Want to watch BBC iPlayer in New Zealand? The goods news? It’s not just in New Zealand where people need to search for a guide about how to unblock BBC iPlayer. And we’ll get into why that is before we get into how to unblock BBC iPlayer in New Zealand in 2020:
BBC states it’s because you don’t pay a TV license.
The real reason? As the BBC doesn’t have the rights to show the content it shows in places like New Zealand.
After all, if it was just about you paying a TV license, then what if you do pay for a TV license, but are merely visiting New Zealand? What then?
BBC either gives rights to its content in exchange for money so that other platforms in other countries can stream it or does the vice versa and pays for rights to content, with that mostly being sports content and, of course, some big titles from the US.
So why doesn’t the BBC just pay for rights to content worldwide so you can watch BBC iPlayer in New Zealand? As getting rights to content worldwide costs a ton of money, especially when there’s a lot of other companies that want the same content, and considering the BBC is British with its target audience there, it doesn’t make much sense for BBC to pay for rights to show it’s content outside of the UK.
As a result, you need to trick BBC iPlayer into thinking that you are in the UK, and here’s how to do that:
If you can make BBC think you are not in New Zealand and in the UK, you will be able to watch BBC iPlayer in New Zealand with ease.
For that, you need to change your location virtually.
How does one change their location virtually?
By using a VPN, which is a Virtual Private Network.
What exactly does a VPN do? It changes your location, virtually allowing you to be in a different location without being there.
That’s why using a VPN is the key to unblocking any service that is geo-blocked.
So you just get a VPN and connect to a UK, server and that’s it?
That’s not how it works with entertainment platforms like BBC iPlayer.
See, since BBC can’t show its service in the likes of New Zealand, it also needs to make efforts to ensure it’s not easy for someone to do it. As a result, most VPN servers do not work with entertainment platforms.
This is why it’s important to not look for services that have the most servers, but for those that have the best quality of servers, as when it comes to entertainment, it’s the only quality that matters.
And this is where PrivateVPN comes in as a service that doesn’t have thousands of servers, but instead has servers that unblock all the major entertainment platforms such as BBC iPlayer, DAZN, Hulu, and many more.
Register for our 7-day trial with no need for a card, download the app, connect to a BBC iPlayer server, and start unblocking BBC iPlayer.
To watch BBC iPlayer in New Zealand, you also need a BBC account.
That is pretty straightforward as unlike with Hulu or DAZN, there’s no need to put in a card issued in the country where the platform is available.
Instead, you need to tick the box that states you pay a TV license.
For many, it might also make sense to download the BBC iPlayer app for a better watching experience.
Something that’s not as simple as just going to your app store, as your store will need to be changed to be in the UK, in order for it to show you BBC iPlayer.
Alternatively, on Android devices, you can also just download the app from a different source, just make sure it’s trusted.
On Apple devices, the method applied to Android devices won’t work.
You just need to sign out of your iCloud account, followed by creating a new account with your location in the UK.
Then you will be able to download BBC iPlayer on Apple devices in New Zealand without any problems.
Of course, after you download BBC iPlayer, you will be able to switch back to your other account and will still keep BBC iPlayer.
When it comes to a TV, this is where watching BBC iPlayer in New Zealand gets a bit harder.
See, most smart TVs and also platforms like the Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, or even game consoles don’t support VPN services.
What does that mean?
That you can’t get BBC iPlayer working on them.
Here you have 3 options:
Once you get your Fire TV Stick, select for your location to be in the UK, and you are good to go.
If you already have one and need to change your region, here’s how to do that:
Watching BBC iPlayer in New Zealand is not hard. You just need a VPN that supports BBC, and that’s pretty much it.
And the best thing about this guide? That with PrivateVPN, you can also unblock many other services such as RTE, DAZN, and Hulu. For that, we recommend you check out our guides.
Written by Michael Smolski.
Disclaimer: While PrivateVPN works with BBC, due to the nature of services like BBC having to take measures against services, we cannot guarantee that the service will work at all given times with BBC, just like no other VPN service can.