GCN Issues
 

Anyone using GCN ? I've been using it since last February at launch. It has been great. Yesterday I went to watch a replay and the race wouldn't load. I then went to watch a documentary. Same problem. I use a VPN all the time for safety. I turned off the VPN and everything I was after started to play. I didn't watch long. This service will be useless to me if you can no longer use a VPN.

Since there is a lot of money involved in broadcast rights and some content is geo-restricted, I'd not be surprised to see more content restricted in the future that goes through vpn's.

Don't know if that is what's happening in your instance, but until recently the numbers have been fairly low for people watching though VPN's. Perhaps now they are becoming more of a thorn in the side of the people that actually own the broadcast rights to events.

I'd be hugely surprised if it was anything with GCN limiting VPNs. That's complex and not in their interest. As a broadcaster, they want more viewers. Even the original rights owner only cares a little. The loser is the broadcaster with rights for the area you're proxying out of, and they're not really in a position to act on it. Yay for internet anarchy. In this case.

Not all VPNs are created equal. Perhaps there were some tech issues, traffic limits, or other connectivity issues with your VPN service provider that day.

I watched GCN yesterday to see Wout decimate the field on the beach at Middelkerke. They must have had US broadcast rights because no VPN was required. But it worked when I turned VPN on for a bit, too. I assume I'll need to use it in a few weeks to watch some of Fayetteville from "Manchester."

What VPN are you using ? I have Surfshark and if it's on set for USA or any location I can't get anything.

Just connected with VPN Unlimited to London and checked a TdF replay, it played without any problems.

Anyway with basically every site of consequence using HTTPS, using a VPN just for security is an outdated concept.

From your home network, sure, it's overkill. From anywhere out and about on a public network, I think it is still wise.

I roam less than I used to do, pandemic and all. The main reason I keep my subscription to Strong VPN is for accessing geo-restricted feeds. It's helpful the service comes with an Android app and split-tunneling, so I can watch "from Europe" on my tablet and still Chromecast it on my local network.

subscribed for a year but ditching it when the addlepated memory to do so kicks back in. u2b kicks down enuff. it’s not like the horrible predictions became less frequent. if anything…

I got GCN for their early bird $25 special last year. It needs renewing in Feb and bumps up to $50. I'll keep it.

I can't stand Flo. Lousy and expensive. I'll keep GCN and VPN my way around the geo-restrictions. There are only a few races that won't work for.

NBC or whatever flavor of Paycock they are now, I've lost track, is something I may dabble in but their coverage is inferior. As much as I like Bobke, he can't carry it all.

Yes I love GCN. My only problem is Surfshark stopped working with it. I did just try IpVanish and that does work for now.

Hi, I'm having the same problem with GCN+ and Surfshark. I'm based in Latin America so I use the VPN to see the European geo-restricted races, it worked well until the end of 2021 season. I've been trying to see the races this week and, while the VPN is active, I can't see the live content, once I stop I can see it (obviously, only the content allowed in my country). Does anyone know if there's a workaround or any specific configuration on the surfshark preferences to allow the content? clearly it is an issue with the VPN client.
Thanks!

I think Youtube may have made some changes starting the beginning of this year including putting lots of ads in the middle of videos, and perhaps segmenting the videos more.

Have you noticed any changes with how Youtube operates for other videos with the VPN?

It is possible the issues are independent from GCN.

Just updating that Surfshark, as of this past Friday's update is now working again with GCN. Only took 3 months to get fixed.

I've noticed that now I have to turn off location services on my phone (which I use 100% to watch) while using a VPN or I won't get content.