The Winter Olympics are beginning on February 4th. In the UK, the BBC is broadcasting the games.
The good news is this means the Winter Olympics will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer. The bad news is BBC iPlayer doesn’t work outside the UK. You’ll run into an error saying, “BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues.”
Fortunately, there’s a very simple way to get around this error. All you need to do is make BBC iPlayer think you’re accessing its content from within the UK.
To do that, follow the simple steps below, and you’ll be able to watch the BBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics anywhere in the world.
See also:
How to watch the Winter Olympics 2022 outside the UK: Quick Guide
To watch BBC iPlayer outside the US, you need to make the streaming service think you’re watching from within the UK.
To do that, you need a UK based IP address. To get one, follow these steps.
Create a new account with NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month).
Download and install the new VPN app
Select a server in the UK
Connect to BBC iPlayer
Watch the Winter Olympics anywhere in the world
How to create a BBC iPlayer account outside the UK
If you don’t already have a BBC iPlayer account, you’ll need to create one. It’s free, so you won’t have any issues with overseas payments.
The things you’ll need are a valid email address, a UK postcode and a reliable VPN. If you don’t live in the UK, you won’t be able to create an account unless you use a VPN like NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month).
The first thing to do is connect to a UK server on NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month), then you’ll need a UK postcode. If you don’t have one, simply Google “UK Postcode” and use one.
You’ll now be able to create a BBC iPlayer account. It’s important to use a valid email address as you’ll be sent a confirmation email when creating your BBC iPlayer account.

Why is BBC iPlayer blocked outside the UK?
The reason BBC iPlayer doesn’t work outside the UK is all due to broadcast rights. The BBC doesn’t have the rights to broadcast its content internationally. BBC iPlayer is a UK based streaming service only available in the UK.
If the BBC broadcast its content in countries where it doesn’t have the rights to do so, it would be severely financially punished.
To stop this from happening, the BBC blocks anyone outside of the UK from accessing its content.
This is why when you connect to BBC iPlayer outside the UK, you receive the “BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues.” error.
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 contains information about where in the world you’re located.
When you connect to BBC iPlayer, the BBC scans your IP address to determine where you’re connecting from.
After scanning your IP, if it finds you’re outside the UK, it will block your connection.
How do I get around the BBC’s blocks?
To get around these blocks, you need to make the iPlayer think you’re connecting from within the UK.
To do this, you need a UK IP address. And the easiest way to get one is with a reliable VPN.
We recommend NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month). These VPNs are very effective and will allow you to watch BBC iPlayer anywhere in the world.

How do VPNs work?
The first thing a VPN does is it gives you an anonymous internet connection, so your location is hidden. Second, it will provide you with an IP address in a country of your choosing.
VPNs do this by encrypting and rerouting your online data. They do this using their servers based around the world.
When you download NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month), they allow you to select a country. This country is where your online data will be rerouted, and this will give you an IP address based in that country.
All you have to do is download NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month), connect to a UK server, and you’ll be able to watch BBC iPlayer anywhere in the world.
Does BBC iPlayer block VPNs?
The BBC is constantly trying to block VPNs. It does this because customers using a VPN could result in the BBC breaching the licensing and copyright agreements it has with its content partners.
The BBC blocks VPNs by monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections coming from the same IP address.
Usually, only a household worth of devices will connect to BBC iPlayer via the same IP address. Anything more than this alerts the BBC that there’s an abnormal amount of connections coming from that specific IP address.
VPNs have a massive amount of customers. So much so they don’t have the capacity to give each customer their own individual IP address. This means customers are forced to share IP addresses.
When this happens, the BBC is able to easily identify the VPN IP address as abnormal and block it.
Fortunately, the best VPNs, NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month). have measures to get around this problem.

What VPNs work with BBC iPlayer?
The VPNs that work with BBC iPlayer are the ones that can stay one step ahead of the BBC’s VPN blocking techniques.
NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) are very good at doing this.
They have a lot of IP addresses, so you have less chance of sharing an IP address with another customer. They also have measures that allow you to consistently use them with BBC iPlayer.
When the BBC blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) will close that IP address and open a new one.
This allows you to stay one step ahead of the BBC’s blocks, and it means you can watch BBC iPlayer anywhere in the world reliably.
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