Using the BBC iPlayer outside of the UK

I wish iplayer wasn't restricted to UK. I listen to bbc radio online and there isn't any problem with that side of things.
from an frustrated world citizen.

When it will be possible watch BBC outside UK?

This 'only in the UK' stuff is unbelievable! For some reason the UK always has to put itself apart from the rest of the world. I'm surprised you brits don't have imperial computers instead of binary ones.

Oh well, they shot themselves in the foot, I'm just going back to good old youtube...

I for one would be willing to pay a license fee to access BBC programming, such as test matches, from my home in the U.S. The BBC should offer this option--if the cost of access is indeed the only issue, just let us join for a flat fee or a per-program fee!

Wait until later in the year when the joint BBC/ITV/Channel 4 pay as you watch service comes on-line - Project Kangaroo - just Google it !

..that comment about the license fee is about the stuffiest response i've heard in quite some time and makes me so happy i no longer live in the u.k

one person living in the u.s here is offering to pay your tv license fee for you. so guess what? maybe that would mean you wouldn't have to pay the bloody thing full stop

Stuffy or not, I agree with that guys comments... I used to live in the UK, now live in Canada...and trust me for the $30 or so basic cable costs...the results is sh*te TV... the licence fee seemed DAMN good value in contrast... If I could pay and get all the content Piped to Canada, I would (no BBC Canada isnt the same..and costs a fair bit for one channel...digital TV here sucks badly)

So what if thousands of people in other countries want to watch BBC tv? If you live in UK and get stuck with paying the license fee, tough luck! This kind of "unfairness" is all around you. Its called Life.

It's perfectly reasonable that UK residents should be able to access BBC programmes for free given that they've in part financed the BBC through licence fees, whilst non UK internet surfers have not. On the other hand I fail to understand why non copyrighted programmes cannot be downloaded by those outside the UK for a fee. Everyone wins, the BBC - extra revenue, the UK Licence payer - lower burden on him as the principal funder , and of course, the non UK based viewer.

I have been experimenting using a UK based proxy server to watch the programs but so far haven't been able to get around the system because the streaming versions available for the mac send back info to control the streams...

I am not sure but if you use windows then you can download the program, so if you access the website via a uk based anonymous proxy then you may be able to download the full programs and watch them in this way...

I will attempt this later in the week and post a comment to let you know if I am successful in this manner...

I actually pay the license fee in the uk but am away on business so I find it a bit frustrating to have to try and find a way to get around the system and it always seems to get harder and harder as the drm etc get more funky...

I'm with the 'we'll pay the licence fee for access' crowd. Our local Australian networks are far too timid to buy up a lot of the excellent BBC programming so we end up having to download the stuff. I'd rather do it the right way, thanks very much, even if they restricted it to stuff that the local networks have bought or jettisoned (Torchwood, for instance).

You need a SOCKS proxy to watch outside the UK.

Right. Well let us start a petition asking that the BBC offers the service for a fee to overseas users. I know that there are other problems as Setanta sports, who offer an internet based sport service, are selling the internet streaming for the 5 nations at $16.00 a time in the USA - the Beeb does it for free(Or part of that $5.00 a month license fee). So for those ex-pats who think they have it so much better think again. I pay a fortune in the USA now for TV access and to be frank, it's rubbish and expensive.

I'm British but living in the US at the moment and gutted I'm not able to watch the latest series of the Apprentice.
(I'm very sad, I know. But I saw the first episode before flying out and was instantly hooked.)
I'd definitely pay a monthly subscription or pay per show. It's doubly annoying that the BBC puts loads of clips on YouTube which I can't play because I'm out of the country.
And I'm confused because the BBC streamed its coverage of the Six Nations rugby for example which I was able to access perfectly for free online from here in New York.
And the licence fee argument surely applies to radio so why can I listen for free to BBC radio online too but not watch telly?

There are other options as well. NBC for instance offers most of its primetime shows on its websites, with a few commercial breaks. The BBC could do the same, and have commercial-free for Brits only. The other alternative would be to offer their shows through Netflix or a similar service. Netflix already offers many classic Doctor Who episodes in its Live Viewing program.

re: Martin " A lot of people in Britain don't see why you should then get to watch for free, whilst they have no choice whether to foot the bill or not."

Because you're telling us - no we won't allow you to buy-in to our programming legally - please continue to steal it via pirate bay. Gosh - you're soooo smart!

It took me 20 minutes to download it. Would have bought it off iTunes, or paid the BBC for a membership to a website - but since you're totally blind to 21st century options that's never going to happen. I get to watch regardless - BBC gets the shaft until they wake the fuck up.

@Arnoud Delporte

Like already mentioned, one reason its UK only is because its paid for by UK citizens. Having moved out of UK 3 years ago I do miss UK TV. A lot of it here is import from USA, and as a result its over censord (sp?. I do agree though, a pay per view tv would resolve this.

Secondly though, and I think the most relevant, is licensing issues. The BBC buys many of its programs from production companies to be viewed in the UK. The production companies might not want the BBC to broadcast around the world as they may have their own plans for region X. Fair enough, BBC own productions could be transmitted.

And thirdly, since I player launch Uk ISP have seen traffic peak. The UK has an awful internet infrastructure, and its about to come to a grinding halt. As a reult the ISPs want BBC to pay for the extra traffic...which in turn will be charged to the UK citizens. BT have crippled the UK by dragging their feet. INternet in Uk is expensive, slow and I cant believe there are peak hours and non peak, in which some websites are banned!

So its not becuase the UK want to be different, its becuase we want to protect our own interests first.

I live in NZ and have the same problem. I found that "Hide your IP" works. Trouble is that the speed is very slow. For some reason it knows I am outside the UK for downloads but not for live playing! Anybody know why? I removed cookies etc. I would gladly pay the BBC for downloads since US TV and NZ TV is trash with a few exceptions.

re: mgabrys

where did you get it form im in the US atm but want to watch apprentice could you help? :)
thanks

'HIde My IP' actually works great now with Firefox too.You need the premier service though for a UK IP.You must also update your Windows Media player for DRM.You can download and play later too. Use the advanced settings.

Tom, have you actually tried it and seen it working? I'm moving to NZ at the end of the year, and while I don't mind paying for the service, I'd like to know it works in my particular case.

I don't know if this has been addressed but you don't need to pay for any premier services. If you run on a pc and use Ie (don't know how to do it for a mac or firefox) just go to a website like www.xroxy.com and get a UK based proxy, in your internet options select 'use proxy' enter the information and voila. It has consistantly worked for me for streaming. Yes it's slow sometimes it loading a page, but once it streams it's fine. I don't feel too bad though considering I paid my UK tv license fee before I left the country.

Of course it would be great if iplayer was available worldwide.

However, for commenters such as Arnold Delporte, if you would like to contiribute towards paying my £30 per month!! UNAVOIDABLE licence fee, I would have more sympathy for your position.

I did avoid paying the licence fee in my old place, but at my new address, I've had inspectors call 4 times since December....!

Why is it £30 per month instead of £15 or whatever it should be?

Because for the first years fee, the BBC INSIST that it is paid over 6 months......Outrageous...

the Licence fee is collected as a TAX by the inept UK government, who then give a grant to the BBC to operate.The BBC execs then give this money to their sons, brothers, wives and friends, to make programmes with. The BBC pay the full cost of production, but the independent company holds all international rights to it. Thats why its not available overseas, and only for 1week after transmission in the UK. To make matters worse, most of the people making the programs are employed on a freelance basis and most of the junior staff are on less than the minimum wage(approx $2.50 p/h) or are on @work experience (total exploitation). The only winners are the independent TV companies (i've said who they are!)who take on virtually no risk and take all the profit.

So i recommend the pirate bay. DRM free, convenient and fast, I dont feel bad for a second about it your only taking back what was stolen from you in the first place.

I understand why IPlayer and the BBC would want their content to be viewed by those in the UK, which by the way, are their main constituence.

I live in th US, and up until recently, a student at college. Like most students who lived on a dorm, i did not have a TV and could not watch my favorite US shows. However, as luck would have it, I got into torrents and downloading all the entertainment i could fit into my external hard drives (now several).

I am now a huge fan of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and BBC radio. I would not pay a cent to the BBC to watch the shows, even if it was available to me in the US.

Let's get real! The BBC is protecting its interest and rightfully they should.

Instead of complaining of the many reasons why the policy does not work or in some way discriminate your geographic location at the time, do something about it.

I concur with CAZZA, go to the pirate bay!

It's quite simple to watch or download BBC iplayer from anywhere in the World! You just need to access it via a UK proxy server which will also give you all kinds of other privacy benefits. You can download the software to do this from hide-my-ip.com (select Hide my IP 2008) it costs US$38 for the one time program license. However you need to also sign up for the premium service addon which is only US$7 a month on a 12 month basis (or you can sign up for just a month initially to try it) and this will allow you to connect to a selection of proxy servers including at least one in the UK.

Once you have the software installed be sure to select the Premium service and specify a UK server. These proxy servers are very fast and reliable and BBC Iplayer downloads work well via them.

what do i need to download at pirate bay to make this work?

so i pay all the taxes, licensee fee etc, because my primary address is in the UK...but i cannot happen to access all the bbc services if i happen to be outside of the uk... haven't people heard of world travel or working abroad, etc... you've paid for it.. but just because we don't like where you are you cant use the service. they should give us some subscription or login services to use what we HAVE PAID FOR!!!

I know the uk has a strong proportion of the population that just thinks like island people ( just watch the news and mention immigration for example)... but some of us are still be denied the service we have paid for because we don't always live every second of the year within the UK borders. let alone the extra stealth taxes I've have paid, which add up to more than my council tax because I have a non eu citizen wife.. who by the way against the stereotype has lowered her standards of living to join me in the uk... i could go on, but the point is people don't all live the same way.. and thus the current rules make false assumptions to determine whether you have paid for the service or not.

Ladies & Gents,

I too live outside the UK and find it very frustrating that I can't watch the iPlayer programming. I do miss 'Have I got news for you'.

To those who complain about paying the licence fee. I hated it when I lived there, but would pay it if I were there now. I miss the BBC and the impartial broadcasting it produces. TV here in Aus is appalling. Cheap US crap mostly and TV where you can't upset the sponsors. Auntie Beeb may seem expensive but try to appreciate it, 'cos you're a lot better off than some of us.

If you have a UK address, with a broadband internet conection (ie ADSL/DSL/cable etc)there is a workaround that can cricumvent the iplayer all together, in the UK buy a slingbox, and a freeview PVR or if you have a Sky sub, then a Sky+ box.
the Sling box controls the freeview box/PVR/Sky+box and then you can use a reasonably highish speed internet conection anywhere in the world to watch whats on the box in the UK.

The fact is that you can currently legally watch programmes on IPlayer in the UK without having paid a TV license fee as the programmes aren't streamed live at this stage.

I am currently a UK licence fee payer and will be going to Australia for 12 months and will still be paying my licence fee but wont be able to watch Iplayer. Smacks of greed and hypocracy if you ask me!

http://www.thebox.bz and http://www.uknova.tv - problems solved !

i don't really understand why the iplayer is not available in mainland europe considering that all the BBC's output is COMPLETELY FREE-TO-AIR across Europe and is accessible subscription free and perfectly legally to anyone with a satellite dish. So the whole licence fee argument isn't really valid as far as europe is concerned,

As for the US, Canada and Australia is concerned, you can understand the BBC protecting their interests. BBC America would be rendered pointless if the iplayer were to suddenly become available to US residents. There are also lots of legal issues I imagine.

That said, I understand the BBC will be releasing an international iplayer soon anyway, so it'll be interesting to see how that will work.

hide your ip premium DOES NOT WORK with the bbc download manager. windows DRM prevents it. you can stream tv [hoplessly slow] but not download. does anyone know how to fix this?

regarding the tv licence, if you live in the uk but watch all your content online, you dont need to buy a licence.

I'm a UK licence payer, abroad for a while and I don't see why I can't watch Glastonbury on the iPlayer that my licence fee is paying for.

Surely the point of public service broadcasting is that it's a public service?

Not just for those who pay - that's a private service, or is this like the English public schools so-named because they are open to anyone who can afford them?