The HET League is going from strength to strength, ranking 11th in Europe, according to EUFA. But its international broadcast partners portfolio could use a little boost from big-name companies.

In the Czech Republic, tune in ČT Sport and O2 Sport. ČT Sport is the national broadcaster, so you can get your 1. Liga fill for free. O2 is a paid television and digital TV provider offering live streams and on-demand replays. Both are available in the Czech Republic only.

Sportdigital shows select HET Liga matches in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. IPLA.tv airs the games in Poland, Digi Sport in Slovakia, ŠTV 2 in Slovenia, and Arena Sport in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A handful of matches are televised by Sport 3 in Israel and Telekom Sport 2 in Romania.

Internationally, Bet365 streams most of the Czech First League for free. But you need to be a registered user and have a deposited account. Although the deposit is minimal, circa $10, it’s still a gambling site, which may not be an ideal solution for many. Bwin streams select matches, and its conditions are pretty much the same as with Bet365. Both broadcasts are subject to geo-restrictions, which means you can’t watch the Czech First League through Bet365 if a local broadcaster airs the game.

Thousands of Czech expats and tourists across the world lose access to the 1. Liga matches because their ČT Sport and O2 Sport streams are unavailable from abroad. That’s how broadcast licensing works, and there is almost nothing you can do about it. Almost is just enough of a gap to get your soccer fix on a daily basis, though.

You have two options – either register with a gambling provider or get yourself a good VPN. The choice between gambling VS security is up to you, but I choose security. I hate to share my personal details with online shops, let alone bookmakers. Besides, there is very little practical value in a bookmaker if you don’t gamble.

A VPN, on the other hand, offers a laundry list of privacy and security benefits that apply to everything you do online.

First, it allows you to unlock your ČT Sport and O2 Sport live streams and watch the HET Liga from anywhere in the world. Here is how it works – a Virtual Private Network runs a web of servers across the globe. When you connect to a server in the Czech Republic, you get a Czech IP address, and your traffic is routed through the Czech server. As a result, both ČT and O2, and any other website for that matter, see you as a user connecting from the Czech Republic, and you can stream the HET Liga as if you were in your home country.

Second, a VPN encrypts your traffic, which means:

  • Hackers can’t steal your sensitive data
  • You can use public WiFi and rest assured your information is secured
  • Your Internet Service Provider can’t eavesdrop on you or throttle your bandwidth
  • You get access to foreign streaming and gaming sites and region-locked discounts when
  • shopping online
  • You can easily bypass your school, office, or country firewall
  1. Buy a VPN subscription and install a VPN client on your device.
  2. Launch your VPN client and connect to a server in the Czech Republic. See if your provider offers streaming-optimized servers for better speeds.
  3. Clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
  4. Go to your streaming site and enjoy your HET Liga games from anywhere in the world.

​My top VPN picks for streaming the Czech First League have servers in the Czech Republic and offer speeds apt for sports streaming in HD quality. I’m also inclined to recommend these providers because they have transparent privacy policies and a track record of providing quality services backed by military-grade security, easy-to-use software, and quick tech support.

NordVPN

  • More US city locations than its rivals
  • Includes malware protection
  • No-logs policy

CyberGhost

  • Precise locations
  • Very large VPN server network
  • Offers a 45-day money-back guarantee