Ever tried to watch BBC iPlayer in Canada? Then you know that it’s only possible in the UK. BBC will tell you that since you aren’t paying for a UK TV license in Canada, it can’t show you BBC.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to unblock BBC iPlayer in Canada in 2020 or whenever you are reading this guide, but also tell you the actual reason for why you BBC Canada doesn’t work right away.
While the BBC states it’s because of the TV license, the real reason goes down to BBC not having the rights to stream content in Canada and other parts of the world as it’s not just Canada that doesn’t have BBC iPlayer right away.
When you get rights to stream content that’s made by other companies, you generally get rights just to stream in your own country.
...If you want to stream in more countries, you pay a lot more for that.
That especially applies to exclusive rights to content which companies like to go for so that the competition can’t show the same content.
BBC = British Broadcast Company
As the name suggests, the BBC is focused on the British market, meaning it doesn’t (anymore) make sense for it to pay for extra rights to make BBC iPlayer available in Canada.
And of course, BBC also does create a ton of content by itself, but just like companies outside of the UK sell rights to content to platforms like BBC, BBC does the same to places like Canada.
The result? BBC iPlayer is not available in Canada.
The Solution? Make BBC iPlayer think that you are in the UK.
To watch BBC iPlayer in Canada, you are going to have to do:
You might also want to download the BCC iPlayer app, which isn’t going to be available on your devices right away. We’ll show you how to do that too!
Regarding BBC iPlayer, you need to be in the UK virtually...
And for that, you need a VPN that has a UK server, but that also supports BBC iPlayer.
That’s not as simple as just connecting to a random VPN.
See, BBC doesn’t just have blocks on watching BBC iPlayer in Canada.
It also has blocks against VPN services that unblock it.
And it’s not because the BBC is evil, but because it has to place these blocks.
...If the BBC made it easy for users to bypass the blocks, it would get in trouble for showing content that it doesn’t have the rights to, outside of the UK.
The result? A ton of VPN services don’t work with BBC and many other platforms.
And this is where PrivateVPN comes in as a service that doesn’t have as many servers as some other services, but instead, as a service that focuses on entertainment, providing servers that are able to unblock services.
As far as unblocking BBC goes, simply sign-up for a 7-day trial for PrivateVPN without a need for a card, download PrivateVPN and connect to a UK BBC server.
That itself will unblock BBC iPlayer, but at the same time, it will also give you the opportunity to unblock platforms like RTE or Hulu.
Apart from that, you now also need a BBC account with you selecting whether you pay for a TV license.
Lastly, you might want to get the BBC app on your devices.
One thing that’s super important when it comes to Apple devices, it’s to not change the region of your current account. That would result in you losing everything.
What you can do is to instead download the BBC app and sign back into your other account.
This step varies a bit for Android devices.
While watching on a phone from the bed is great, ultimately watching on a big screen gives the best experience.
...But this is where watching BBC iPlayer in Canada is quite limited.
Ultimately, we all want to watch on the big screen, right?
The options?
To connect your laptop to a TV via HDMI cable, or to get an Amazon Fire TV Stick.
If you just ordered a Fire device, select for your location to be in the UK, and you’ll be able to download BBC.
Already have one?
BBC iPlayer is most likely never going to be officially available in Canada, but it luckily one of the easiest platforms to unblock if you have the right VPN service.
Ready to try out PrivateVPN? Why not unblock all the other platforms that are also blocked in Canada while at it?
Written by Michael Smolski.
Disclaimer: While PrivateVPN has been working with BBC for years, due to the nature of platforms like BBC having to make efforts against VPN services, we just like any other platform, cannot guarantee constant 100% working with BBC at all times.