Finding a VPN that Works with BBC iPlayer

Update June 2023:  I’ve just continuing my testing on this new VPN solution below and hit a problem.  Unfortunately although all the below is completely true there is a potential issue.  You can actually be assigned an IP address that is already blocked by the BBC before you get it !  It’s happened to a couple of my test accounts, hopefully the block should be dropped but not sure how long this takes at the moment. Doesn’t affect any other UK TV sites only the BBC.

For many years now the secret to watching geo-blocked content unhindered was to use a VPN or proxy to bypass all the stupid restrictions.   It only cost a few pounds and for expats was an almost essential purchase.  The BBC iPlayer site is arguably one of the most incredible on the internet, packed full of news, entertainment, sport and documentaries.   Despite being free to air in the UK it was also one of the first sites to employ these restrictive practices and deny access to anyone outside the UK even close by like Ireland.

Of course, there’s always been a workaround and for the most part it’s been fairly easy to use.  I personally have been using various VPN services for well over a decade to watch while I’m abroad.   Although it’s a long time since the free methods have worked, the cost is fairly negligible compared to gaining access to literally thousands of hours of entertainment on the BBC website.   What’s more the same services allow you access to all the other UK TV stations which are available online including ITV Hub, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

It’s not just UK TV channels, virtually every media site of any size does exactly the same thing.  Anyone who travels or leaves their home country will get routinely blocked from the TV stations that they usually take for granted.   Certainly all major European TV stations do the same plus those in the USA, Canada and Australia  too.   Basically they’re restricted to their domestic market, blocking all access from addresses outside that location.

It’s why VPNs and Smart DNS solutions used to work so well, they are a simple way to hide your real IP address and present a completely new one.  By connecting to a UK VPN server it will appear you are in the UK, a US VPN server gives you access to US sites and so on.   It’s a simple method to open up the entirety of the internet and avoid these blocks without any technical skill or knowledge.  Something that I started using when I first worked abroad in 2006.   I’m certainly not alone, literally millions of people around the world use a VPN service to bypass these sort of blocks.

So Why Doesn’t My VPN Work with BBC iPlayer Anymore ?

Although we’ve all been using proxies and VPN for a long time to access these sites, it doesn’t mean that they’ve been happy about it.  Most of the sites have been actively trying to restrict access to proxies and VPNs for the whole time with some success.   Most free options stopped working years ago but a decently configured VPN with servers in the right places was usually enough to maintain access to most media sites.   There were a few exceptions, Netflix have probably been the most aggressive in blocking these tools but most of them have stepped up their efforts in the last year or two.

Indeed now you’ll see much information online stating that no VPN works anymore with certain media sites.  Or you’ll see loads of complaints about specific VPNs now being useless for accessing sites like the BBC or Hulu etc.

Unfortunately much of it’s true – slowly VPNs are being increasingly blocked.

Even the BBC which for some time was very relaxed about international access has now become very active in blocking access to VPN services. Many of the cheapest and most popular VPNs simply don’t work with BBC iPlayer anymore despite what their websites and support staff claim!  The ones that do still work, and they’re are a few have become a little intermittent – you’ll often have to try several times before success.  This is largely because most of the media sites have started to block access in a specific way which causes huge issues for most of the VPN services.

Detecting Concurrent Connections is Simple and Works

Take any reasonable VPN like NordVPN or Express when you start up the VPN client you’ll see a huge number of servers to connect to.  Nord in particular has a dizzying number of  servers all over the world.  However if you’re trying to watch UK Television for example you’ll only be interested in the UK servers, so although large the potential drops significantly.  Now remember that Nord has something like 12 million customers globally.  Of course not everyone will be interested in the UK sites but an awful lot will.  There have been estimates of several million people accessing BBC iPlayer from outside the United Kingdom.

So that means you’re almost certain to be sharing each and every British IP address with a huge number of others doing exactly the same. Imagine how many connect through to watch the news every night, or Match of the Day or the latest episode of Eastenders.  From the BBC side, how does it look when say 2000 people connect on the same address simultaneously.

Now IP addresses are supposed to be unique on the internet, however in practice they are shared for a variety of reasons.  From a home connections it’s perfectly possible for a few people to connect using different devices all streaming from the BBC iPlayer site.  In other situations it might be even more where an address is shared through a workplace or a block of flats or perhaps a college.  However it’s unlikely that large numbers of people will be simultaneously connecting to the BBC website at exactly the same time using the same address.

Setting a limit or a block at 200 users would probably impact very few genuine connections in the UK.  However it would affect many of VPN companies, even lowering that number significantly would probably only affect VPN connections in the vast majority of situations.   Which is what these companies do, the number can be determined and changed very easily plus it can be implemented automatically on routers or firewalls.  This also means that it involves minimal cost and manpower to block these connections.

The actual number probably varies from the different providers but it’s unlikely to be very low as it’s not worth the potential issues.  However even setting the limit at 50 concurrent connections would block the vast majority of VPN services.   Who knows what the exact number is, all we need to know is –

Although they’re difficult to detect it’s very simple to block VPN connections based on the number of people using the same address.

So Is That It?  Is That the End of Match of the Day from Spain from a VPN !

To be honest, I was beginning to worry that it was.  If the media companies keep reducing the number of concurrent connections allowed then it’s only a matter of time before 99% of current VPNs will be worthless for watching British Television.

But I started thinking, if the number using an IP was the only difficulty – was there anywhere you could get that number down?   I’d used a few proxy companies who provided dedicated and restricted access to British IP addresses.   So I went and tested some of those and I found a company who provided exclusive access to a UK proxy for a very reasonable amount.   What’s more they supported accessing the address through a variety of VPN clients too.

Here’s the current offer, click through for their latest prices –

There’s no need to go for anything other than the basic option, as it delivers exclusive access to a single UK IP address.   As mentioned you can connect using standard VPN clients and even through extensions for your browser – in this following video you can see how easy it is to work with.

The performance and ease of use was first rate easily as quick as any traditional VPN that I’ve used (I’ve used a lot!). However it’s the reliability that makes it stand out, I tested every UK TV station and it worked every single time. Even when I connected via a current browser session without restarting it seemed to work every time (although it’s safer to restart). Channel 4 which has become increasingly difficult to connect to via standard VPNs worked flawlessly too.

I’ve tested through the SoftEther VPN client and the Chrome Browser extension and both were equally good. remember though although this method costs about the same as a low cost VPN you only get a single IP address/server so if you want to connect to different countries it’s going to get more expensive quickly. However if all you want is the protection of a VPN and guaranteed access to your favorite UK Television stations there’s definitely no better solution at the moment.

The company are called IP Burger and this is their home page, remember you need exclusive proxy and choose the country you need (obviously UK for the BBC, ITV etc).  You can subscribe for as little as a month to test, however they charge a setup fee for one month to cover their costs, so the 3 month subscription actually costs the same.  Don’t worry though if you’re after unrestricted access to UK TV channels this works better than anything I’ve used in years.