How to Watch UK TV Online Abroad in Australia

Although there are thousands of TV broadcasting companies worldwide, watching British TV still holds a special place in many people’s hearts.

A lot could be down to the fact that hundreds of thousands of ex-pats are scattered around the globe, and quite a few have located down under to live in Aus.

How to Watch UK TV Abroad OnlineThere is also the fact that the BBC is often seen as the number one producer of great programs.

There are many other channels where individuals, ex-pats or not. People just crave documentaries,

TV shows such as Top Gear, The Great British Bake-off and regular soap operas attract so much attention.

All through the channels, there are numerous programs to watch which offer a piece of home for ex-pats or for the many Australians who want to watch TV, which it has the same sort of vibe as home television compared to the often over the top US TV shows.

If you want to watch British TV abroad, what can you expect to find?

UK TV Channel List

bbc tvBBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

The BBC was started almost 100 years ago, so they know quite a lot about broadcasting TV shows. They operate by having viewers pay for a TV licence, however for online viewing via the BBC iPlayer, this can be bypassed.

For streaming, they were one of the originators of the genre and started the service in 2007.

With this comes a variety of channels that offer a broad spectrum of highly accoladed TV shows. It can also be viewed on a vast multitude of devices.

You can also watch BBC live or on-demand for up to 30-days after the show was broadcast. (Read Order To Watch Marvel Movies)

Channel List

  • BBC One
  • BBC Two
  • BBC Three
  • BBC Four
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • News – BBC World News
  • Parliament
  • Alba
  • S4C – Welsh
  • BBC Radio Channels

Top Programs on the BBC

There are many great programs on the BBC, and here are a few of the highest-rated and most-viewed programs you can feast your eyes on.

  • The Durrells
  • Eastenders
  • Call the Midwife
  • Top Gear
  • Keeping Faith
  • A Very English Scandal
  • Patrick Melrose
  • Peaky Blinders
  • Victoria
  • Taboo

New Programs on the BBC

  • Bodyguard
  • Killing Eve
  • Black Earth Rising
  • Trust
  • No Activity
  • Wanderlust
  • Mothersday
  • Upstart Crow

Aside from old favourites, there is a continual stream of new programs coming to the BBC, and UK TV buffs eagerly await many.

For them to filter to other countries can take months, or they might not appear at all.

To be safe, it is much better to watch BBC online as the shows are aired to avoid any spoilers.

This is a handful of shows which are available this Autumn from the BBC. This doesn’t include shows which are must-watch TV and are in their continuing seasons. All the way, BBC TV shows rank among the best the world gets a chance to see.

Available Free-to-Air?

For UK residents who hold a valid TV licence, the service is free to air. But there is a cost for the licence, and any person found watching the TV without one can face prosecution.

Able to be streamed online?

By using the iPlayer, you can watch all the shows currently being broadcast along with many other shows from their archives. However, the iPlayer does ask if the viewer has a licence when trying to view programs, but you can easily say yes as part of the workaround mentioned later.

BBC iPlayer URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer


UKTVUKTV

UKTV is a British commercial broadcaster that now reaches almost a 40million viewers per month.

It isn’t a dedicated channel such as the BBC or Channel 4, but rather a culmination of eleven different channels which broadcast different shows or box sets of UKTV series.

The TV network broadcasts these through various means of exposure as well as to over 200 differing territories.

It has been around for 20 years, building up a solid reputation and top TV shows. (Read Order To Watch Marvel Movies)

Channel List

  • Dave
  • W
  • Gold
  • Alibi
  • Yesterday
  • Drama
  • Really
  • Home
  • Eden
  • Good Food
  • UKTV Play – streaming service

Top Programs on UKTV

  • David Attenborough
  • Shark Tank
  • Banished
  • Silent Witness
  • Judge Romesh
  • Fawlty Towers
  • Have I Got News for You

New Programs on UKTV

  • Red Dwarf XII
  • Taskmaster
  • Crackanory
  • James Martin Digs Deep
  • Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals

UKTV shows generally comprise reruns you can’t find in other locations, so new programs are more than often new additions to the many channels or UKTV play.

It does offer the best UK TV shows by category, such as comedy; on other channels, you can’t find such a collection anywhere in a UKTV guide. (Read Watch Made in Chelsea Online)

Available Free-to-Air?

This channel is only available through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire. These are cable providers or satellite broadcasters.

Able to be Streamed Online?

Yes, through the use of UKTV Play, the channels can be streamed online. This requires a signup procedure very similar to the iPlayer.

The same workaround will work using a VPN and a UK postcode. This will work online using a PC or other device or the UKTV app, available from the Google Playstore.

UKTV Play URL: https://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk


ITV ChannelsITV (ITV Network Limited)

ITV is a funded TV channel in the UK; by placing advertising during shows, viewers need to purchase a TV licence. However, owning a TV does require viewers to buy one, regardless if they watch the BBC, Free TV or not.

Regarding popularity, it comes a close second and offers many top-rated shows for viewers around the globe.

Channel List

  • ITV
  • ITV 2
  • ITV 3
  • ITV 4
  • ITVBe
  • CITV
  • ITV Box Office
  • ITV HD
  • The Store

Top Programs on ITV

You can spot the top programs through the ITV TV Guide, many being shown regularly after 9 pm.

New Programs on ITV

  • Vanity Fair
  • Strangers
  • Unforgotten
  • Butterfly
  • Dark heart

Available Free-to-Air?

Yes, some of the channels are available Free-to-Air on ITV, although this could depend on the region in the UK to what is available.

Able to be Streamed Online?

All ITV channels can be streamed online via their ITV hub, which is their equivalent of the iPlayer.

Like others, this requires a UK postcode to be entered when signing up. After that, you can stream live TV or watch catch-up with the ITV player for the last 30 days.

ITV Play URL: https://www.itv.com


Channel 4Channel 4 (Channel Four Television Corporation)

This was the third channel before there was an influx of TV channels into the UK. Though it didn’t have as many top shows early on, it began making a foothold with some high-quality films being made through the channel.

Since then, Channel 4 UK has grown and has become home to some popular shows.

Channel List

  • Channel 4/ Channel 4 Live
  • E4
  • More4
  • Film4
  • 4Music

Top Programs on Channel 4

New Programs on Channel 4

  • The Circle
  • The First
  • Grand Designs

Available Free-to-Air?

Yes, some of the channels are available Free-to-Air on ITV, although if they are not on the main Channel 4 channel, they are more likely to be specific for watching on Channel 4 on demand.

Able to be Streamed Online?

All the channels plus extra are available to be streamed online via the My4 video player. From here, you can watch all the Channel 4 OD, box sets of your favourite shows, All 4 exclusives and much more.

Channel 4 URL: https://www.channel4.com

Nickelodeon UKNickelodeon UK

This channel is entirely dedicated to children. It was brought to air by Viacom and Sky plc. It does have enough Nickelodeon shows to keep children happy throughout the day, from many classics and plenty of new content to keep it fresh and invite.

Channel List

  • Nickelodeon UK
  • Nick Jr.
  • Nicktoons

Top Programs on Nickelodeon

  • SpongeBob Squarepants
  • Henry Danger
  • Summer of Stars
  • Sam & Cat
  • Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn

New Programs on Nickelodeon

  • Find me in Paris
  • The Thundermans
  • The rise of the Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Nicksplat
  • Knight Squad

Available Free-to-Air?

The Nickelodeon movies and the Nickelodeon TV shows are only available on Satellite TV or cable TV.

Able to be Streamed Online?

There are two ways for kids to enjoy Nickelodeon: using online streaming or using the new Nick Play app. This is available for both Android and iOS.

Nickelodeon URL: https://www.nick.co.uk/


Sky TVSky

The sky was the first satellite TV company in the UK and has become one of the largest around the globe.

One of the biggest reasons people sign up for them is for Sky Sports. All the significant events have vanished from regular TV and moved over to either cable subscriptions or, in this case.

Sky News UK is also one of the top places to catch up on breaking events. Sky does require a live TV subscription to proceed further toward their media player.

Channel List

The full list is way too large to add, but the following are a handful of what you can find:

Top Shows on Sky

As with the channels, there are way too many top shows to list, but here are a few:

  • Britannia
  • Save Me
  • Guerrilla
  • Sharp Objects
  • Scandal
  • Sky News

New Shows on Sky

  • A Discovery of Witches
  • Gomorrah
  • Patrick Melrose
  • Deadwood

Available Free-to-Air?

No, Sky channels are only available through their own network.

Able to be Streamed Online?

They can be streamed by use of the Sky Go app. This gives access to a considerable library of Live TV and archives for on the go viewing.

Sky URL: https://www.sky.com


Freeview TVWhat is Freeview

Freeview TV is a collaboration between BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. When you begin looking through the digital TV guide, you can see the number of free channels includes many from the channels above.

It is now built into many new TV’s produced, or there is a decoder box/ recorder for older models.

It can also be watched online using the Freeview Play app or the Freeview TV app available for Android, iOS and iPad.

If you are looking for a Freeview app for PC, you will come up short as it isn’t broadcast over the internet to see any programs. Third-party software would need to be used.

However, the mobile app will be geo-blocked to Australia and other countries because of the rights of the originating TV channel broadcasters, so a VPN that is compatible with these devices will be needed to watch Freeview UK.

Freeview URL: https://www.freeview.co.uk/

What Is Geo-Blocking And Why Is It Used?

UK TV shows television broadcasters make much of their money selling their programs around the world. For markets where it is deemed not viable due to demand, these programs will not be allowed to be shown.

It doesn’t matter how much viewers want to see a show, and if there isn’t enough money to spend on digital rights, it might never be shown.

Geo locking is very common, and it works with the likes of Netflix who show plenty of different shows in whatever country they broadcast.

For users to get around this, they need to use a suitable VPN network that will mask their connection and show them as living in the country of origin.

In this case, it would be the UK and want to watch the UK TV shows. Most geo-blocking by checking IP addresses, so if you aren’t in the UK, you won’t be able to watch one of the shows.

Is it legal to bypass geo-blocking?

bypass geo blocking to watch UKTVIn some countries, this geo-blocking bypassing is classed as illegal. But Australia takes a very different view and looks at the clause word by word.

Copyright infringement is the copying, downloading or reproducing of content for personal use.

A VPN does none of these things and is merely a tunnel to encrypt your connection. As Australian users are only watching this content, it has been ruled they aren’t “Legally” breaking the law. It is possible to watch UK TV abroad legally, but as soon as you download any, that is very different.

How to Remove Geo-Blocking and Watch UKTV

Here are the necessary steps for how to watch UK TV in Australia:

  1. Use an online VPN service (Looking for the right VPN? Check our reviews)
  2. Sign up, and download its app (receive a confirmation email with login details)
  3. Install their VPN app, launch it, and log in
  4. Select a server that is based in the UK
  5. Visit the streaming section of your desired TV channel
  6. Next, you’ll need to create a free profile
  7. Sign up, and choose the UK as your country. Fill in the details accordingly
  8. When you are asked for a postcode, enter ‘WC1X0AA’ or find any UK postcode on the internet. One or two of them might ask for an address.
  9. The last thing is, you’ll need to confirm you have a UK TV license for the BBC.
  10. Now you’re ready, and how to watch TV online from here is click play on the desired show of choice.

The sky is slightly different as you need to be an account holder. If you have friends or family who subscribe already, you could use their details to log in and make use of Sky Go.

All the while, a good VPN will mask your connection, Even if you want to watch TV on or off a computing device.

VPN for streaming

Other ways of doing this without a VPN are using proxies or Smart DNS. These can work, but they aren’t reliable and using these with the Australian metadata laws, you could still be found guilty of copyright infringement if anything changed. VPN’s make sure this never occurs.

And finally

Users who wish to watch UK TV in Australia can quickly find a tremendous amount of TV channels to browse and TV shows to watch by removing these geo-blocks.

The shows don’t even need to be new ones and can be old classic comedies that have paved the way for numerous other sitcoms to be made.

The office and US office are good examples. Streaming is safe, and there is a wealth of shows just itching to be watched.