There are a few popular British TV streaming channels available in The UK, but they aren’t freely available outside of this area of the world. There is limited access to iPlayer in a some European countries for iPad users, and potentially this service may be extended to The US and Australia. But what about the rest of the world and us anti-Apple folk?
Here’s what you do
Sign up for a VPN service
If you’ve heard of a VPN service before you don’t need to read much further because it’s just the usual stuff. If you’ve never heard of a VPN, this may be interesting, and save you some time and money in the long run.
A VPN is a way to connect to computer servers in the UK. These servers hide your real location by replacing your IP address with a virtual IP. This technology is not specifically for streaming TV overseas, but it’s frequently used for this purpose. VPNs are used for businesses, school, and individuals looking to access or send private information over unsecured internet space (anywhere outside of a private server network).
Using a VPN to watch British TV abroad can save you money. Many of these UK streaming sites are low-cost or free – at least a lot cheaper than satellite TV. If you’re on a foreign wage, who can really afford £50 a month for TV? That may be a weeks wages in some countries, especially if you’re teaching English abroad. Plus, you won’t be able to get the TV on your phone and computer.
And satellite TV can be unreliable, as well as inconvenient because of live broadcasting times.
The thing that makes the VPN so convenient is that when connected to a VPN server in The UK, you can surf the internet EXACLY like you were there. You see multi-language sites in British English, Google is Google UK, and other users will see that you’re currently in the UK.
There are plenty of VPN services to choose from, and they will have a variety of package plans that will vary in server access, subscription length, and monthly bandwidth allowance. If you look around, you can get some services with unlimited bandwidth, free server switching, and other cool features like server speed testing. You can install a VPN on Mac, Windows, Android, Linux, and iPhone/iPad. Remember that to watch British TV abroad, your device will need an app for the particular TV streaming site you choose. Streaming services will work as if you were there.