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Hi all, please see this major site announcement: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058427594/boards-ie-2026

BBC sounds going to be GEolocked

  • 26-02-2025 04:29PM
    #1
    Washout
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,917 ✭✭✭


    I have just read that BBC Sounds will be geo locked to UK only next month.

    Gonna miss BBC Radio 2…I don't really want to pay for a VPN service just for this.



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Comments

  • #2
    CalamariFritti
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 6,552 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    Crap. BBC Sounds is my favourite radio station especially BBC 6. Can we rejoin the UK please?

    Ah well there's always VPN. But its kinda pissing me off.



  • #3
    SteM
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,581 ✭✭✭SteM


    That's a real shame 😕

    Hopefully it'll work with a VPN.



  • #4
    MrStuffins
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,576 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Is it just the app?

    I listen to 6 Music via Tune In Radio, through a smart speaker. Will this still work?



  • #5
    Electric Nitwit
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 13,276 ✭✭✭✭Electric Nitwit


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123212230#Comment_123212230

    That still working for you recently?

    Stopped with me, I just assumed BBC had pulled support for tunein. I can stream through BBC Sounds so didn't think much of it, but if that's going...

    Without 6 music where are we meant to hear good new Irish music? (Rhetorical question, but only slightly 😕)



  • #6
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,393 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    Shouldvf we be allowed access tge BBC tge sane way people in NI can watch RTE up there. Pity really.



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  • #7
    Dan Steely
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭Dan Steely


    The BBC are good at detecting VPNs.



  • #8
    Genghis
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 3,412 ✭✭✭Genghis


    Wasnt it once geolocked to UK and Ireland? Maybe I just imagined that. Any chance they would leave us in?

    Smartdnsproxy works for iPlayer, so think it will work for Sounds, but I have it on my router so only good for live radio while I am on WiFi, not in car.



  • #9
    Burt Renaults
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,219 ✭✭✭Burt Renaults


    I've heard Radio 4 will still be available, so that's all I care about. I'd hate to have to rely on 198 LW.



  • #10
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,393 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    Will this entail also pulling BBC Radio 2 from TuneIn? Seems like a very backward step if that’s the case.



  • #11
    CalamariFritti
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 6,552 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    Just read whats there to read and it seems a major shift in BBC 'strategy'. Apparently no longer want internationals to listen for free. And somehow wedging ad content into their programs for internationals (but not for local) would be too messy. So they cut it all back to Worldservice and BBC4 for internationals plus selected programs as podcasts presumably with ad content.

    They also say when they detect VPN they will have to assume its from outside and will have to be strict. I wonder will they tighten up on iPlayer and VPN too.

    This really sucks since BBC6 was all I was listening to for years in terms of radio.



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  • #12
    tinytobe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,645 ✭✭✭tinytobe


    What is the reason for the geolocking? Broadcasting rights were never really an issue for BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4. Only sports coverage on Radio 5 was locked to the UK only.



  • #13
    paddylonglegs
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,652 ✭✭✭paddylonglegs


    this is a shame. BBC6 is my only escape for decent eclectic tunes with djs who are actually into their music!



  • #14
    LowOdour
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,806 ✭✭✭LowOdour


    That is such a shame.

    Nick Grimshaw doing breakfast now hasn't done it for me, he isn't in same league as Laverne. So won't miss 6 in the morning during the week but would miss the weekend shows alot.

    Radmac, Huey and Cerys such great shows



  • #15
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,393 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    Seems very strange. They’re showing clips of the piano room on YouTube and, thanks to international listeners, the bbc radio brands are very big. I’d likely pay a bbc subscription for radio and tv if it were available but that won’t happen either.



  • #16
    Ken Tucky
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,230 ✭✭✭Ken Tucky


    8 radio and BBC 6 are all we listen to in work. Love that 8 radio is Irish but can be a little repetitive. But won't complain as they are fighting the good fight.

    Loads of balls...



  • #17
    ford fiesta
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,052 ✭✭✭ford fiesta


    stations like BBC radio 2 welcome and encourage requests / communications from overseas listeners, so this is very strange. BBC radio is hugely popular around the world.

    will stations be available on the radio.net app (which I use on my smart TV and phone) and the google smart speakers on tune-in ??



  • #18
    CalamariFritti
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 6,552 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    I dont think anyone can answer these questions at the moment but if I had to take a guess I would say probably no.



  • #19
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 54,475 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    they'll be withdrawing the live radio feeds from the website too, i assume?



  • #20
    CalamariFritti
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 6,552 ✭✭✭CalamariFritti


    https://radiotoday.co.uk/2025/02/most-bbc-radio-stations-to-become-unavailable-for-international-users/

    https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2476395/bbc-to-withdraw-sounds-app-for-non-uk-listeners

    Havent been able to find much more than that, but there are some links in there too. This should answer most questions for now. One that isnt being touched is Astra 28.2E satellite. All the BBCs, TV & radio are on there.

    I'll be missing Mary Anne Hobbs badly also Steve Lamacq and others, the Huey show! Iggy. ffs.



  • #21
    rino87
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,289 ✭✭✭rino87


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123213868#Comment_123213868

    Yup 6 music on all weekend here too. I'd add The Funk and Soul show to that list, unmissable for us here



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  • #22
    petejmk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 228 ✭✭petejmk


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123213868#Comment_123213868

    "Crisps on the Radio" is the greatest radio segment of all time. Chris Hawkins in the early slot on weekday mornings is excellent too. It's notable how many of these show read out messages sent in by international listeners.

    My mother, a British expat, is an avid BBC Radio 2 listener during the day. It sounds odd to say but she's going to miss it hugely, it's like a companion at times. I'm sure there'll be many more like her outside the UK who feel the same way.



  • #23
    Glaceon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 3,265 ✭✭✭Glaceon


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123214742#Comment_123214742

    I'd imagine that the satellite feeds will remain, but they'll eventually go too because the satellite will reach end of life in the next 5 years and there's no replacement planned.



  • #24
    MrStuffins
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,576 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123212489#Comment_123212489

    Yeah, still works for me today.

    I was getting a message saying "If you can hear this message, 6 Music will no longer be available from mid-2024" but eventually 2025 came and I could still access it.

    Shame if it goes dark.



  • #25
    Ken Tucky
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,230 ✭✭✭Ken Tucky


    Yeah listening now on Tunein.

    BBC is dead on my Marantz though which is a pain.

    Hopefully it stays live for Tunein



  • #26
    Dan Steely
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭Dan Steely


    I wonder what the reason is. Why go to the trouble and expense of implementing a geoblocking system. Where is the monetary gain? Royalties?



  • #27
    beachhead
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,582 ✭✭✭beachhead


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123212627#Comment_123212627

    They are excellent.I am losing my BBC account tomorrow



  • #28
    odyssey06
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,445 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123215262#Comment_123215262

    Seems like there's an extra cost to them if their music output airs internationally.

    And they might think they can sell some of the scripted content from Radio 4 internationally in podcast form, so may put limits on free access to that from outside UK. For book adaptations there might be extra costs there also if global access.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • #29
    ford fiesta
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,052 ✭✭✭ford fiesta


    i wonder how many listeners will the BBC lose outside of the UK because of this ? Possibly millions.



  • #30
    Glaceon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 3,265 ✭✭✭Glaceon


    I have a contact in the BBC and they pretty much reiterated what @CalamariFritti said in post 20. That BBC Studios are obliged to monetise BBC content outside the UK to subsidise the licence fee payers (which is to be done via podcasts), and the BBC can't justify the expense of rights or distribution costs to international listeners.



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  • #31
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,393 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    I’d happily pay the equivalent of the licence here for a BBC All-Access pass type subscription. Unlike the majority of RTE, the Beeb is value for money.



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