Why You Can Trust CNET How to Watch Winter Love Island 2023: Stream Season 9 Anywhere for Free
The housemates are now well settled in at the South African villa, but who will win this edition of the romantic reality show?
The drama in the villa is hotting up as Love Island Winter season 9 continues, with the coveted £50,000 ($60,550) prize still in view for the remaining hopefuls.
Along with a new HQ on the Ludus Magnus estate in South Africa, the OG version of this now-international show has also seen model-turned-TV presenter Maya Jama take over from Laura Whitmore as host.
Contestants that have entered the villa in Franschhoek "millionaire's row" include the show's first participant who has blindness in one eye, a semi-professional soccer player, a biomedical student and a farmer.
The latest run of the romantic reality phenomenon has seen heated bust-ups between contestants Ron Hall and Shaq Muhammad, tense recoupling ceremonies and tearful shock evictions.
Now set to run until early March in the UK and late March in the US, don't miss all the remaining steamy drama by following our guide to watching Winter Love Island 2023 from anywhere in the world.
The cast of Winter Love Island 2023.
When does Winter Love Island 2023 start?
It depends on where you live.
In the UK, season 9 of Love Island (UK) started Monday, Jan. 16. The series is set to run for eight weeks, with new episodes broadcast every day at 9 p.m. UK time. (That's 1 p.m. PT and 4 p.m. ET in the US and 8 a.m. AEDT the next day in Australia.) Saturday night's episodes will feature "unseen bits" from the week's action.
Outside the UK, it's also available in Australia on Channel 9's on-demand service, 9Now.
The wait is now over for US viewers, as the new season debuted on Hulu on Jan. 30, two weeks after it began airing in the UK.
How to watch Winter Love Island 2023 from anywhere on VPN
So what if you're traveling outside your home country and want to enjoy the show or want an added layer of privacy for streaming? There is an option that doesn't require searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a VPN, or virtual private network.
With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the show. If you find yourself unable to watch locally, a VPN can come in handy. Plus it's a great idea for when you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
Most VPNs, like CNET's Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it easy to virtually change your location. Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 per month. But you can save 49% plus get three months of access for free -- the equivalent of $6.67 per month -- if you get an annual subscription.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Stream for free in the UK
Fans in the UK can watch every episode of Love Island season 9 for free. The show is exclusive to ITV, with episodes shown every evening on ITV2 at 9 p.m., UK time. You'll also be able to watch the show online for free via the network's on demand streaming service ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) from anywhere.
Stream in Australia
Channel 9's on-demand service, 9Now, has been the place to watch Love Island (UK) in the past and that's the case for this season, which started Jan. 18 in Australia.
Watch in the US
Hulu is broadcasting the new season in the US. The bad news is that it's a full two weeks behind UK broadcasts, with a broadcast that started Jan. 30, so you'll need to try and avoid spoilers on social media.
New Hulu subscribers can take advantage of a Hulu free trial for 30 days on its With-Ads or No-Ads plan. After the trial ends, the service will set you back $8 a month. There's also the option of the Disney Plus bundle with Hulu thrown in from $10 a month.
Tips for streaming the Winter Love Island 2023 using a VPN
- With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- experience and success may vary.
- If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.
- If you're having trouble viewing after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log in to your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a network's app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.