What is a Usenet backbone? A backbone is the company that actually runs the servers and stores the articles. Many Usenet brands are storefronts on top of the same backbone, so two subscriptions can mean paying twice for the same pipe. This page shows which brands share one, how to pick, and what not to stack.
What a Usenet Backbone Is
Think of the backbone as the water main and each Usenet brand as a tap. The backbone owns the server farms, the storage that holds years of posts (retention), and the connections to other backbones. Your newsreader talks to it over NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol), the protocol Usenet runs on. A brand either runs its own backbone or rents access to someone else’s and sells it under its own name.
That matters for one reason: two brands on the same backbone serve the same articles. If a download is incomplete on one, it will be incomplete on the other. Paying for both buys you a second login, not a second copy of Usenet.
Which Brands Share a Backbone
The same map as a list. We grouped providers by the network their news servers actually run on (checked September 2026):
- Newshosting, Easynews, UsenetServer and Newsgroup Ninja: one network. They differ in extras (Easynews adds browser search, Newshosting a newsreader), so choose the one whose features you want, but only one of them.
- Eweka and TweakNews: a second network, run from the Netherlands.
- UsenetExpress, NewsDemon, NewsgroupDirect and ViperNews: a third network, with US and European server farms.
- Giganews, Supernews and Frugal Usenet: a fourth network (Frugal’s main server).
- Usenet.Farm: its own network. NewsgroupDirect plans also include access to Supernews and Usenet.Farm.
How to Pick
The setup we recommend is two providers on two different backbones, one for each region, so the second account actually adds coverage instead of repeating the first:
- US coverage: Newshosting. US and EU server farms, over 6,600 days of retention, 100 connections on the Unlimited plan, and a newsreader with search built in.
- European and worldwide coverage: Eweka. Its own network run from the Netherlands, over 6,600 days of retention and 50 connections.
| Newshosting | Eweka | |
|---|---|---|
| Network | Omicron | Eweka network |
| Server farms | US and EU | Netherlands |
| Retention | 6,600+ days | 6,600+ days |
| Connections | 100 (Unlimited plan) | 50 |
| Month to month | $12.95 | €9.50 |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
What Not to Stack
- Two brands on the same network. Newshosting plus Easynews, or Eweka plus TweakNews, is the same backbone twice.
- A third plan “just in case.” Two backbones in two regions cover most needs. Add more only if you still see articles missing on posts you care about.
- A block account on a backbone you already pay for. If you add one later, check it runs somewhere else. Our block account guide pairs each main provider with one that runs elsewhere.
How to Check Which Backbone a Provider Uses
Resellers rarely say which backbone they sit on. Three quick checks:
- Ask support which backbone their news servers run on. A good provider answers plainly.
- Look up the server address. Take the server name from the provider’s setup page (for example news.newshosting.com), paste it into any free IP lookup tool, and note the network it belongs to. Two providers on the same network share a backbone. This is how we grouped the map above.
- Watch your backup server. If it almost never downloads anything in SABnzbd, or fails on the same articles as your main server, both are probably on the same backbone.
Setting Up the Pair in SABnzbd
In SABnzbd, go to Config, then Servers, and add both providers:
- Newshosting: host news.newshosting.com, port 563, SSL on.
- Eweka: host news.eweka.nl, port 563, SSL on.
- Priority: give the server closest to you priority 0 and the other priority 1. SABnzbd downloads from priority 0 first and only asks the priority 1 server for articles the first one is missing.
- Connections: 20 to 30 per server is plenty for most home connections. Stay under your plan’s limit.
Let SABnzbd download and unpack into your library folder, then point Jellyfin at that folder to play it on your TV or phone.
Your Next Step
Set up both backbones: Get Newshostingi for US coverage and Get Ewekai for Europe, then add both to SABnzbd.