How to Stream CCTV With a VPN (Tested in 2024)
CCTV is only available for streaming in China due to licensing agreements and broadcasting rights. To watch the programs on the state-run TV network, you have to be physically located in China and access it with a local IP address.
Having a VPN app on your device can theoretically help you get an IP address in China to watch CCTV, even if you’re somewhere else. However, this is against CCTV’s terms of use and could constitute a copyright violation. For this reason, I don’t condone accessing CCTV with a VPN in this way.
If you want to watch CCTV with a VPN for the sake of your privacy in China, you also need to be careful because only government-approved VPNs are legal to use there. For these reasons, most VPNs don’t work in the country at all. However, our team of testers in China found a few that do. ExpressVPN is the best VPN for CCTV as it has the fastest connection speeds to make sure your favorite shows don’t lag while streaming in UHD.
How does a VPN work in China?
VPNs function by connecting your Internet-capable device to a remote server set up by the VPN host. The VPN creates an encrypted connection between your device and that server that encrypts any data that passes through it. When the data is encrypted, it cannot be viewed by any third party, including your ISP provider or the Chinese government.
When your requests reach the remote server in China, they are decrypted and given a Chinese IP address. Then your requests are sent on to the Chinese website of your choice, in this case, CCTV. The website reads the connection as coming from inside China, triggering it to provide access to the content.
While you could use a VPN to watch CCTV from another country besides China, this goes directly against the platform’s T&Cs and could constitute copyright infringement.
How do I access CCTV using a VPN?
- Get a VPN. To stream privately without lags in China, ExpressVPN is the best VPN for CCTV.
- Connect to a server in China. This will encrypt your traffic for security and privacy while still maintaining a China IP address.
- Log in to your CCTV account and start streaming. You can watch CCTV shows privately.
Important! Neither I nor my team condone copyright infringement in any form, nor the breaking of CCTV’s terms of service. We also advise caution if using any of our recommended VPNs within China as they are not approved by the government. All the below VPNs come with no-logs policies and won’t monitor your online activities. But this means that it’s solely up to you to inform yourself of the most recent local laws and to use your VPN responsibly.
What are the best VPNs for watching CCTV?
1VyprVPN
A great place to start is VyprVPN, based in Switzerland. It has unlimited bandwidth available which means good speeds as well. Its security is second to none thanks to a DNS that doesn’t record logs and its 256-bit AES encryption.
2ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is so-called because of its lightning-fast speeds that are generally thought to be the fastest in the industry. Servers in a whopping 94 countries help too, especially since it’s one of the priciest VPNs around. You can test ExpressVPN out completely risk-free as it’s backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee — if you don’t like it, you can easily get a full refund.
