Do you want to watch BBC iPlayer in the US in 2021? Whether you are in the US or Ireland, BBC iPlayer does not work worldwide. In this guide, we’ll show you the 3 steps to make it work, but also explain why it doesn’t work in the US in the first place.
A long time ago, BBC would state that you can’t watch BBC iPlayer because you don’t pay for a TV license in the UK.
That statement rarely held the truth because just because you aren’t in a specific country doesn’t mean you don’t live there most of the time.
That’s why the BBC now gives the real reason which is that it’s not able to show BBC outside of the UK due to lack of rights to show the content.
BBC even though the creator of the likes of Peaky Blinders is not able to show it in many countries because it sold the rights to other platforms to do it.
After all, since the BBC is a British Broadcast Corporation, it does not make sense for it to be available in other regions, and thus it sells rights to content instead.
...And in certain cases, BBC doesn’t own the rights to show certain content worldwide, as it is paying other companies for content. This applies especially when it comes to sports.
The steps to watching BBC iPlayer in the US?
There is only one way to make BBC think you are in the UK when you aren’t. It’s by being there virtually.
That’s because the BBC checks your location when you enter.
How do you do that?
By using a VPN.
VPN services? They allow you to switch your virtual region in just a few clicks.
...However, it’s not quite as simple as just using a VPN.
See, BBC knows that VPN services allow people to unblock streaming services. If it doesn’t make efforts to prevent that, it can get in trouble for breaking agreements.
That’s why it’s key to have a VPN that supports BBC iPlayer.
And that’s where PrivateVPN comes in as a service that works both with BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, as well as many other well-known streaming services that are not available in the US, such as RTE Player.
Signing up for BBC iPlayer is no hard challenge.
You will need to provide a UK zip code but that’s pretty much it.
As far as the zip code goes, you can use a UK “Post Code Generator” on Google for that.
...You’ll also need to mention whether you pay the UK TV license.
And that’s how you watch BBC iPlayer in the US in 2021.
...But you might also want to have the BBC iPlayer app to watch on your mobile or TV device. It’s not available in the US which is why we’ll now walk through how to get them.
To download BBC iPlayer app in the US on your Apple device, you will first need to sign out of your iCloud account, followed by creating a new account with your location set to be in the UK.
That will allow you to download BBC iPlayer on your iPhone.
Of course, after you download BBC iPlayer, you can sign back into your old account and BBC iPlayer will still be there.
On Android devices, the steps will differ.
This is where it gets complicated.
Most smart TVs don’t support VPN services making watching BBC iPlayer on a TV in the US quite hard. The same applies to the likes of Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku.
That’s where two options come in.
Either connect a laptop to your TV via an HDMI cable or get an Amazon Fire TV Stick as it supports VPN services.
Here’s how to get BBC iPlayer on a Fire TV if you already have a Fire TV:
If you don’t yet have a Fire TV and are planning to get one, simply choose for your region to be in the UK, and that will be enough.
BBC iPlayer in the US means Peaky Blinders. It means many of the incredible shows that BBC makes.
...But with PrivateVPN, you can unblock much more than just the BBC.
Written by Michael Smolski.
Disclaimer: BBC iPlayer takes measures against VPN services. That’s why no VPN service can guarantee non-stop 100% of the time support at all given times.