- American football fans turned to VPNs to avoid hydration break ads
- Planet VPN saw a 57% increase on the first day of the World Cup
- A VPN gives you access to international gaming coverage
VPN downloads in the United States have increased as soccer fans look for ways to enjoy the World Cup without being interrupted by “hydration break” ads, according to the latest data from Planet VPN.
Introduced this year by FIFA, hydration breaks have significantly changed the football tournament viewing experience, with fans around the world complaining online that the interruptions severely disrupt the pace of matches.
But while in the UK broadcasters use these minutes to provide tactical analysis of matches or to show players taking a breather, in the US viewers are forced to sit through minutes of non-stop advertising.
Desperate for a smoother experience, Americans have turned overwhelmingly to the best VPN apps to watch live international broadcasts.
Nobody likes ads
Planet VPN saw a staggering 57% increase in downloads on the opening day of the tournament alone. Its new users on iOS have almost doubled, while premium subscriptions in the United States have more than tripled since the tournament began.
Unsurprisingly, downloads peaked at +343% on June 19, precisely the same day as the USA-Australia match.
Konstantin Levinzon, co-founder of Planet VPN, said it’s clear that football fans are turning away from Fox’s long commercial breaks to international channels, where the breaks are filled by pundits such as Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney.
This is huge business for US television: according to a recent BBC report, these adverts could generate more than £189 million. However, fans seem to hate them, especially when broadcasters interrupt live coverage for commercials – and only come back after the match has started, as Fox did during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
Needless to say, a virtual private network (VPN) is a huge asset in such situations. It allows you to route your internet traffic through servers located anywhere in the world to bypass geographic restrictions that would otherwise prevent you from accessing local streaming platforms.
This way, wherever you are, you can access your favorite coverage and watch ad-free content on BBC iPlayer and ITVX in the UK, SBS on Demand in Australia or RTE Player in Ireland – streaming football just like you would if you were in a pub in London or Dublin.
And let’s not forget that VPNs encrypt your browsing data and protect it from cybercriminals. Levinzon reminds users to choose a VPN with some specific features in mind: “We always recommend choosing a VPN provider that does not track users without consent and does not keep logs of their activity, sticking to legal and trusted streaming services to keep your data safe.”
The perfect World Cup ally
VPNs are the perfect World Cup companion. In the United States, for example, where most matches are paid for, VPNs allow viewers to virtually “travel” to other countries where the same matches are free.
Additionally, the demand for streaming puts a lot of pressure on servers during major matches, when millions of fans tune in at the same time, causing ISP peering issues, network congestion and in-match buffering. If you use a VPN, you’re essentially leaving the “data traffic jam” that everyone is stuck in for a smoother experience.
Additionally, VPN speeds are further optimized through modern protocols such as WireGuard, while additionally offering a wide range of traffic routing and speed optimization features.
The icing on the cake? You can access comments from all over the world, from Brazil to Turkey to India. Their locations will affect their perspective and focus, hopefully making your experience even richer.
