioStar announced “its international launch across the UK, Canada and Singapore”. The US and Australia are not mentioned. The JioHotstar app does appear in the US App Store with in-app subscriptions, and the listing says content and features “may vary by country and region”. If you are in the US, open the app and read what the plan includes before you pay. Do not assume it matches the Indian catalogue or includes live cricket.
In Australia, the JioHotstar app was not available in the Australian App Store on 27 October 2026.
Where can you watch the IPL in the USA, UK and Australia?
The IPL’s official site shows Star Sports as its broadcast partner and JioHotstar as its official digital streaming partner. Outside India, matches go out on local rights holders:
- USA: Willow TV. Fubo, which carries Willow and Willow Xtra, says: “Stream every IPL cricket match on Willow TV.”
- UK and Ireland: Sky Sports. Sky’s March 2024 announcement covers the IPL and the WPL in a four-year deal “running until the end of 2027”, on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event, with a NOW membership for non-Sky customers.
- Australia: for the 2026 season, Wisden’s broadcast guide named Fox Cricket on TV, with streaming on Foxtel and Kayo Sports. Check Foxtel or Kayo for the 2027 season before subscribing.
The 2026 season has finished, and the official site did not list 2027 dates when this page was checked.
Will your Indian subscription work while you are abroad?
Often not in full, and the services say so. Sony LIV ties the account to its country of registration. JioHotstar’s privacy notice says that for travellers “we will determine your location using your IP address” to decide which services are offered. ZEE5 says it is available in select countries only. What you can watch depends on where you are, not on where you paid.
On a short trip, some shows may have to wait until you are home. After a move, you need a local subscription.
Do the terms allow a VPN for streaming?
No, whatever many “watch abroad” guides suggest.
- Sony LIV, clause 4.4: you must not use “any mechanism or technology which conceals Your actual geo-location”, with “use of a virtual private network (VPN)” given as the example.
- ZEE5, section 6.1: users “must not remove, alter, interfere with, or circumvent” access controls, and the list includes “geo-filtering”.
- JioHotstar: hotstar.com shows visitors it detects on a VPN the message “Looks like you are connecting through a VPN, proxy or ‘unblocker’ service” and asks them to turn it off.
Using a VPN to get around these rules breaks terms you accepted when you signed up. For Indian streaming abroad, a VPN is the wrong tool.
When does a VPN make sense for Indians in the USA?
In two situations, and neither involves getting around a streaming service’s rules.
Public Wi-Fi. Airports, hotels, cafés and campuses. The help centre of NordVPNAd (affiliate link) notes that at “a café, library, shop” you are likely to use publicly available Wi-Fi, and that on a NordVPN server “your internet traffic will be safely transferred over a VPN tunnel”. Its apps can connect automatically on Wi-Fi networks, and the Kill Switch “cuts off your internet connection when disconnected from NordVPN servers”, so a dropped tunnel does not fall back to the open network. More in the guide to public Wi-Fi safety.
Your own Indian accounts while travelling. Paying bills, checking an Indian bank account or dealing with paperwork from a hotel network. NordVPN shut down its physical servers in India in response to CERT-In’s 2022 rules and now offers “one virtual location with an Indian IP”. Whether a given bank or portal accepts VPN connections is that service’s decision, so check its own guidance first. The banking guide covers what to look for.
What a VPN will not do: make an Indian subscription play abroad, or give you IPL rights you have not paid for in your country.
What should you check before you pay?
- Confirm the app is listed in the app store of the country where you are.
- Look for the exact show or match in that country’s catalogue; ZEE5 and JioHotstar both say content varies by country.
- For cricket, check the broadcaster for the specific series, not only the IPL.
- Read the territory and VPN sections of the terms. Sony LIV’s clauses 1.3 and 4.4 are short.
- Compare prices on the official site on the same day; this page does not quote them because they change.
Best VPN India Editorial. Sources checked on 27 October 2026. Availability and sports rights change, so check again before you subscribe.