How to watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK

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What is BBC iPlayer, and how can I watch it?

BBC iPlayer is the free streaming service from the UK TV broadcaster, BBC.

It’s a streaming service with catchup and live TV, covering drama, films, sport, news, documentaries, lifestyle, comedy, and there’s also a couple of children’s channels too. You’ll find regional channels covering Scotland and Wales, with programmes in Welsh language and Scottish Gaelic. It also has a dedicated channel covering the music and news of BBC Radio 1.

The BBC is renowned for great TV programming.

They offer a huge variety of British TV entertainment. There’s masses of sport (Match of the Day, Snooker World Championships), great UK soaps (Eastenders, Doctors, Casualty), breathtaking drama (Dr Who, Killing Eve, His Dark Materials), hilarious comedy (Little Britain, Alan Partridge, Peter Kay’s Car Share) and so much more.

The BBC iPlayer is exclusively available to UK residents. Viewers are expected to hold a UK TV Licence to watch, download or stream any of the iPlayer content. BBC iPlayer is available on a host of different platforms and is built into most UK smart TVs, Freeview, Roku and Sky hardware. It’s also built into the major games consoles too.

The BBC iPlayer channels currently consist of:

BBC One – Mainstream comedy, drama, news and family entertainment
BBC Two – More specialist programming including similar viewing to BBC One and more minority interest channels
BBC III – Younger adult content based at 16–34-year-olds; primarily comedy sketch shows and sitcoms
BBC Four –Niche programming for intellectuals; drama, theatre, documentaries and foreign language films
Radio 1 – Young people’s radio programming
CBBC – Kids TV for ages 7+
Cbeebies – Kids TV for the under 7s
BBC Scotland – Scottish Gaelic-language channel
BBC News – A dedicated news channel
BBC Parliament – A dedicated politics channel featuring
- UK Parliament
- Scottish Parliament
- Welsh Assembly
- Northern Ireland Assembly
BBC Alba – Scotland
BBC S4C – Welsh language TV

How can I watch BBC iPlayer with StreamLocator?

It’s easy. StreamLocator will make the BBC iPlayer think you’re a UK resident. Our router provides you with a UK location to convince the iPlayer software you’re right where you need to be. Once it sees your United Kingdom location, you can start streaming its programs.

With the hard work done for you, all you have to do is sit back, pick a channel, and enjoy your viewing!

No complicated settings or software installation required

How can I use BBC iPlayer outside the UK? There isn’t any special software to download or any settings that need adjusting. You don’t even have to organise your servers. Once the router is plugged in, it’s always on and ready for action—and it will work with every one of your devices.

How great is that? Log on to BBC iPlayer for your Eastenders catch up, free. Or how about watching the Bee movie, Casualty, or The Great British Sewing Bee? They're all there, ready and waiting—online or via your Smart TV.

Your iPhone, iPad and Android devices will all work seamlessly. You can use your Xbox, PS4 or any other console, as well as Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast. However you connect to the Internet, StreamLocator has got you covered.

All you have to do is sign up for our subscription service, and we’ll send yours out straight away. It plugs directly into any of the free ports on your existing router, and that’s that. It doesn’t affect any of your current network activities or your Internet speed. Neither does it affect your offline activity.

You can access it from anywhere in your home, from as many devices as you need. Our amazing router will link different devices to different countries and services all at the same time.

You’ve never known a system like it!

How to watch BBC iPlayer from outside the UK

Why does the BBC iPlayer not work outside the UK? The BBC iPlayer uses geolocation technology to identify users that are in the UK and only permits those residents to access its channels. iPlayer is one of the leading streaming services to cause real difficulties for many VPN services trying to access its content. It can also prevent some of the best Smart DNS systems from breaking in too.

But not StreamLocator!

Just plug it in and play! StreamLocator seamlessly integrates with your system to provide iPlayer content as easily as if you were in the UK.

How to register for iPlayer from outside the UK

You’ll need to register a free account with the BBC to access the iPlayer, which means providing a date of birth, UK postcode and an email address.

Do you need a VPN or DNS to watch BBC iPlayer from outside the UK?

Okay, if you're wondering how to watch BBC TV online from outside the UK, here's how.

VPN software or DNS switching can help provide one way of accessing the BBC iPlayer. They are 2 of the most common ways to get around the geolocation blockers streaming TV software uses. And that includes the BBC iPlayer geolocation blocks.

A VPN is an excellent option for if you’re out and about and using public WiFi in a café, restaurant, or any other public space. They provide excellent protection from hackers or nosey users on a shared network, from snooping around your data. It's certainly an option for watching BBC iPlayer away from home.

However, if you’re looking for a way to access foreign TV services from home, there’s nothing quite like StreamLocator. It’s definitely the best choice when it comes to watching BBC iPlayer channels.

Our router manages all of the server’s requirements for you—seamlessly and simply. You don’t have to do a thing—apart from switching your WiFi channel to StreamLocator. All the calculations, locations and settings are sorted for you. You don’t have to worry about anything apart from what you’re going to watch.

So, now you can access BBC iPlayer from Ireland, England, Scotland or from any corner of the UK, what are you going to watch first?

How to unblock BBC iPlayer

So, how to watch BBC iPlayer on TV? Here's how to catch a BBC One or BBC Two stream outside the UK, and every one of their other superb channels.

If you need to know how to watch BBC iPlayer in Ireland (free, again, of course), it's exactly the same.

We don’t have a complicated list of instructions to teach you how to unblock the iPlayer channels. Just plug in StreamLocator, switch your WiFi channel, and off you go!

That’s it! Your Mac or PC, smart TV, phone or console will have direct access to all those BBC channels you’ve been craving. Now you can watch all your favourites on BBC iPlayer: Alan Partridge, Eastenders, Killing Eve, and so many more.

Does StreamLocator allow me to watch BBC iPlayer for free?

Is the BBC iPlayer free? Absolutely. The BBC TV channels are funded by the UK TV Licence, so there are no subscription plans to pay for. One of the other beauties of the BBC is, due to its licenced funding, there are no adverts that break up your viewing. Ever!