Last Updated on August 28, 2024
How to Watch British TV in France – UK TV via Internet
All the information you need is in the post below including a video demonstration. However if you just want a quick summary these are the basic steps – don’t worry it’s really simple as long as you choose the right VPN.
- You need to keep your French IP address hidden (or wherever it’s located)
- Choose a VPN service with UK Servers (NordVPN is cheap and reliable)
- Download the right software or app for your device
- Click on one of the UK servers (for Nord use the BBC Optimized ones see below !)
- Head to https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer – create your free BBC account if required (say yes to UK TV license question)
- Just start Watching directly from BBC iPlayer – then head to ITV Hub and Channel 4 web sites.
- Disconnect the VPN connection when finished (or switch to a server in your actual country)
Access to UK Television in France?
Twenty years ago, nobody would have even considered being able to watch TV using the internet but now it’s commonplace. In fact frequently you’ll find that it’s often simpler and more reliable to stream TV channels live into your house rather than relying on it being transmitted through an aerial. There are a host of devices and technologies that are rapidly making watching TV over your internet connection a pretty straightforward option.
There are in fact many benefits to using the internet to watch TV, although this obviously relies on fast, available broadband connections. Streaming your soaps through an unstable 2mb connection that you share with a family of four is not going to be a great experience! Yet many of us are now lucky enough to enjoy much better internet access and speeds, it makes sense to use that unused (but paid for) bandwidth for something. Even your average wireless connection in cafes, hotels, libraries etc are normally fast enough to stream video quite easily.
It’s the ideal solution, streaming to our internet enabled devices like smart phones, TV, laptops, tablets and computers. No other hardware required, you don’t need special boxes or USB devices just whatever you use to access the internet.
Streaming Sites Place Restrictions
However there are still drawbacks and indeed limitations which really are being imposed on us rather than actually necessary. Perhaps the most annoying is the fact that although internet feeds of virtually every major TV channel in the world are available online – most of them are restricted. So in theory a little streaming device which has access to all the world’s best TV channels is possible, in practice it’s been more complicated.
It’s a situation that any traveler experiences routinely when they fire up their laptop in a hotel trying to watch their domestic news or home TV stations and find they’re not accessible. So for instance as soon as you cross the English channel you’ll find that all UK TV stations online are suddenly blocked. A French holiday maker in the US will get blocked from many of their ‘home’ TV channels based in France.
Geo-Blocking or Targeting
This is the technology that is to blame and it’s expanding all the time. Here’s what happens – basically when you visit most sites now in 2023, your location is checked when you first arrive. The sites do this automatically by checking the nationality of your IP address! Every network address is registered to a particular country and it’s a pretty reliable method of locating a visitor.
Once the location of your IP address is determined then a website has the option of treating the visitor differently depending on their location. You’ll often be subjected to this without realizing, here’s a few examples of when it’s happening –
- Redirected to a different language based on your location.
- Google tailoring your search query based on your location.
- Sites offering different prices depending on nationality.
- NBC, Hulu and others blocking non-US connections.
- BBC, ITV blocking non-UK connections from streaming shows.
Hopefully you get the idea, almost every site now records your location even if they just use it for information and marketing. Yet sadly, now many sites use that to tailor your access – normally to suit their needs not ours!
Fortunately there is a solution, and a simple way to watch UK TV in France, Australia or anywhere else over the internet.
How to Watch English TV in France using the Internet
The dilemma is simple, how do you bypass the location restrictions imposed by virtually every large TV station that broadcasts online? A situation mirrored when I try and stream M6 Replay from the UK to help my son with his French revision. Fortunately the solution is relatively straight forward to, you have to hide your location from the website you visit.
Choose your Own Identity
These websites determine your location using your IP address so this is the key to taking back some control. It’s done by masking your network or IP address from the website, instead choosing one that will allow you access. So if you want to watch French TV then you must connect with a French IP address, UK TV needs a British address, Spanish TV needs a Spanish address and so on. It sounds super technical but if you watch this brief video about watching UK TV in France then you’ll see that it really isn’t.
Watching UK Television Streaming Service Anywhere
Click for Discount Page of NordVPN Here
Complete Control – Use a VPN
So there it is, the solution is called a VPN (Virtual Private Network) something that we talk about in great length on these pages. The software allows you to connect to servers all over the world and create a secure, encrypted tunnel with them.
In addition to the extra security, it gives you the benefit of controlling which IP address the web site you visit sees. So in the example, instead of a French IP address the BBC iPlayer will see the UK address of the VPN server instead. Therefore everything will work perfectly without any interruption exactly the same as if you’re in the United Kingdom. It let me watch Match of the Day last Saturday from a Parisian hotel room with no problems at all.
Best VPN for 2024 for Expats?
Now eagle eyed viewers may have noticed in this example I’m using a different VPN than I’ve previously demonstrated. For many years, I used a VPN service called Identity Cloaker for accessing British Television when I was in France or anywhere else.
So why have I changed? Identity Cloaker still works and has done for over fifteen years now ! Well, there’s a couple of reasons for this, firstly I’ve started watching a lot of TV on my portable devices and it’s a bit of a nuisance to set up Identity Cloaker on these devices. Whereas the one in the video is called NordVPN which has different apps available for all sorts of platforms including my smart phone.
The second reasons is that I wanted to check out whether this VPN actually works for people who travel a lot. It’s one of the world’s most popular and the prices they offer on their longer deals are extremely cheap – I paid about £90 for three years access on five devices! However this is irrelevant if they don’t actually allow access to the various TV sites I use but in particular my favorite BBC iPlayer.
NordVPN Works Well in 2024
The BBC have blocked many, many VPN services over the last few years so it’s important to check which work !
Well the verdict is that it works perfectly well, although you have to use the right servers. If you use any defaults like their ‘quick connect‘ feature then there’s a fair chance that you will get blocked by the BBC. The simple reason is that too many people are using the same IP address concurrently to try and watch the BBC at the same time.
It’s actually not necessary as they have hundreds of UK based IP addresses and if you stay away from the ‘auto connect’ ones then they work every time. Even better they actually optimize specific servers for BBC access so it’s best to use them for all British Television channels.
Which are the NordVPN BBC Servers?
Don’t select the defaults or click on the UK. Put one of these addresses in the search bar and use these instead.
UK# 1840-1847, 1850-1863, 1865, 1869, 1873, 1875-1878, 1880-1881, 1900-1901, 1903-1904, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919-1920.
If a server works well for you, then add it to your favorites for next time.
So don’t worry about Nord VPN, it works perfectly with BBC iPlayer and all the major UK TV stations. Just test out a few UK servers first and add them to your favorites and you’ll be fine.
For UK TV access from France or anywhere in the world then – we’re happy to recommend them too –
Nord VPN
FAQ – Guide to Watching UK TV in France
Here’s a few questions I’ve had to this site over the years which might be useful.
Do I need a Satellite Dish for the BBC?
No, it works across an ordinary French internet connection. There’s no need for any hardware or special devices.
How do I Create a BBC Account ?
Just make a connection to your UK VPN service then visit https://account.bbc.com/register/ to register for an account. You will be asked for an email address, your age and for a UK postcode (use any valid postcode in the UK). The only other question is if you have a UK TV license, again there’s no check but you must say YES.
Are UK channels all classed as free to air television?
No, BBC iPlayer is not a free to air television channel. You technically need to have a license in order to watch it although there’s no check other than a simple question. Unfortunately, you cannot buy a TV license outside the UK anyway. All the other main UK TV channels are supported by advertising and are free of charge. Basically if you have a valid UK VPN connection you can watch all the UK TV channels abroad free of charge.
Do Many People Access UK Television in France?
Yes, if you check out any UK expat forum there’s always lots of talk about which VPN to use. Millions of people watch the BBC all over the world using VPNs.
Is Using a VPN illegal in France?
No, absolutely not there’s nothing illegal or criminal about using a VPN. What you are potentially doing is breaking the BBC’s terms and conditions for using BBC iPlayer from abroad (along with a few million others!)
Is this better than a Satellite Option ?
Certainly in my opinion, a VPN literally only costs a couple of Euros a month on longer subscriptions, doesn’t need a dish and there are no fixed contracts either. There’s no absolute guarantee that this method will continue working for ever but I’ve been using it 15 years to watch the BBC and other TV channels from all over the world.
What devices does a VPN work on ? how to get uk tv in france
Potentially anything but there are some limitations. Your device must be able to support VPN connections or be able to install the VPN software. So many Smart TVs won’t be able to install the software for example. There are applications for most other devices and you can install the VPN client on many routers too.
How to get UK TV in France without a subscription fee for nothing?
Unfortunately not, none of the free proxies or VPNs work with any of the major media sites. BBC iPlayer and ITVX have blocked them all from accessing the site. It’s advisable not to use these free services for other activities either as they’re well known for installing malware or adware on your device in order to finance themselves.
There is a company who offer a completely free trial of a VPN/Smart DNS service which you can use for 14 days. It definitely works for the BBC and I think it does for the other UK stations – you can get the FREE Trial of Smart DNS here. If you use this trial and it works well for you – please consider supporting the company after it finishes.
Can I Watch French TV Abroad too?
Yes, change the VPN connection server to France when you’re outside the country to watch your favorite French TV shows. Remember all your browsing will be influenced by the VPN connection location unless you use the split tunneling feature that a few VPN companies support.
Can I Watch UK TV in France Online Free of Charge?
Unfortunately although the UK TV channels are all available free of charge if you have a UK IP address none of the free options to do this actually work. All the free UK proxies and VPNs are blocked automatically and none of them have worked for many years.
Thanks!