If you want to watch CBeebies online when you’re overseas, you’re going to need a VPN. This is because BBC iPlayer is only available in the UK. Using a good VPN will let you spoof your IP address (internet location) to one back in the UK, which will let you watch BBC iPlayer from outside the UK. Continue reading to learn how to watch CBeebies online abroad.
CBeebies outside UK: Quick guide
- Get ExpressVPN (£5.13/month) or NordVPN (£2.04/month)
- Download and install app
- Open app and connect to any UK server
- Go to iPlayer and stream CBeebies
A VPN is the best way to watch CBeebies online while abroad.
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) let you spoof your internet location (IP Address) by sending your re-routing your internet traffic taking through its network of servers (IPs) using military-grade encryption.
This simple technique, combining data encryption and a global network of IP addresses will unlock catchup TV websites from around the world. As iPlayer is free to access, from a UK IP address, all you need to do is select a VPN server in the UK.
If you want to watch CBeebies and UK TV abroad, all you need to do is get a good VPN.
Why doesn’t CBeebies work outside the UK?
(Skip this section if you don’t want the boring details)
It’s all to do with licensing. The BBC only has a license to broadcast free-to-air content in the UK. This covers its catch-up TV service, iPlayer, too.
It’s frustrating. Especially as the EU has recently ruled that any domestic Pay TV service has to be made available to users from everywhere inside the EU. Which means Sky Go, BT Sport, Now TV etc are all available from any EU country. But the BBC is exempt from this as it’s technically free-to-air, even though you might pay for a TV License (which is more of a Tax).
How to watch CBeebies Online Abroad?
1. Sign up to ExpressVPN (£5.13/month)
2. Open ExpressVPN app
3. Connect to a server in the UK
4. Open BBC iPlayer and select CBeebies channel
5. Watch your favourite CBeebies shows from anywhere in the world
What’s the best VPN to watch CBeebies abroad?
Be careful when you’re choosing your VPN. In theory, any VPN with UK servers should work. The reality is different. This is because BBC iPlayer blocks known VPN IP addresses. If you choose a VPN that offers UK IPs that are already blacklisted by iPlayer, this workaround won’t work.
The way iPlayer detects and blacklists VPNs is simple. A normal internet connection and IP address in the UK will have between 1-10 people using it. iPlayer classes this a standard behaviour. A VPN’s IP address has the potential for 1-1,000,000+ people using it. And when an abnormal number of users access BBC iPlayer from the same IP, that address gets blacklisted.
This is why we recommend either ExpressVPN (£5.13/month) or NordVPN (£2.04/month). These two services have been playing a game of Cat and Mouse with BBC iPlayer since 2016. If/when one of these service’s IP addresses gets blacklisted, they react by shutting it down and creating a fresh one.
BBC iPlayer (and Netflix, ITV Hub, Sky Go, BT Sport et al) is powerless against this technique. NordVPN also has over 500 working servers in the UK and intelligent software that keeps the number of users connected to iPlayer from the same IP under the “abnormal” threshold.
Click here to get ExpressVPN for £5.13/month (30-day money-back guarantee)
