Sky Go is the companion app that lets Sky TV customers stream Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, Sky Atlantic and the rest of their channels on a phone, tablet or laptop, at no extra cost on top of an active subscription. The catch when you leave home is geography: the app is licensed only for the UK and Ireland, and the old EU portability window that once let you watch on the continent has lapsed since Brexit. Step off the plane in Spain or France and your live channels simply stop loading.
A VPN fixes the location, not the licence. Connect to a British server and the app reads a UK IP address, so your existing Sky login behaves exactly as it does at home. You still pay Sky for the subscription, nothing is unlocked for free. The practical hurdle is that Sky actively blocks many VPN ranges, so a streaming-grade provider such as Surfshark that refreshes its UK addresses is the part that matters.
Sky Go actively blocks VPNs. Only certain providers reliably bypass the detection.
| VPN Service | Price | Sky Go | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SurfsharkBEST | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | August 23 | Try it |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | August 23 | Open |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | August 24 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | August 21 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | August 19 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | August 22 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | August 24 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ WorksTakes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
Sky Go works in 2 countries, including in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. In 189 more it is blocked, and outside available regions you will need a VPN.
Sky Go also works in Germany, in Austria and in Italy, but with limited content compared to fully available countries. Surfshark unlocks full access.
Sky Go is blocked in the United States, in Australia, in Canada, in New Zealand and in France, plus in 184 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like Surfshark.
Sky Go isn’t a standalone subscription but a companion app bundled with every active Sky TV contract in the UK and Ireland. It mirrors whatever packages already sit on the main account (Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, Sky Atlantic, Sky Max) on mobile, tablet and web, so existing subscribers can follow live channels and on-demand box sets outside the living room. Access is limited to the UK and Ireland; EU portability ended after Brexit (1 January 2021), so a VPN with a UK IP is required outside the region.
5 tips from our Sky Go testing team · Updated July 15, 2026
Not the right fit? Here are services in the same category you can compare.
Everything you need to know before you start watching Sky Go.
Surfshark unlocks Sky Go from anywhere in the world. Risk-free 30-day money-back.
Part of the Sky Group (Comcast) family.
Try Surfshark
