With the 2025/26 Champions League season under way, fans in Ireland will know that RTE is the place to go for the best coverage of Europe's most elite soccer competition. The free streaming service is also home to some other amazing television programmes, including The Traitors Ireland, "Love Island", "Kin" and "Normal People" as well as much more juicy content. But can you watch RTE in the U.K., U.S.A. and Canada too? Below we will explain exactly how you can access RTE from anywhere in the world.
RTE doesn't just appease to soccer fans either, it's the place to go for rugby, golf, racing and much much more for live sports fans. RTE recently announced an agreement to extend their broadcasting rights of the Six Nations until 2029, much to the delight of rugby fans.
Whilst RTE is a breeze to use in Ireland, unfortunately fans of their coverage can't access their great content outside of the country. However, where there's a will, there's a way and in this guide, we'll show you exactly how to watch RTE no matter where you are in the world.
How to watch RTE live in Ireland
In order to watch RTE online, you can do so through their RTE Player service. The great thing about RTE's online player is that you don't even need an account to watch all your favorite shows on their platform.
Ireland residents can enjoy a plethora of content via their RTE 1 and RTE 2 channels and can even put some TV on for the kids using their RTE jr channel or keep up to date with worldly affairs on their RTE News channel.
All you need to do is head over to RTE Player find the series or live TV you want to watch and click play, it's as simple as that.
Outside of Ireland and want to access RTE? Here's how to unlock all their great content...
How to watch RTE live abroad
RTE is our #1 streaming service for Irish residents
If you're outside of Ireland and want to use RTE to catch up on your favorite series or watch some live sports, you can do so by using a VPN. NordVPN is our favorite to use as they boast excellent speeds, the power needed for streaming, great security as well as more excellent features. NordVPN is the best choice to unblock your RTE stream from anywhere in the world.
RTE users travelling outside of Ireland will know all too well the pain of trying to access your account, only to be blocked from logging in when you're outside the country.
However, there are ways around this issue to make accessing your RTE account quick and seamless, just as if you were at home.
Signing up to NordVPN gives you the power to unblock your RTE account from anywhere in the world. No matter where you are travelling to, using Nord gives you the ability to connect to any country's server virtually, in this case, Ireland.
For example, if you're travelling to Canada for work or vacation, NordVPN will allow you to connect a server in your home country and access your streaming accounts. All you need to do is turn on your VPN and select 'Ireland' from the listed countries and you'll have the ability to login to your RTE account and watch your favorite show just as if you were at home.
Live sports on RTE
As stated above, RTE broadcasts a wide range of live sporting events.
The Irish network boasts the rights to this years UEFA Champions League coverage, which they share with Virgin Media. As well as midweek European football, viewers can also enjoy RTE's overnight coverage of the 2025 World Athletics Championships with commentary provided by Greg Allen and David Matthews for this years events in Tokyo.
As well as track and field events, RTE also holds the broadcasting rights for the Women's Rugby World Cup which is streaming live on their RTE Player as well as retaining the rights to the Six Nations as mentioned before.
RTE also offer sports fans some live golf and horseracing as they are the exclusive home of the Irish Open and will show the Galway races as well as select races from Punchestown.
What's on RTE?
If reality TV is what helps you unwind after a long day, RTE is the place to go. There's plenty of reality options including coverage of the Love Island franchise as well as Traitors.
If you're looking for some soaps or a good series to sink your teeth into, you can watch the likes of Eastenders on RTE or even catch up on episodes of Kin or Normal People.
There's even comedy options too, with Ireland's famous series, Mrs Brown's Boys, available to watch on their streaming platform.
So head over to RTE for all your entertainment needs and vices as they've got you covered for every genre. Remember, use a VPN if you're travelling outside of Ireland.
Why should you use a VPN to watch RTE live?
Even if you live in Ireland at the moment, the second you leave the country for work or leisure, you'll lose the ability to access RTE without a VPN (a risk not worth taking).
A VPN will always be there for when you need it, no matter where you are in the world, a VPN offers you a route back to your favorite streaming platforms (RTE).
The great thing about VPN's is that they also encrypt your browsing data, keeping all your data private from cybercriminals (and the government) but also your internet service provider too.
What is the best VPN for RTE?
More from Tom's Guide
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
