Last Updated on August 28, 2024
Watch Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on BBC iPlayer Everywhere
The Commonwealth games is one of the largest sporting events in the world and comes around like the Olympics every four years. The games feature 72 teams made out of 54 Common wealth countries and 18 territories. The standard is extremely high across the programme and indeed some events contain many world record holders.
Many TV networks especially in Commonwealth countries cover the games to some extent. However by far the most extensive coverage in 2022 will come from the BBC iPlayer who have a huge team setup in Birmingham to cover every single event.
This page will explain how to access BBC iPlayer to watch the Commonwealth Games 2023 if you are outside the United Kingdom.
The video demonstration below uses the NORDVPN service which offers great value for money.
BBC iPlayer is a streaming service that offers live and on-demand content.
BBC iPlayer is a video on demand and catch up TV service available to UK residents. It allows users to watch all of the live BBC TV channels, as well as programmes that have already been broadcast. These are stored in the archive and are generally available for twelve months after initial broadcast.
There is some variation in this with regards certain events like sporting and movies. However there’s still thousands of shows and programmes always available in the BBC iPlayer archive plus the ten live stream channels.
BBC iPlayer lets you catch up on the latest episodes of your favourite BBC TV shows.
You can watch live programmes from across the UK, including favourites like EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing and Match of the Day. You can watch them as their broadcast as each channel is available to stream live or watch from the archive.
It’s great for watching box sets as you can normally stream them one after the other, although the BBC like many media sites does sometimes release the shows gradually to the platform.
Watch BBC iPlayer on your computer, mobile device, or smart TV.
The BBC iPlayer has come a long way since it’s initial launch in 2007. It was one of the first online media streaming platforms and has developed across many platforms since release. You can now watch the BBC iPlayer on virtually any device which has an internet connection.
There are apps available for most mobile devices and you can stream directly to them or use the BBC Downloader app to download programmes to watch offline. The BBC iPlayer is now well integrated to the whole site so you can click to stream from a news article or webpage too.
To watch BBC iPlayer outside of the UK, you will need to use a VPN.
Unfortunately the wonders of the BBC iPlayer are only available to people based inside the United Kingdom. If you live (or happen to be) anywhere outside the UK then you’ll get blocked from streaming anything.
VPNs encrypt your traffic and route it through a server in another location. This lets you appear to be in a different country, which is necessary to watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK. Free VPNs are too slow for streaming because they have few servers. This results in buffering and low-quality video. In addition, free VPNs lack reliable encryption, suffer from DNS and IP leaks, and often contain spyware. Their privacy policies are also invasive, allowing them to harvest your data for profiling purposes. They sell details about what you do online to third parties, such as marketing companies and data brokers, in order to create a revenue stream.
We recommend NordVPN as the best VPN for BBC iPlayer.
NordVPN is a great choice for watching the Commonwealth Games from anywhere in the world. It offers excellent security features to keep your data secure while you browse the web. It has super easy-to-use apps for almost all devices like mobile phones, desktops, tablets, and routers and platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, etc.
Demonstration of VPN to Watch BBC Streaming Coverage
BBC Optimized Servers
One of the problems with using a popular VPN is that they can be tracked if too many people use the same service at the same time. Even large VPNs with hundreds of available IP addresses can be spotted if too many concurrent connections are identified at the same time. IN 2022 this means that many of the top VPNs are blocked by BBC iPlayer automatically.
NordVPN actually try and solve this problem by ensuring that some of their servers are optimized for use with the BBC. They monitor the number of users and routinely switch the IP addresses on these servers to avoid detection. It works well and you’ll find these servers are much more reliable when used to connect to BBC iPlayer.
Here’s the servers you should use if you subscribe to NordVPN for access to the BBC – UK# 1840-1847, 1850-1863, 1865, 1869, 1873, 1875-1878, 1880-1881, 1900-1901, 1903-1904, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919-1920.
Select one of these from the search bar (don’t use auto-connect) and then if a server works well for the BBC then add it to your favourites in the application.
Once you have a VPN, connect to a server in the UK.
If you want to watch the Commonwealth Games on BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world, you’ll need to connect to a VPN first. A VPN will allow you to pretend to be in the UK, which is necessary since BBC iPlayer is only available in that country. Here’s how to do it:
1. Choose and sign up for a VPN service. We recommend NordVPN, but there are other great choices as well.
2. Download the VPN app for your device.
3. Head to the downloaded app and sign in to your VPN account.
4. You will see the server list, from which you can choose and connect to a UK server .
5. Once a connection has been established, you can open BBC iPlayer and log in to your account .
6. Start watching the Commonwealth Games from anywhere in the world!
Go to the BBC iPlayer website and sign in or create an account.
The BBC iPlayer is a streaming service that allows you to watch live and on-demand TV from the BBC. In order to use BBC iPlayer, you must first sign in or create an account.
To sign up for BBC iPlayer, go to the website and enter your name, email address and password. Once you have registered with BBC iPlayer, you should receive an email to verify your email address. In the email you’ve received, please click on VERIFY MY EMAIL. You will now be redirected to your account’s page and you should be able to see your account status.
UK Postcode
You’ll be asked for a UK postcode which is just like a Canadian Zip code, it’s even in the same format. Don’t worry though just input any valid postcode and you’ll be fine – for example this is a London code – E1 7AX. It doesn’t do much and there’s no other verification, you will get local news broadcasts from that area though so grab another code if you want Welsh, Manchester or Liverpool news programmes etc.
UK TV Licence
The BBC will ask you during the registration process and before you start to stream if you a have a UK TV license. You basically have to say Yes to continue.
If you’re in the UK and accessing BBC iPlayer without a VPN then you should definitely have one. UK viewers can be tracked down and there are heavy fines for watching TV without the license.
If you’re outside the UK and using a VPN then it’s kind of different –
- You Can’t buy a UK TV license outside the UK
- Your IP address is hidden if you’re using a VPN
- You have no residential address to be tracked either
So don’t worry about stating Yes when you’re asked if you have a UK TV license. You’ll have to in order to continue but there’s no issue if you’re watching from outside the UK. Literally millions of people have been doing this for years. Nearly every UK ex-pat watches BBC iPlayer in Spain and has been for years!
Start watching the Commonwealth Games!
The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event is organised by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), and is held every four years.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Birmingham, England, from 27 July to 7 August 2022. It will be the third time England has hosted the event, having previously done so in London in 1934 and Manchester in 2002. It was also held in Glasgow in 2014 and was a huge success there too.
The BBC iPlayer is a streaming service that allows users to watch live and on-demand TV programmes from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, smart TVs, games consoles, and more. It probably has the most comprehensive coverage of the Commonwealth games anywhere. They also have coverage of most sports including Match of the Day which covers the highlights from the English Premiership. Don’t forget cricket also although you’ll only get radio coverage for that but it is Test Match Special !
Fans of BBC shows will be happy to know that Waterloo Road is set to make a comeback in 2022. The popular drama series ran for 10 seasons between 2006 and 2015, and was recently revived for a one-off special episode that aired on New Year’s Day 2021. Other BBC shows that are set to make an appearance in the upcoming months include Top Gear, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Luther. Your VPN will also allow you to watch other UK TV channels using the same process. There’s a few good ones but the most popular is probably ITV Hub which is extremely popular for shows like Coronation Street and Downton Abbey.