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How to Watch Rakuten TV from Anywhere: VPN Guide 2026
Remember Wuaki.tv? The little Barcelona startup grew into Japanese giant Rakuten Group’s European video arm, and these days watching Rakuten TV from anywhere is a real headache for anyone who travels for work, studies overseas or simply heads off on a long holiday. The service cleverly blends free FAST channels stuffed with films and series, a rental store packed with new releases and a handful of in-house docs, but the whole thing only runs in 31 European countries.
Step outside that footprint and the app greets you with a blunt not-available notice instead of your film. The culprit is your IP address, which tells the platform exactly where you are sitting. A VPN like Surfshark fixes it: connect to a server back home, pick up a local IP and the catalogue unlocks, including playback up to 4K. It works on your TV, phone and browser, and the whole setup takes only a couple of minutes start to finish.
15,000+
Total titles
31
Countries
4K HDR
Max quality
4 of 7
VPNs work
2-3 min
Ready in
Quick answer
Can I watch Rakuten TV while abroad?
Yes, though outside the supported markets you will hit an IP-based geo-block. Surfshark solves it: choose a server in the country where your account lives, grab a local IP and the library loads as if you never left. Without a VPN you may still see FAST channels tied to the foreign market, yet your rented or bought titles stay locked.
VPN Compatibility
Best VPN for Rakuten TV
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
Tested on July 6, 2026 · 7 VPNs, 4 working · residential IP from Andorra · Rakuten TV updates detection continuously, results may change.
⚠️
Streaming service blocking your VPN? Just disconnect and hop onto a different server in the same country. Stick to the ones labeled “streaming” or “optimized” because they’re literally built for this.
How-to
How to Unblock Rakuten TV with a VPN
Takes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
1
Pick a reliable VPN
Go with Surfshark, which handles European platforms well. It costs $1.78 on a longer plan and covers your TV, phone and laptop at once.
An annual plan works out cheaper per month.
2
Connect back home
Switch on a server in the country where your Rakuten TV account lives so the site treats you as a local viewer.
3
Open Rakuten TV
Launch the app or website, sign in, and your usual library and payment options reappear instantly.
4
Hit play
Choose a title and enjoy picture quality up to 4K, as long as your connection can handle the stream.
Ready to watch Rakuten TV without borders?
Surfshark: risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee
This overall 1-10 score combines value, reliability, and VPN compatibility into one editorial verdict. Higher = better overall experience.
8.0
Value
This 1-10 score rates the value for money: content and features vs. price. Higher = better deal. 10 = outstanding offer. 5 = market average.
9.0
Reliability
This 1-10 score rates the reliability of streams, apps, and the service overall: higher = fewer technical issues. 10 = no outages. 5 = occasional minor glitches.
7.0
Works with VPN
This 1-10 score shows how easily the platform unblocks with a VPN: higher is better. 10 = works with any service. 5 = you’ll need a premium VPN from the table above.
Availability
Which countries is Rakuten TV available in?
Rakuten TV works in 31 countries, including in the United Kingdom, in Ireland, in Germany, in France and in the Netherlands. In 162 more it is blocked, and outside available regions you will need a VPN.
Rakuten TV works without a VPN in the United Kingdom, in Ireland, in Germany, in France, in the Netherlands, in Andorra and in Austria, plus in 24 more countries.
Rakuten TV is blocked in the United States, in Australia, in Canada, in New Zealand and in India, plus in 157 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like Surfshark.
Available
Partial
Blocked / unavailable
Last tested: June 23, 2026
⚠️
Steer clear of free VPNs. Most of them actually collect and sell your data, lack proper security audits, and can even expose you to malware. They’re also useless for streaming. Platforms block them instantly, leaving you with more headaches than solutions. Stick to paid VPNs with verified audits, like Surfshark, if you want something that actually works.
Rakuten TV is the European video platform of Japan’s Rakuten Group, launched in Barcelona in 2009 under the Wuaki.tv brand and today available in 31 countries. It mixes three models: a free FAST layer with dozens of themed ad-supported channels, a TVOD store where you rent or buy individual new releases one at a time rather than paying a monthly subscription, and a smaller line-up of exclusives such as the Rakuten Originals. Most viewers reach the service through pre-installed apps on smart TVs, and Rakuten TV says its channels reach more than 150 million households across Europe.
A slice of everything Rakuten TV has to stream.
Company and history
Previously known as
Wuaki.tv
Major changes
Wuaki.tv launched in Barcelona as an online video store, offering Spanish viewers films over the internet instead of renting DVDs from the shop.
Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten bought Wuaki.tv outright, gaining a ready-made gateway into the European market for digital video and streaming.
Wuaki.tv rebranded as Rakuten TV. The new name arrived alongside a four-year sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona and a push into more European countries.
Rakuten absorbed users from the British TalkTalk TV Store, formerly Blinkbox, migrating their previously purchased films and shows into the Rakuten library.
Rakuten Sports launched as a separate streaming arm for live sports broadcasts and on-demand video, gradually rolling out across a string of countries.
Rakuten TV widened its FAST channel line-up with feeds from Ace Entertainment, Reframed and Shanghai Media Group, adding Shark TV and shows fronted by Cesar Millan.
Together with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution, Rakuten TV launched four brand-new FAST channels, pushing its European offering toward the 500-channel mark.
Trust signals
App Store
4.6 / 5
Google Play
4.5 / 5
Content & Catalog
What to watch on Rakuten TV?
15,000+
Total titles
~50
New titles/month
10
Max offline downloads
Content TypesMovies · Series · Live TV · Live Sport · Anime · Documentaries · Kids · News · Originals · Offline
SubtitlesEnglish · Czech · German · Spanish · French · Italian · Portuguese · Dutch
DubbingEnglish · Czech · German · Spanish · French · Italian
Payment methodsCredit card · Debit card · PayPal · Apple Pay · Google Pay
Offline downloadsUp to 1080p offline · Download expires after 30 days
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Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Fire Stick, router, if it can run a VPN app, it has been through his hands. Tests installation, in-app UX, kill switch behavior, and cross-device compatibility. Knows when a VPN app drops your Wi-Fi and when it just blips for a moment.
Cross-platform testingVPN appsRouter setupKill switch behaviorApple TV and Fire StickDevice compatibility
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before subscribing to Rakuten TV.
The FAST channels and part of the library cost nothing and run on ads. New releases come as rentals or purchases, with the price shown next to each title, so there is no Netflix-style subscription here. Outside your region even the free channels are often limited, which is why Surfshark helps you reach the free tier too.
Yes, Rakuten TV is one of the gentler services and smart DNS often slips through, especially on smart TVs that lack native VPN support. A Surfshark app on a European server is more reliable, though, because it encrypts traffic and gets flagged less often. Peacock users back home rely on the same trick when they travel.
Pick the country where you created your Rakuten TV account and where your payment card is stored. With a Spanish account, connect to a Spanish server; for a British account, a UK one. Surfshark runs dozens of European locations, so you can always find the right one and the library loads in its familiar form.
You will find it pre-installed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Hisense smart TVs, plus Android TV, Apple TV, games consoles, the mobile app and any browser. While travelling the easiest route is a phone with Surfshark, since a hotel television rarely lets you install a foreign app of your own.
In Europe VPNs are common and perfectly legal, and the technology itself breaks nothing. You may only brush against a service’s regional terms, so connect to your own account country. Surfshark also shields your connection on public Wi-Fi, which is handy on the road beyond streaming alone.
Yes, every European market has its own catalogue based on licensing, so the Spanish library differs from the German one. Rented titles also stay tied to the country of purchase. A Surfshark server in your home country returns exactly the line-up you know and spares you confusion over prices and dubbing.
Rakuten has produced a few of its own documentaries, mostly sports ones, such as Matchday about FC Barcelona or the Andres Iniesta story. It is not a vast originals catalogue, more a complement to the rental store. Abroad you reach them through Surfshark on a home server, otherwise the platform hides them by IP.
On Android TV or Apple TV you can install Surfshark directly; elsewhere a router-level VPN or smart DNS does the job. The other option is to stream from your phone and cast the picture via Chromecast. That gets Rakuten TV onto the big screen in a foreign flat where you have no router of your own.
Ready to watch Rakuten TV without borders?
Surfshark unlocks Rakuten TV from anywhere in the world. Risk-free 30-day money-back.