It seems like most of the large broadcast networks have their own app to accommodate the changing nature of technology. With the rise in popularity of mobile devices and the stark changes in how people access different types of content using apps, it is a necessity of networks to provide their own custom apps or else they ignore a large portion of their audience. And the BBC is no exception. They are one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world since their founding in 1922, and they have been a source of news, documentaries, entertainment, and other forms of information for nearly a century.
Their custom app has been named iPlayer, and if you’re a BBC fanatic this app is a must for you. It will help you access the latest streaming content without inundating you with advertisements. While that sounds fantastic at first, understand that there is one large drawback: it isn’t available to people in regions outside of the UK by default. But there are certainly things you can still do to gain access to this incredibly popular app. All you need to do is find a VPN service that offers connections to servers hosted in the UK to access this app. But that’s just half of the good news, because a VPN service will also encrypt the information you send through the app as that information is in transit through the global public Internet. This means that service providers, hackers, spies, and meddling governmental agencies won’t be able to see what information you are transmitting as your traffic is in transit through the VPN tunnel.
Best VPNs for BBC iPlayer
ExpressVPN – Complete Review
ExpressVPN ranks at the top of the list owing to their lightning fast VPN connections and there vast connection profiles. They offer 100 different connection locations spread out across 78 countries, and they are constantly growing their high speed network. For iPlayer exclusively, you are likely only concerned with their UK-based servers, but they give you a lot of flexibility when you want to securely access other resources. They do admittedly cost a little bit more than other services, but you can get their service as low as $8.32 per month with a 1-year plan. Lastly, they generously offer a 30-day money back guarantee to help give you time to test their services at your location.
IPVanish – Complete Review
IPVanish is another fantastic option for people trying to get access to iPlayer. Like most other VPN service providers, they offer connections based out of the UK. In total they offer connections to over 400 servers in over 60 countries, and they are a bit more favorably priced than Express VPN. They only cost $6.49 per month and they have extremely competitive and high quality support in the event that you run into any software or connection-related issues.
PureVPN – Complete Review
PureVPN offers the most servers and locations on this list, and to date they offer over 500 servers in over 140 countries. Yet again, they offer UK-based servers to help you connect to iPlayer, and they even allow you to connect up to 5 devices with the same VPN account. Not only do they offer a 7-day money back guarantee, but they also cost less than the previous two options at only $4.16 per month with a 1-year subscription.
Private Internet Access VPN – Complete Review
Private Internet Access offers a fantastic service with servers located in the UK to help you access iPlayer, but they adopt a different strategy when building their VPN network. Instead of spreading themselves thin in a large number of global locations, they offer higher concentrations of servers in fewer countries. To date they offer 3096 servers in 24 countries, and they cover all of the most popular geographic regions across the world. Furthermore, they allow 5 simultaneous connections and still provide a 7-day money back guarantee. But most people’s favorite feature of their service is their price. With a 1-year subscription, the price of their service plummets to only $3.33 per month.
TorGuard VPN – Complete Review
TorGuard offers 1200 server locations in over 42 countries, and they offer an amazing service that will help you gain access to iPlayer while simultaneously encrypting your data. You have likely already heard of the anonymity service Tor, but Tor alone won’t protect your data. Their VPN service fills this gap, and they will let you connect up to 5 devices with a single account. They are neither the cheapest or most expensive provider. They are moderately priced at only $5.00 per month, and they offer a fast and reliable VPN service.