Enjoy a BBC One Stream from Anywhere

When I first visited Florida many years ago, I discovered the fact that many web sites weren’t quite as accessible as I’d imagined. You think that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are online, but that’s not true. There are lots of barriers, filters and restrictions increasingly being applied to all sorts of websites across the internet.

There’s a whole host of driving factors behind these blocks ranging from state manipulation, religious intolerance through to a major one – profit. The fact remains that simply trying to access a normal web site will often be impossible depending on your location. While not being able to watch Dr Who on a BBC One stream while you’re on holiday might seem trivial, it’s indicative of the pervasive control that’s being applied to our access to the internet.

The internet is no longer (and hasn’t been for years) an open pool of information for anyone to access without prejudice or control. Virtually every site logs and monitors your access, and many actively control who can see what. The BBC’s site – BBC iPlayer is no exception and has always blocked access to anyone who is physically located outside the UK. It doesn’t matter if you have a TV license or are a UK citizen – all that matters is your actual physical location when you connect.

So in line with the spirit on this site, here’s a simple and inexpensive method to bypass all these blocks and watch the BBC from anywhere in the world. You don’t need a TV license, you don’t need British citizenship or a UK address – all you need is a simple program which makes it look like you’re in the UK. It’s called a VPN and is arguably one of the most useful tools anyone can have online. It protects your privacy, secures your internet connection and data plus it allows you to bypass all the geographical blocks you’ll find everywhere online.

Use it watch any UK TV channel you like or even stream US only channels like ABC when you’re travelling too.

Stream All the BBC iPlayer Channels from the US

Here’s the video demonstrating – How to Stream BBC in the USA, if you watch through to the second half you’ll see a demonstration of the block being evaded very easily.

Can I Watch BBC One in America

Instead of seeing a standard US IP address, the BBC will see the address of the VPN server. As long as a server in the UK is selected (with a UK IP address) then everything will work fine. All the BBC website will be accessible despite being physically located in the USA. In fact using a VPN bypasses all these blocks irrespective of where you are.

You can even use this VPN technique in reverse, choosing a US VPN server if you’re outside the US. Because yes, US media sites like NBC and ABC do exactly the same thing blocking access to non-US IP addresses. In fact just about every major media sites anywhere in the world, usually restricts access to it’s domestic market.