Open your new app and connect to a server in the UK
Watch MOTD in Australia
Why can’t I watch MOTD in Australia?
Match of the Day doesn’t work in Australia because the BBC is blocking your connection.
BBC iPlayer is an online streaming service based in the UK for UK residents only. This is because the BBC has established copyright and licensing agreements that only allow BBC iPlayer to broadcast its content in the UK.
If the BBC breached these agreements, it could face severe financial repercussions.
To prevent that from happening, the BBC blocks anybody outside of the UK from accessing BBC iPlayer. These blocks are why Match of the Day isn’t working for you in Australia.
How does the BBC block my connection?
The way the BBC blocks your connection is all to do with your IP address.
When you go online, you’re allocated a unique IP address. This IP allows your device and the website you’re visiting to communicate.
When you connect to BBC iPlayer, your IP address is sent to the streaming service, where it’s scanned. After this, the information you’re after is sent back to your device.
The issue here is, for this communication to work, your IP address needs to contain information about your physical location.
When the BBC scans your IP address, it looks at this information, and if it finds you’re outside of the UK, it blocks the connection.
How can I get around the BBC’s blocks?
To get around these blocks, you need to trick the BBC into thinking you’re accessing iPlayer from within the UK.
To do this, you need a UK IP address. And the best way to get one is using a reliable VPN.
The best VPNs have several servers based in the UK that you can connect to. When you connect to one of these servers, your online data is encrypted and rerouted through the VPN.
This process gives you an anonymous internet connection, and it allows you to select a country where you want your IP to be based.
To watch Match of the Day in Australia, all you need to do is download NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month), connect to a UK server, and you’ll be given a UK IP address.
Now when BBC iPlayer scans your IP address, it will think you’re in the UK and you’ll be able to watch Match of the Day in Australia.
Will any VPN work?
Because VPNs are a well-known way to watch iPlayer outside of the UK, the BBC tries to block them.
The good news is it can’t block a VPN in its entirety, however it can block the IP addresses they provide.
For lesser VPNs, this can be a problem. These VPNs, especially free ones, have many more customers than IP addresses, which forces customers to share IPs.
The BBC uses this to its advantage. If it sees hundreds or thousands of connections coming from the same IP address, it knows that this is an IP that a VPN has provided, and it blocks it.
Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$3.49/month for 2-years
$6.99/month for 1-year
$11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And its easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers. It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations. Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunnelling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$1.16/month for 5-years
$3.50/month for 1-year
$9.99/month for 1 month
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option. This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease. The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer. For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$6.66/month for 15 months
$9.99/month for 6 months
$12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN is still one of the best VPNs you can buy. However, we’ve got it ranked in the number three spot for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s the most expensive VPN on the market. This was understandable when it was also the fastest and most reliable VPN too. But now it’s not. NordVPN is. ExpressVPN has recently been struggling to unblock some big streaming sites – BBC iPlayer and BeIN Sports – too.
And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites (apart from BBC iPlayer). Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevent its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speeds: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$2.19/month for 3-years
$3.33/month for 1-year
$11.95/month for 1-month
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1 million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If, for whatever reason, you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-days money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
Number of servers: 6,000+ | Speeds: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 200 in 90 countries | Devices supported: 7 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$2.75/month for 3 years
$3.69/month for 2 years
$5.99/month for 6 months
$12.99/month for 1 month
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
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