BBC Blocks VPNs
The solution is simple!
If you are an expat and pay for a VPN service, you may be getting the message "BBC is only available in the UK", this is because BBC are clamping down on VPNs accessing their service from abroad. This is a problem for thousands of expats who pay their TV license and then have to pay for a VPN to access BBC iplayer and in all honesty, if you pay your TV license, you should be allowed to watch your UK TV, no matter where you are in the world. However, the BBC see this differently but have not actually blocked VPN usage, they have places a cookie in your browser because your machine accessed BBC from a foreign IP address.The message "BBC is only available in the UK" appears only when you access BBC iPlayer through a foreign IP address, ie, you forgot to connect to your UK VPN before accessing BBC iPlayer. The BBC system will see that a computer is trying to watch BBC from abroad and will block the browser on the machine, not the actual IP address. This is done by placing a cookie in your browser to prevent your access from your machine, not the IP address.
Don´t worry though, the solution is simple! If you are a license payer, BBC still want you to watch their channels abroad, online viewing contributes to their overall stats and makes BBC the most watched TV network in the UK, this is good for the BBC. All you need to do is follow these simple steps with any VPN provider...
1, Always make sure you are connected to a UK VPN before accessing any UK TV channel online.
2, If you get the message "BBC is only available in the UK", simply clear your browser cookies and cache from the very beginning.
3, Load up your cookie and cache cleared browser only when connected to your UK VPN and load up iPlayer, accept their cookie warning and it will work without a problem.
If the above doesn´t work, it may be that your VPN provider has been blocked by the IP range, which may happen if you are not using a multi vpn service, a service that supplies VPNs on demand and has more than one server to choose from and will replace servers should they become IP blocked, always look for "British TV Anywhere", basically a VPN provider that promises UK TV abroad no matter what.
If you do not want to use a VPN or have given up or just can not be bothered clearing your cookies and cache every time you make the mistake of accessing BBC without connecting to a UK server, the other option is using a website such as http://www.watchfreeview.com or Filmon, the latter being the best because it provides all UK channels in a nice order.
Ok, I hope this blog has helped some expats enjoy their TV as normal from abroad.
Update; I want to add that having tried Filmon for some time now, there is the chance of major buffering at busy times, therefor I would recommend a VPN and the one I have tried out and works perfectly with all channels and UK websites is British TV Anywhere, the website is found here http://www.britishtvanywhere.com/
If you have tried any other VPN service or have any other solution, feel free to post your comments to help others.
