How To Watch UK TV Channels On Kodi with These Add-ons
British TV is popular all around the world, from quirky scifi shows like Doctor Who to mellow reality TV like the Great British Bake Off to stunning high fidelity nature documentaries like Blue Planet. If you live in the UK, most of the best content appears on just a few main channels, so you don’t need cable or satellite to tune into your favourite shows. You can also watch content online for free through sites like the BBC iPlayer, or the websites of ITV and Channel 4.
However, if you live outside of the UK then it’s significantly harder to watch British TV channels. The websites only work for viewers within the UK (unless you use a VPN) and the channels aren’t often available in cable bundles outside of the UK. So what to do? We recommend that you try the Kodi media centre software, which you can configure with various add-ons that will let you watch British TV channels from anywhere. Read on to find out how to watch UK TV channels on Kodi.
Why Kodi Users Need A VPN
Before you start using Kodi it’s important that you get a VPN to protect yourself, especially if you are going to use add-ons. This is because streaming TV channels through unofficial sources like Kodi add-ons can be against copyright laws in most countries. If you are caught by your ISP using Kodi to stream TV channels that you do not have official access to, you could face a range of consequences like fines or legal issues.
A VPN protects you by encrypting all of the data that your device sends over the internet, so that no outside observers like your ISP can see what you are doing online. The encryption prevents anyone from seeing whether you are streaming or downloading. And as a bonus, you can use the VPN to connect to a server in the UK which will allow you to access British content on websites such as the BBC iPlayer.
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Once you have a VPN to keep you safe, we can move on to installing and using Kodi add-ons to watch UK TV channels.
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Let’s see the best add-ons for watching UK channels on Kodi
1. Use The iPlayer WWW Add-On For Kodi
The BBC is known for having some of the very best programming on British TV, with a speciality in documentaries, dramas, and charming budget genre shows. If you have a VPN with servers located in the UK (as any reputable provider should), then you can use the BBC iPlayer add-on from the official Kodi repository in order to watch BBC content anywhere in the world. There is an option to watch channels live, but more useful is the program list which lets you select and program which has been shown on the UK in the last week and to watch it on demand. The quality is always good and the selection of shows available is massive.
Here are instructions on how to install the iPlayer WWW add-on for Kodi:
- Start on your Kodi home screen
- Click on Add-ons
- Click on the icon that looks like an open box
- Click on Install from repository
- Go to Kodi Add-on repository
- Go to Video add-ons
- Scroll down to iPlayer WWW
- Click on it and a box describing the add-on appears. Click install on the bottom menu
- Wait a minute and you’ll see a notification once the add-on in installed
And here’s how to use the add-on to watch programs:
- To use the iPlayer WWW add-on, start on your Kodi home screen
- Go to Add-ons
- Go to Video add-ons
- Click on the iPlayer WWW icon
- You will see a list of options like Highlights, Categories, Watch Live, and Programme List A-Z
- Click on Programme List A-Z and then on a letter to see shows beginning with that letter. For example, to watch Doctor Who, go to the letter “D” and scroll to find the title of the show
- Clicking on the name of a show will bring up a list of available episodes
- Click on the title of an episode and the stream will begin
2. Use The ITV Live Add-on For Kodi
If you prefer to watch the ITV channels rather than the BBC channels, there is an add-on for that too. ITV has more of a focus on soaps, reality TV, and dramas and some of their most popular shows are The X Factor, The Voice, Coronation Street, and Broadchurch. Using this add-on also requires a VPN connection to a server in the UK in order to watch the content.
Here’s how to install the ITV Live add-on for Kodi:
- Begin on your Kodi home screen
- Click the icon that looks like a cog to go to settings
- Now go to File Manager
- Click on Add source
- Click on where it says <None>
- Type in the following URL: https://kdil.co/repo/ (Make sure to include the https:// or it won’t work)
- Give the source a name. We’ll call it kdil
- Click OK
- Go back to your home screen
- Now click on Add-ons
- Click on the icon that looks like an open box
- Click on Install from zip file
- Go to kdil, then to kodil.zip
- Wait for a second, then you’ll see a notification that the repository has been installed
- Click on Install from repository
- Click on ..Kodil Repository
- Click on Video add-ons
- Find ITV. The list of add-ons is very long so you’ll have to scroll for a while. Click on ITV when you find it
- Choose install from menu at the bottom
- Wait a second for the notification that the add-on has been installed
Here are instructions on using the ITV Live add-on:
- Start at your Kodi home screen
- Go to Add-ons
- Go to Video add-ons
- Find ITV and click it
- Click on Live
- Click on ITV1 or whichever other ITV channel you want
- Now the stream of the channel will begin
3. Watch Live Streams With The UK Turk Playlists Add-On For Kodi
Alternatively, there is another way to watch live UK TV channels, and that is using the UK Turk Playlists add-on. This add-on pulls unofficial streams of the channels, so you don’t need to be connected to a server in the UK for it to work. Unfortunately, they don’t always work as well as the official streams. However, if you try a few different options you can usually find one that works.
Here’s how to install the UK Turk Playlists add-on:
- Start on your Kodi home screen
- Find the settings icon that looks like a cog and click it, then go to File Manager
- Click on Add source
- Click where it says <None>
- Type in the following URL: https://addoncloud.org/ukturk/install (Be careful to including the https:// or it won’t work correctly)
- Name the source something memorable, like ukturk
- Click OK
- Go back to your home screen
- Click on Add-ons
- Click on the icon that looks like an open box
- Click on Install from zip file
- Click on ukturk, then on repository.ukturk-1.0.7.zip
- Wait for a moment, then you will see a popup notification once the source is installed
- Click on Install from repository
- Click on UKTurk Addon Repository
- Click on Video add-ons
- Scroll down to UK Turk Playlists and click on it
- A screen opens that has details of the add-on. Click Install from the menu at the bottom
- Wait for a moment, and you’ll see one more notification that the add-on has been installed
Once that is done, you can use the add-on to watch UK TV channels:
- Start at your Kodi home screen
- Go to Add-ons
- Go to Video add-ons
- Find UK Turk Playlists and click it
- Either click on Live TV and select a channel from the UK to start a stream (they have options for UK channels like BBC 1, 2, and 3, ITV 1, 2, 3, and 4, and Channel 4)
- Click on the name of the channel that you want to watch live
- Choose HD or another option from the list of streams that pops up
- This will start the stream
4. Watch Live Streams With The cCloud TV Add-On For Kodi
Yet another option to watch live streams of UK TV is to use an add-on like cCloud TV. This is an IPTV add-on, meaning that it is dedicated to pulling television streams from over the internet. If you like to watch a lot of different live TV channels, including channels from the UK, then you will enjoy this add-on.
Here’s how to install the cCloud TV add-on:
- Begin on your Kodi home screen
- Click on the settings icon, then go to File Manager
- Click on Add source
- Click on the box where it says <None>
- Enter in this URL: https://kod1help.com/kod1/ (Make sure to type it exactly as written, including the https://, or it won’t work)
- Give the source a name. We’ll call it kod1
- Click OK
- Go back to your home screen
- Click on Add-ons
- Click on the icon that looks like an open box
- Click on Install from zip file
- Click on kod1, then on 1. KODI VIDEO ADD-ONS/, then cCLOUD ADDON, then on plugin.video.ccloudtv-1.5.6.zip
- Wait for a moment until this add-on installs. Once it’s done, you’ll see a notification
Once the add-on has been installed, here’s how to use it to watch UK channels like Channel 4:
- Begin on your Kodi home screen
- Go to Add-ons
- Go to Video add-ons
- Click on cCloud TV
- Scroll down to Search and click on it
- Enter channel 4 into the input box
- You’ll see an option that says Channel 4 (FilmOn). Click on this and the stream will begin
Conclusion
It can be tricky for users outside of the UK to watch British TV channels. There are lots of great shows on British TV with fans all around the world, like Doctor Who, Sherlock, and BBC nature documentaries. If you want to watch this kind of content but don’t have access to UK TV channels, then you can use the Kodi software to watch the channels. With the add-ons that we’ve described you can either watch channels live, or watch content on demand after it has aired.
Which is your favourite Kodi add-on for watching British TV content? Have you tried any of the add-ons that we’ve recommended, and which did you like the best? Let us know in the comments below.
none of the above work, ipvanish does not work for bbc i player