The BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation is the country’s public broadcaster and one of the largest networks in the world. In light of recent trends, BBC has also jumped on the streaming services bandwagon with its offering, the iPlayer. Providing users with every BBC broadcast including television and radio in one place, it is a great application for binge-watchers. 

About BBC iPlayer

Launched in 2012, the BBC iPlayer is a streaming application available for all major platforms. The iPlayer is part of BBC offerings which come with an annual subscription fees. In the UK it is a criminal offence to watch live TV programming from any broadcaster without a license. All subscribers have to pay a standard fee if they want to watch any television channels. 

The BBC iPlayer is included inside the same fee and users have to pay nothing extra for it. This is also the reason why it is not possible to watch BBC iPlayer abroad. 

Supported languages and availability

BBC iPlayer is native to the England and Scotland region therefore it is only available in the four major languages spoken in this area. The transmissions are available in English, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. The BBC iPlayer features all the local channels available to audiences through their cable service providers. The BBC iPlayer website is also available in these four languages. 

BBC iPlayer is only available to viewers inside the UK. BBC doesn’t have the broadcasting rights for its shows to be aired in other countries around the world and so it chooses to block access to content online too. The iPlayer website displays a ribbon on the top of the page which highlights that the service only works in the UK. This means that even citizens travelling to other countries are not able to acces it. 

Channels and programs

The iPlayer is the property of BBC. They are the developers and they control the content which airs on it. The iPlayer exclusively features content from the BBC. All the channels which operate under the broadcaster’s banner are available for live streaming on the application. These include BBC One, Two, Three, Four, BBC Radio 1, CBBC, Cbeebies, BBC Scotland and BBC News etc. 

The channel also holds archives of some of the most popular shows to air on the network. Who is not familiar with Peaky Blinders? Yet, this is not the only noteworthy production by BBC Studios. Some other leading BBC shows include Sherlock, Luther, Doctor Who, Faulty Towers, Merlin, Line of Duty, Black Ladder, The Office and The Fall etc.   

Which platforms is BBC iPlayer available on?

iPlayer is one of the most widely supported applications. It is available for almost every major platform. This includes Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, iOS, Apple and Amazon Fire TV, Virgin Media, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4, Sky TV and even Windows phone operating systems. The applications are updated regularly to ensure safety of user information and data traffic while accessing the programs. 

How to watch BBC iPlayer abroad?

With the geographic restrictions on iPlayer, it becomes quite difficult for users to access its content. Even UK residents with valid subscriptions are unable to watch their favorite seasons if they are outside the country for any reason. Fortunately, there is a solution to this predicament. Users can watch BBC iPlayer abroad with a VPN. 

A VPN is a software which hides user IP addresses. It redirects the normal flow to data by sending it through a secure server first. As a result, a website that would be able to track user location through their IP can only trace it back to the VPN server. This can be set by the user so if you want to access iPlayer, simply choose a server in the UK.   

BBCiPlayer Alternate:

While the thought of unblocking BBC iPlayer might sound interesting, there are other alternatives way better and more entertaining than iPlayer. Think about Netflix for a second. This amazing application lets users stream hundreds and thousands of shows and movies with just a few clicks. American users are actually blessed to have access to the best Netflix library, but if you’re not in the US, there’s a great hack to access hundreds of more shows instead of unblocking BBC iPlayer. 

Here is how to access American Netflix outside US

• Sign up with ivacy’s Netflix VPN
• Download and Install the VPN app to your device
• Launch the VPN app and sign in with the credentials you have received
• Select “Start Streaming” from the purpose Tab.
• You will see a button “Unblock Netflix US” press it.
• Now you are good to GO, Enjoy! Netflix US from Australia.

Conclusion

BBC iPlayer is the one stop destination for all viewing needs. Since geographic restrictions prohibit access to it outside the UK, using a VPN like Ivacy become imperative.