How to Watch BBC iPlayer in Singapore: Using a VPN
It’s available in the UK and a few other countries, but not in Singapore. However, there is a way to watch BBC iPlayer in Singapore – using a VPN.
I am a fan of BBC iPlayer. I love their selection of programs, the high-quality production values and the on-demand availability with no ads or subscriptions. However, when it comes to watching BBC in Singapore you are out of luck if you want to stream TV shows online through your device’s web browser (unless you have a VPN).
Luckily for me, I was able to find an easy workaround that enables me access this British media powerhouse without giving up my data allowance. If you’re a British expat missing your favourite BBC programmes, or you’re just visiting Singapore and want to catch up on some UK TV, then read on and watch the video below on how to watch BBC iPlayer in Singapore.
This method also allows you to access blocked websites and services like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Hulu, and more.
What is BBC iPlayer?
BBC iPlayer is an online service for streaming radio, television and podcasts. However that really doesn’t do it justice, as the BBC is the world’s oldest national broadcaster and produces some of the best English speaking content anywhere. It’s admired and envied across the world for it’s programmes in all sorts of genres from entertainment, sport and of course current affairs and news.
In a recent survey of national broadcasters from all over the world – BBC One (BBC’s primary channel) was voted number one in terms of quality. This award was not unique, the BBC regularly receives praise and plaudits for it’s programmes.
A recent Guardian article described the BBC as follows –
From the production of quality news, to the creation of shared cultural anchors, to the fostering of new British creative talent, the BBC has enriched the fabric of our cultural life over the decades, and through its reporting has helped to speak truth to power.
Sounds’ a little overblown? Well I don’t think so, when you compare the quality of any of the BBCs programmes it really is that good. Even things like the children’s channels win awards and are acclaimed by teachers and educators.
Why Can’t I Make BBC iPlayer work in Singapore?
Well, basically the BBC iPlayer is a streaming service that is only available in the UK. This is by design, they say because of rights restrictions to their programmes. Although they’re not alone virtually every large broadcaster does exactly the same – restricting free access to the domestic market. You can’t watch most US channels outside the USA, German channels outside Germany and so on.
They used a technology called geo-targeting which identifies your location when you visit the site. This is done by checking your IP address and seeing where it’s registered to. If it’s not a UK IP address then you’ll be blocked from watching anything.
So unfortunately the BBC is not directly available in Singapore. Also not many of the programmes are available individually either mainly because the BBC has not been able to reach an extensive agreement with Singtel, one of the main telecommunications providers in Singapore.
This means that people in Singapore cannot watch all BBC iPlayer content unless they use a VPN or other workaround.
List of Popular Shows on BBC iPlayer:
There are literally thousands of wonderful shows available on BBC iPlayer, either streamed live or in it’s huge archive. Here’s just a small selection of the current most watched shows in June, 2023.
EastEnders
Eastenders is a British soap opera set in the fictional London borough of Walford, focusing on life within this area.
The Apprentice
Lord Sugar is back in business , with 16 new hopefuls and one amazing opportunity
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is a BBC television drama set in Birmingham, England. It follows the exploits of an infamous gang led by Tommy Shelby during post-World War I Britain, who sew razor blades into the peaks of their caps to protect themselves against enemy bullets. New episodes every Sunday
The final series. There’s one last deal to be done… Then the Peaky Blinders rest
Killing Eve
Killing Eve is a British-American crime thriller series adapted from the Codename Villanelle novella trilogy by Luke Jennings. The first season aired on BBC America in 2018 and stars Sandra Oh as the eponymous assassin and Jodie Comer as Eve.
Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr
Ten talented designers. One life changing contract. Alan Carr and interiors guru Michelle Ogundehin are on the hunt for talent, passion and dazzling designs.
Holby City
Holby City is a British medical drama television series that has been broadcast on BBC One since 1998. It airs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 22.30, with the first episode airing each weeknight.
The Witchfinder
A 17th-century witchfinder transports a suspected witch to trial, but what should be a simple journey is dogged by civil war, plague, suspicion – and the worst travel companion imaginable. A new BBC comedy which is currently being well received.
Panorama
Ukraine has been battling the country for days. Can it hold on and repel President Putin’s forces? Panorama’s Paul Kenyon reports from the frontline in southern Ukraine. In Mykolaiv, he finds a city on the brink, fighting hard not to become encircled by Russian forces and face the same fate as the besieged city of Mariupol. On the Black Sea coast, in Odesa, he finds a city bracing for the worse. He captures exclusive footage from inside its neighbour city Kherson, which has already fallen into Russian hands.
How Do VPNs Solve this Problem?
If you’re trying to watch BBC iPlayer in Singapore, for example, a VPN will allow you to spoof your location and appear as if you’re connecting from the UK. This is handy because the BBC blocks access to its content from outside of the UK.
Just watch this video to see how easy it is to hide your location and use a UK IP address.
This also means that your ISP can’t see what you’re up to online, and it also makes it difficult for anyone else – like the government or copyright holders – to track down and block pirated content.
However the main benefit with regards the UK TV sites like BBC iPlayer is that you can appear to be in the UK. As long as you connect to a VPN server situated in the UK then you’ll be able to access the entire site just like a resident of the UK.
What are the benefits of using BBC iPlayer?
The service is available in the UK and a number of other countries around the world.
There are a number of benefits to using BBC iPlayer, including:
- Access to a wide range of content, including news, sports, documentaries, and comedies
- Ability to watch content live or on demand
- Available on a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops
- Access to 11 Live Streaming Channels
- Great Children’s Entertainment cBeebies and CBBC
Information on Watching BBC iPlayer Content in Singapore
Using a VPN is the perfect way to bypass the restrictions on the BBC iPlayer site. It’s by far the easiest way to watch BBC iPlayer in Singapore, and most VPN services have servers located in the UK so you won’t have any trouble finding one that works.
It works by routing your traffic through another country (in this case, the UK), which makes it appear as if you are actually located there. However, proxies can be slow and unreliable, so we only recommend using them if you really can’t use a VPN for some reason.
There’s a couple of things you also need to know about using the BBC from Singapore which we’ll cover below.
BBC iPlayer Subscription – User Account
This is now mandatory since 2019 everyone needs an account on the BBC iPlayer site to stream programmes and access the archive. It’s not a problem though, the account is entirely free and simple to setup from Singapore or anywhere else in the world. You will have to enable your UK VPN connection before creating the account though.
The registration process is simple and you’ll need the following information.
Age – If the account is for anyone under the age of 13 the account will be regulated for a minor.
Postcode – the UK’s version of a Postal code. Don’t worry about this as long as you use a real UK postcode then there’s no problem. There’s no verification or check beyond checking it’s valid – you can grab a postcode here.
UK TV Licence – you will be asked during registration (and when you stream programmes) if you have a valid UK TV license. This is actually very simple to solve – you just have to say YES ! There’s no check or validation, however if you say No then nothing will work. Sure it might be a fib – but you can’t actually buy a British TV license from Singapore anyway.
Cookies/History – Make sure you clear your cookies if you’re having trouble accessing the site. They can give away your location despite using a VPN.
What are the best VPNs for BBC iPlayer in Singapore?
In theory all you should need is a VPN that’s properly set up and has servers in the United Kingdom. This should be enough to hide your real location and access BBC iPlayer and watch your favourite shows just like anyone in the UK.
The best VPNs for BBC iPlayer in Singapore are those that have servers in the UK and that offer strong encryption and security features.
However in 2023 that’s not quite enough for one important reason – the BBC have started to block access to these VPN servers and many don’t actually work anymore. Despite what many websites promise lots of VPN services like ExpressVPN and PureVPN no longer work reliably with BBC iPlayer anymore.
It’s not that VPNs can be detected easily, because they can’t. However the media companies have become much better at spotting patterns to identify VPN connections. The simplest and most effective method is to detect the number of concurrent connections using the same IP address. When you have thousands of connections on the same IP address all streaming content it’s extremely likely to be coming from a proxy or VPN server – which is simple to block.
The only solution to this is to carefully monitor the number using specific UK IP addresses and rotate these addresses routinely. Only a few VPN services have the ability and infrastructure to do this.
Our preferred VPN service for accessing BBC iPlayer in Singapore is NordVPN – they have a selection of servers which they specifically monitor to ensure they work with the BBC. Try them out they’re very good value too.