Do you live outside the UK but want to watch BBC Shows on any of the BBC iPlayer platforms? Without proxies, you can’t. Come in now and discover the best proxies and VPN you can use to enable you to access BBC iPlayer anywhere in the world.
BBC iPlayer is quite popular among people interested in watching BBC Shows, catchups, and other UK broadcasting. The BBC iPlayer had been made to be available on a good number of platforms, including Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Tv, and a host of other platforms including game consoles such as the PS4, PS3, and Xbox. While they support a good number of platforms, there is an inherent problem and keep a good number of intending viewers away from this streaming service – the BC iPlayer is available only for viewing in the UK.
This means that the moment you step your foot out of the United Kingdom, you won’t be able to make use of the BBC iPlayer service again. For some users, they can afford to forget about using the service, but for others, they cant, and they are on the lookout for techniques they can use to be able to make use of the BBC iPlayer service outside of the UK. If you are one of such person, then this article has been written for you. You will be learning how to unblock the BBC iPlayer service and access it outside of the UK. Some of the techniques to achieve that are discussed below.
- UK Private proxies choice: MyPrivateProxy, YourPrivateProxy, and Blazing Proxies.
- UK VPN Server choice: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and IPVanish VPN
- Free Choice (Not recommend for slow): Hola VPN, Beebs, and Unblocker for BBC iPlayer
Free VPNs and Proxies for Unblocking BBC iPlayer
We are starting with the free methods you can use for accessing BBC iPlayer outside of the UK. One thing you need to know about the free options is that you cant be aggressive with the usage, and in some instances, it might not work for you the way it should. However, if you do not have a budget for any of the paid options discussed after this free section, then you can opt-in for one of the 3 free options discussed below.
Hola VPN
The Hola VPN is one of the free VPN in the market. With this, you can connect to the Internet through IPs in the United Kingdom, and as such, your access to BBC iPlayer will be granted. Hola VPN works quite great most times – thanks to the fact that it makes use of residential IPs gotten from its peer-to-peer network. Hola VPN will provide you unrestricted access to websites and provide you a lightning speed.
One thing you need to know about Hola VPN free option is that your connection to the Internet is not encrypted, and they keep logs of your activities. For this, you need to make sure you only use it for BBC iPlayer and switch to another proxy or VPN for your regular browsing.
Read more, Residential VPN: Get Best Free & Paid Residential IP VPN Services
Beebs
Unlike Hola VPN that is not a BBC iPlayer specific service, Beebs is quite specific in its usage as it has been developed to allow people outside of the UK to watch British TV from the comfort of where they are. Aside from the BBC iPlayer service, Beebs also has support for a few other services like the TvPlayer, iTv, and Channel 4.
Beebs is available as a Chrome extension, and you need to download it and access the service from your browser. Beebs acts as a VPN server that will route your requests through British IP addresses. It is fast enough to give you an uninterrupted streaming experience.
Unblocker for BBC iPlayer
The Unblocker application for BBC iPlayer is a Chrome extension that you can use to unblock BBC iPlayer at the push of a button. With this Chrome extension installed in your Chrome browser, you can bypass the “BBC iPlayer only works in the UK” error message and access the service ass if you are accessing the service from the UK.
Definitely, this service makes use of a proxy or VPN server behind the scene to get it to work. Unblocker is not completely free to use. It free option which we are discussing here only allows you to stream for 20-minute in a day. For unrestricted access, you will have to subscribe to their $12.99 plan.
Read more, Using Proxies to Stream Netflix and YouTube From Any Country
Paid UK Private Proxies for BBC iPlayer
Using proxies is also one of the best ways you can unblock BBC iPlayer and access its content. However, not all proxies will work. You will have to make use of proxies with servers in the UK as only then will they be functional for this particular use case. While residential proxies are the best for this, they are generally expensive, and most come with limited bandwidth. For this, we are recommending private proxies for you.
MyPrivateProxy
- Locations: US and EU region only
- Concurrency Allowed: Up to 100 threads
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Cost: $1.49 per proxy for a month
MyPrivateProxy is one of the best datacenter proxy providers in the market. They make use of super-secure servers across a good number of North American cities and a few other locations in Europe. Interestingly, they have proxy servers in the UK. This, coupled with the fact that their proxies are very fast and come with an excellent uptime of 99 percent, makes it perfect for unblocking the BBC iPlayer service. It has been tested with the service, and it has proven to work. While it is paid, it is actually cheap. Make sure the proxy you buy from them is a UK proxy.
YourPrivateProxy
- Locations: 29 locations
- Concurrency Allowed: 20 threads per IP
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Cost: Starts at $6.97 per proxy for a month
YourPrivateProxy is another provider you can get datacenter proxies that can be used for unblocking BBC iPlayer. Their proxies are strictly dedicated proxies, and you are guaranteed you won't be sharing IP with someone else. With YourPrivateProxy, you can start using the proxies you paid for within 5 minutes. Their proxies have proven to be very fast, reliable, and comes with unlimited bandwidth just like every other datacenter proxies. However, unlike MyPrivateProxy, YourPrivateProxy datacenter proxies, especially when paying for fewer proxies. They have support for about 29 locations – make sure you just UK when making payment.
Blazing Proxies
- Locations: 9 countries
- Concurrency Allowed: Unlimited
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Cost: $1.20 per proxy for a month
For a streaming service as BBC iPlayer service, speed is a very important factor in ensuring a fluid experience. Blazing Proxies provides the speed required to make sure you do not suffer from any form of interruption while streaming. Blazing Proxies is a brainchild of BlazingSEO LLC. Their private proxies are built on secure servers that come packed with lots of power. With Blazing Proxies, you will enjoy unlimited threads and bandwidth. Blazing Proxies proxy allocation is automatic and delivery instant – this means that you can start streaming immediately after payment. Make sure you choose the UK when making a purchase.
Paid VPN Services for Unblocking BBC iPlayer
Another option you have when it comes to unblocking BBC iPlayer is to make use of a VPN service. They work the same way proxies work, but you can be sure that your traffic is encrypted, and they are tailored toward personal privacy online – unlike proxies that are tailored toward Internet marketing. the VPNs recommended below are paid VPNs, but they are guaranteed to work with BBC iPlayer service.
NordVPN
- Locations: 59 countries
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Supported Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, Firefox
- Cost: Starts at $6.99 for a month
When it comes to the world of VPN service provision, NordVPN is arguably one of the best in the market. It provides users private and secure access to the Internet and will help you access websites on the Internet from locations you are not present. NordVPN can help you unblock BBC iPlayer effortlessly. One thing you will come to like about NordVPN is that it has support for multiple platforms, including many of the platforms supported by BBC iPlayer. This means that you can use it with your favorite platform – and you can use the same subscription for up to 6 devices at a time.
Read more, What’s The Difference Between a Proxy and a VPN?
ExpressVPN
- Locations: 94 countries
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Supported Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Routers, Chrome, Firefox
- Cost: $12.95 for a month
ExpressVPN is one of the trusted VPN service providers in the market because of its readability and compatibility with many websites on the Internet. ExpressVPN has VPN servers in a good number of locations around the world, with the UK being one of the key locations it supports. Because of this, it can be for streaming BBC iPlayer service without any problem faced. ExpressVPN provides you unrestricted access to the world wide web, and it is available on the major operating systems and platforms. It makes use of ultra-fast VPN servers and provides you powerful protection against censorship.
IPVanish VPN
- Locations: 75 countries
- Bandwidth Allowed: Unlimited
- Supported Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome OS, Amazon Fire TV
- Cost: $10 for a month
The last on the list of VPN services you can use for circumventing the “BBC iPlayer only works in the UK” error message is IPVanish VPN service. It might not be a very popular choice among Internet users, but it works excellently. IPVanish will provide you an unmatched private connection to the Internet at a fast speed and unblock a good number of geo-targeted content that has locked you out. IPVanish is quite affordable and still get the job done. Just like every other one discussed above, IPVanish provides you 30 days money-back guarantee.
FAQs about BBC iPlayer Proxy
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Why Can’t I Access BBC iPlayer Outside of the UK?
According to the information provided on the BBC UK official website, the main reason why you cannot access the BBC iPlayer service outside of the UK is due to rights agreements. However, if you have already downloaded content in the UK, you can watch it anywhere in the world. The did state that they are looking forward to letting UK license fee payers access the service when they are abroad. For now, there are some technical issues that need to be resolved before that is possible.
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Does BBC iPlayer Allow the Use of Proxies or VPN Services?
BBC iPlayer does not permit the use of any proxy service or VPN service. In fact, they are actually on the lookout for proxy/VPN through traffic to block, and they have succeeded in blocking traffic from many of these sources. However, some of the services have turned out undetectable to BBC iPlayer anti-spam system, and as such, they still work effortlessly.
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Why Must I Use Proxies from the UK?
This is because you must either be surfing the Internet from the UK or appear to be surfing from the UK before you can access the BBC iPlayer service. Since you are outside of the UK, then using proxies or VPN service that routes your requests through UK IP addresses is the only option left.
Conclusion
BBC iPlayer tries to derive people living outside of the UK access to its service. Unfortunately for it, the Internet has gone past that stage of deriving users access based on their location as there are techniques one can use to mimic surfing from any location in the world. Some of the popular methods you can use to unblock BBC iPlayer outside of the UK and access its content are discussed above.
