Maybe one day it may happen, but BBC Iplayer in the USA doesnt look likely soon.. However dont worry with just a little bit of work, it is actually possible to access that advert free world of the BBC Television. Simply getting rid of the adverts makes TV so much more watchable, if youve ever watched the same programme with and without commercial breaks youll know what I mean. The two dont even compare, the endless breaks spoil the structure and the flow of most programmes so given the choice I try to watch UK TV abroad if I can.
So how is it possible to Access BBC Iplayer from the US
Well there are surprisingly a couple of options, of bypassing the restrictions that actually block you watching from the US. Its called geotargeting and what happens is when you connect to the BBC Iplayer web site, your IP address is looked up. Each and every IP address can be linked to a specific country, so BBC Iplayer simply checks to see where yours is registered. If its based in UK fine it works, anything outside the UK and youll get a little notice saying you cannot access the programme.
All you need to do is change the IP address that BBC Iplayer sees by using whats called a proxy server . A proxy server is a computer that protects you from the web servers you visit. You probably use one at work or college without realising, most companies route all their internet traffic through a proxy server for security and speed reasons.
The secret to accessiing BBC Iplayer is to make sure that you use a proxy server with a UK IP address. When you do then the IP address that is recorded by BBC Iplayer is a UK one and you wont be blocked from accessing BBC IPlayer abroad or from absolutely anywhere. Now before you go dashing off looking for a UK based proxy server to stream the BBC across let me give you some advice.
You have two main options to using a UK proxy server, either try and find free proxies to use or just subscribe to a service. Now if youre like most people youll probably be more attracted to the free version, I know I was! There are many free proxies available online but unfortunately they can be hard to find, the reason is because the ones suitable for watching video online are very scarce. There are very few fast free proxies available online and when they appear they are normally overloaded in a matter of hours. So the search will be a continual one, every time you want to watch a programme youll have to find a new UK proxy which can get very frustrating.
Theres of course a less attractive way of accessing BBC Iplayer in america and thats using a paid proxy service. The drawbacks are needless to say the obvious one that it costs money, the advantages though are security,speed and reliability. Using ones of the paid proxy services means you can watch anytime, spanning a fast connection.
With the increase in all sorts of blocking, filtering and censorship, these private proxy services are becoming increasingly popular. Whichever method you use I hope you enjoy some of the best telly on the internet.
