Note: TalkSport has the radio broadcasting rights for England’s 2024 tour of New Zealand. You can listen live on TalkSport 2 from anywhere in the world using NordVPN ($2.99).
- Test Cricket is back!
- England travel to New Zealand for a three-match Test series starting on 28 November 2024.
- Follow the steps below to listen to TMS via BBC Sounds from outside the UK
If, like me, you’re not in the UK but still want to listen to TMS, you’re going to run into problems. That’s because TMS and the BBC do not have the rights to broadcast outside of the UK.
Don’t worry though, there’s an easy way to listen to TMS anywhere in the world. Here we show you how to listen to TMS abroad using a VPN that works with BBC iPlayer Radio.
TMS Abroad: Quick guide
Note that New Zealand vs England is on TalkSport 2, so there is no TMS available for this series.
- Get NordVPN’s $2.99 Black Friday deal
- Install app on your device
- Allow Requested permissions
- Connect to a UK Server
- Close BBC Sounds on your device and reopen
- Listen to TMS on BBC Sounds or Talk Sport2 from anywhere in the world.
If you ever can’t find TMS or radio cricket commentary when England have an international match, remember to check TalkSport 2, as it sometimes has the audio rights to English cricket, too.
England vs New Zealand
| Test Match | Date and Time | Venue | Listen Live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Test: England vs New Zealand | Wednesday, 28 November 2024, 22:00 BST | Hadley Oval, Christchurch | TalkSport 2 |
| 2nd Test: England vs New Zealand | Thursday, 5th November 2024, 22:00 BST | Basin Reserve, Wellington | TalkSport 2 |
| 3rd Test: England vs New Zealand | Friday, 13 December 2024, 22:00 BST | Seddon Park, Hamilton | TalkSport 2 |
How to listen to TMS abroad: Quick Guide
Total Time: 2 minutes
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Get a VPN
You have two main options here. You can try your luck with a free VPN or you can spend a bit of money and get a premium VPN.
Personally, I wouldn’t waste time sifting through which free VPNs a) have enough bandwidth to support listening to TMS and b) aren’t currently blocked by the BBC.
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Download and install the new VPN app
Once you’ve signed up for your VPN you can install it on most devices. NordVPN ($3.19/month) is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iOS, Amazon Fire, Kindle, Amazon Fire Stick/TV, Android TV and more.
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Open VPN app and connect to UK server
The next thing you need to do is spoof/reroute your internet connection to make it appear as if you’re connecting from inside the UK. This is easy peasy. Simply open your VPN app and navigate to the UK server – it’s impossible to miss.
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Open BBC Sounds (or BBC Sport)
All that’s left to do now is open BBC Sounds and listen to TMS. Note that if you’re having issues, I suggest closing the app and/or restarting your device, then trying again (with the VPN turned on and connected to a UK server). I’ve also been able to listen to TMS via the BBC Sport app whenever there are issues with BBC Sounds.
Note: If you’re having trouble streaming via the BBC Sounds app, don’t panic. Switch to streaming TMS via a web browser or the BBC Sport app, and you’ll have more success.
Why do I need a VPN to listen to TMS?
The BBC streams all of its radio stations online. This means you can listen to BBC radio on any computer, tablet or smartphone that has an internet connection. However, this is restricted to UK users only, due to licensing/ reasons.
This is a good and a bad thing. It means citizens of other countries can’t access BBC content for free. But it also means licence-paying UK citizens are also covered by the same blocks
The best way to get around this is by spoofing your IP location by using a VPN. This will give you a UK-based IP address which will make BBC Sounds think you’re accessing it from within the UK.
During previous Ashes tours, the TMS team has made its broadcast free-for-all via a dedicated steam on YouTube, so keep an eye out for that too. However, this seems to have been shut down for more recent tours of other nations.
Will any VPN work with BBC Sounds?
Until recently any VPN that provided access to a UK server was good enough to stream BBC Sounds content. Sadly, those days are over. Now you need a VPN that stays one step ahead of the BBC.
These VPNs all play an ongoing game of Cat and Mouse with the BBC, in order to keep their servers working. This is vital as the BBC has a technical team working on ways to blacklist every shared VPN server from accessing iPlayer.
ExpressVPN employs its own full-time technical teams. And their job is to constantly monitor the connections with BBC Sounds. If there’s a problem they create workarounds ASAP.
How much data do I need to listen to TMS?
This depends on what quality you’re streaming. Lower-quality is broadcast at 64kbps, with the best-quality require 320kbps (overkill for talk radio). This puts your best/worst case scenarios at 20MB and 150MB per hour.
