How to Watch UK TV in Italy
There are many things about living in Italy that are truly wonderful – the food, the history, the art and the people just to start. However for any non-Italian speaker starting out in an Italian city can be difficult to begin with. Trying to understand Italian bureaucracy is pretty daunting if you’re Italian, for an English speaking expat for example it’s well nigh impossible. If you’ve ever seen one of those comedies where people run around buildings being referred to different rooms until they end up where they started – that is not comedy in Italy – it’s real life.
There are lots of websites that can help you with aspects of living in Italy for the expat, try The Local for one. However at the end of the day, especially if you’re learning the language – there’s something that can possibly save your sanity – UK Television online! Now for me it was the UK sport, documentaries and other British TV channels that were my saviour. So ok there is brilliant football coverage here in Italy but not so much if your ‘team’ plays in the Conference division of the UK league. BBC4 and the hundreds of archived history programs on BBC iPlayer also reminded me why I love Italy so much.
However although all the UK TV stations are available over the internet, there are some issues accessing them from Italy or indeed any country including Spain. The problem is that all the major channels are ‘geo-locked’ meaning that you can only access them over the internet from inside the UK, you can’t normally get bbc 1 live stream abroad. How do they tell? Well they check something called your IP address when you connect, if it’s not originating from the UK then you’ll get blocked.
Using a VPN to Access English Speaking Channels
Fortunately we can hide this location by using something called a VPN which is not as complicated as it sounds! Here’s a brief explanation of how to watch UK TV online in Italy simply by using one to hide your IP address.
My apologies for the picture of Donald Trump in the video unfortunately he’s in the news a lot. That’s all there is to it, select a VPN server in the UK and you have full access to all the British TV online sites. Some have started asking you to register but don’t worry just create an account and use a British post code from somewhere and you’ll be fine.
For an expat it’s a great investment as you can use it to switch countries at will and even watch things like the US version of Netflix or watch Sky Go abroad if you have a subscription.
Use it to Watch Italian TV in UK Too!
Ironically I actually used it to watch the Italian station RAI when I was back in England, as RAI does the same and blocks access from outside Italy. Now the EU is trying to stop these stupid, digital borders that block access to web sites when you travel. However unfortunately this is likely to exclude the UK at the time of writing (thanks Mr Farage grrrrr), but it may be that they join in any agreement anyway.
It’s ridiculous to have the world’s biggest communication network hosting these sort of region blocks but at the moment they seem to increasing at an exponential rate. Using a VPN which you can switch between countries is one way of taking back control of your web access and it also secures your connection. This is important as it adds a layer of encryption to your connection keeping your data safe and activity private.
Our recommendation is the excellent NordVPN. It’s network is extensive, well supported and lightening fast which is your looking at streaming Eastenders or Match of the Day is what counts.
Hi John, Yes this would work you can install VPNs on most routers nowadays. However a simpler solution might be to use the Smart DNS feature directly on your TV instead which is much easier to setup. You can use the NordVPN DNS ones if you subscribe with them (it’s included in the VPN subscription). Or you can try this Smart DNS Service which is available on a free trial for 14 days (no cards required) – https://www.uktv-online.com/smart
Hello, I already watch UK(free view ) in Italy via a STB on a pay as you go system based on a TV I bought in Italy but I think it is not very efficient and that the prices keep going up!
What I would like to do is put a VPN on my LG smart TV and then be able to access UK TV ! I am with Virginmedia for TV etc, but want to watch UK TV on a proper TV, yet I think Virgins TV to go does not allow this. So if I purchased in the UK a VPN, would I be able to install it on my router(ADSL) or on the TV and then acquire a STB for free view or other ? I am not tech savy what so ever
Sure does, all the features work when you connect to a UK server first. remember you need to create an account now, make sure you have a valid UK postcode when you are registering.
does this work for the download thing on BBC? You know so I can watch offline – like Dr Who!!!