Programme availability

Why aren't all programmes available to download?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:42:28 +0000

Why aren't all programmes available to download?

There are several reasons why a programme may be unavailable for download (where the download option is greyed out). Unfortunately, as there are so many different programmes on the Ģ��Ƶ, we can't talk about specific programmes or episodes, but these are some of the reasons the content may be unavailable for download.

Live programmes
It's not possible to download programmes that are currently broadcasting. A downloadable version of the programme may be available shortly after it has finished its broadcast. Not all live episodes will be downloadable due to the other reasons listed on this page.

The programme has only just been made available to stream
If a programme has only become available in the past few minutes, there may be a delay in processing the download files. This is most likely if the programme was broadcast live or close to live (recently recorded) and the files could not be prepared in advance. Try checking again later.

Rights
Sometimes we can’t acquire the rights to allow a programme to be downloaded. This is most common with some sports programmes, live music coverage and films.

Mobile or tablet devices
When using a mobile or tablet, downloading is only possible via the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer app. You can install the app to download programmes.

Technical error
Technical problems can cause a file not to be available. If you think you've spotted a programme fault on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer, check the known issues page. If it's not listed, please let us know by using our web form.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

How can I watch national and regional programmes?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:43:36 +0000

How can I watch national and regional programmes?

You can watch national and regional programmes on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer no matter where you are in the UK. Here's how:

Watching on demand

To watch national and regional programmes on demand, just search for the programme in the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer search bar. Most programmes are available shortly after broadcast. You can also easily find a selection of programmes in the Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales categories.

You can also use the TV Guide to find the programme you're looking for. The TV Guide you see will depend on the location you've set Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer to, so you might want to change your location. Scroll down to find out how to do that on your device.

Watching live

Once you’ve set your location, you can watch live local news and programmes from your selected region by going to Channels and selecting the channel you'd like to watch. On the mobile/tablet app, tap Explore (magnifying glass icon) then choose the channel from the channels rail.

How to change your location

Website

On the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer website on your computer, mobile or tablet, the Change Location option is located at the bottom left of the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer page.

Having trouble setting your location on the website? If you haven't accepted cookies for the Ģ��Ƶ website, we won't be able to remember your location settings.

Head to the How can I change my Ģ��Ƶ cookie settings? page to make sure your Ģ��Ƶ cookies are switched on and to find out more about how we use cookies across the Ģ��Ƶ website.

Mobile and tablet app

On our Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer app for mobiles and tablets, you can change your location by going to Settings (cog icon on the top right of the home page) and selecting Location.

Connected TV

On our Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer TV app, you can change your location by going to Settings and selecting Change Location.

You can choose from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or any of the English regions.

Why does Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer forget my location?

If you find you have to change your location each time you use Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer, it may be because you've opted out of Ģ��Ƶ cookies. Check the How can I change my Ģ��Ƶ cookie settings? page on the Using the Ģ��Ƶ website to make sure your Ģ��Ƶ cookies are switched on and to find out more about how we use cookies across the Ģ��Ƶ website.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

How long are programmes available for?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:43:36 +0000

How long are programmes available for?

We aim to make programmes available for as long as possible. And while much of our content is available for 30 days after broadcast, many more programmes are available for much longer (a year or more).

So you don’t miss out, we display how long a programme is available just below its description on the playback page on our website and mobile/tablet app.

Most programmes are available to download on the mobile/tablet app and will have the same availability as it would if you were streaming it.

It may take a while to make a programme available on demand after broadcast if the programme was live or recorded close to live. Rather than wait, you may be able to rewind the live TV channel by up to 2 hours.

Some films may not be available either to watch live or on demand.

We're busy working towards making even more programmes available for longer.

Programmes with a longer availability

Some current affairs programmes, such as HARDtalk, Click and Panorama, are available for 365 days
Most Ģ��Ƶ Three programmes are available for more than a year
More drama, documentaries, comedy and children's series are becoming available for longer

Programmes available for 30 days

Much of our content is available for 30 days. However, if a programme is repeated, its availability will be extended, usually for another 30 days.

Programmes with a shorter availability

News bulletins may only be available for up to 24 hours after broadcast or until the next bulletin is broadcast
Some sport coverage and films may have a shorter availability
Sometimes we need to remove a programme for editorial/legal reasons

Can you extend the availability of a programme if I get in touch?

Unfortunately not. But please be assured that we always try to make programmes available as long as our rights allow.

You can, however, check to see if a programme is going to be repeated in the near future by visiting the programme website for a particular programme. When using Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer through a web browser, a link is displayed at the bottom left of the playback page.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Why aren't all live streams available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:43:36 +0000

Why aren't all live streams available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

For rights reasons, we occasionally can't make live streams available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer. When this happens, it's most likely because we're broadcasting a film or sporting event for which we don't have the online rights.

If you're watching a live stream on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer and see the following message, it means that we aren't able to make that content available online: 'This programme is not available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer.'

We try to make as much of our programming available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer as we can. Although some films may not be available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer, we have a Films category with those that are, as well as some iPlayer exclusives.

Seeing a different error message?

If you're seeing a message telling you incorrectly that you're outside the UK, check our Why does Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer think I'm outside the UK? FAQ.

For other error messages, try using the search bar above or take a look at our troubleshooting FAQs:

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Are all programmes that are broadcast available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:44:09 +0000

Are all programmes that are broadcast available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

Unfortunately not. We can’t always acquire Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer rights for every programme we broadcast. This is sometimes due to the cost involved in acquiring licences from third parties or maybe for other legal or contractual reasons. Sometimes we're only able to acquire the rights to stream a programme, but not to download it.

Here are some of the types of programmes that can be subject to rights restrictions:

Film, sport and music – Sometimes rights agreements mean sporting events, live music events and films are only available for streaming on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer (not for downloading). We may have to remove films, sporting footage or live music coverage from some programmes for which we haven’t been able to acquire the rights.
Imported programmes – Programmes from overseas may not be available because our agreement with the rights holder doesn’t extend to putting them on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer.
Specific episodes in a series – Very occasionally, certain episodes from a series may not be available while others are. This is because we haven’t been able to acquire the rights for those individual episodes.
News magazine programmes – Some news magazine programmes are unavailable on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer for rights reasons. Many news bulletins and programmes are available for 24 hours, but may also be unavailable due to rights or technical problems.

On rare occasions, we may not be able to make programmes available due to technical faults or problems, for editorial or legal reasons or if there was an issue with the original recording.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

How long do I have left to watch my programme?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:44:09 +0000

How long do I have left to watch my programme?

We display how long you’ve got left to watch a programme underneath the playback area for each episode. Just scroll down to the Available for... line.

If an episode is expiring within 24 hours, we'll display the exact time it will expire just underneath the playback screen. For example, Expires tonight 6pm. If you’re watching a programme when it reaches the expiry time, playback will stop, so it’s worth checking the expiry time before you start to watch.

Programme expiry information can be found on the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer website and on the mobile/tablet app. This isn't available on the TV app at the moment.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

When can I watch Match of the Day and other Ģ��Ƶ football programmes?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:44:09 +0000

When can I watch Match of the Day and other Ģ��Ƶ football programmes?

The availability of Match of the Day and other football programmes is different to other shows in that the on-demand version isn't available straight away, although you can use Live Restart if you just missed the broadcast (you can rewind up to two hours when watching live in Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer). The length of time these programmes are available also varies depending on the rights agreements that are in place.

When are they available?

Saturday editions of Match of the Day are available from midnight that night (midnight Saturday/early hours of Sunday)
Sunday editions (MOTD2) are on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer from midnight that night (midnight Sunday/early hours of Monday)
When there are midweek episodes, they’ll also be available from midnight the day of broadcast
Football Focus will be available from midnight on Saturday evening after it’s shown (the early hours of Sunday morning)

Each episode will be available to stream or download until the next episode is broadcast, or for seven days after broadcast, whichever comes first.

If an episode is still not available after these times, please check our known issues page to see if it’s a known problem.

Why the delay?

It’s due to the rights agreement we have with the Premier League.

What about non-Premier League programmes?

Match of the Day episodes dealing with competitions other than the FA Premier League may have different availability. For example, UEFA Champions League highlights will be available after broadcast until midnight the following evening.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Why aren't all programmes available in HD?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:46:29 +0000

Why aren't all programmes available in HD?

If a programme has been broadcast live in HD, it should be available on iPlayer in HD, however there are some rare cases where programmes may only be available in SD for rights reasons.

When a programme is broadcast live in HD, it may take a while for the HD version to become available on demand as it can take longer to process. In such cases, please try again later.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

How long am I able to watch a programme once it's been downloaded?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:47:06 +0000

How long am I able to watch a programme once it's been downloaded?

Downloaded programmes are available for the same amount of time as they are on the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer website or app. So if a programme is available for 30 days, you'll have until the end of that same 30-day period to watch the download.

When you search for a programme on the Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer mobile/tablet app, you can find the availability underneath the episode or programme. To make sure you don't miss a download expiring, you can also switch on expiry notifications in the app Settings (cog icon on the top right of the Ģ��Ƶ page).

At the end of the availability period, downloaded programmes will be deleted, so keep an eye on the expiry date of each programme you download to make sure you don't miss out! You can opt in to notifications on the mobile/tablet app to let you know when a download will soon expire. Just head to Settings and make sure the 'Expiring downloads' box is ticked.

Some programmes may be available for a shorter period, or won’t be available to download at all. This is because we have different rights agreements with different programme makers. Check the Why aren't all programmes available to download? page for more information.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Why is S4C on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 13:47:06 +0000

Why is S4C on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

S4C programmes are available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer as this builds on our partnership with S4C and makes their programmes available in more ways than ever. They join the Welsh-language programmes created by Ģ��Ƶ Cymru that are already available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer, such as Pobol y Cwm.

You can find these programmes by using Search, browsing the Wales category or selecting S4C in the list of channels.

How can I get help with S4C?

For any help, enquiries or complaints about S4C content, please contact S4C directly at www.s4c.co.uk/contact.shtml rather than Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer support.

Anonymous (not verified) 03 October 2019

Programme availability

Why aren't all programmes available to download?

How can I watch national and regional programmes?

Watching on demand

Watching live

How to change your location

Why does Ģ������Ƶ iPlayer forget my location?

How long are programmes available for?

We're busy working towards making even more programmes available for longer.

Can you extend the availability of a programme if I get in touch?

Why aren't all live streams available on Ģ������Ƶ iPlayer?

Seeing a different error message?

Are all programmes that are broadcast available on Ģ������Ƶ iPlayer?

How long do I have left to watch my programme?

When can I watch Match of the Day and other Ģ������Ƶ football programmes?

When are they available?

Why the delay?

What about non-Premier League programmes?

Why aren't all programmes available in HD?

How long am I able to watch a programme once it's been downloaded?

Why is S4C on Ģ������Ƶ iPlayer?

How can I get help with S4C?

Why does Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer forget my location?

Why aren't all live streams available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

Are all programmes that are broadcast available on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?

When can I watch Match of the Day and other Ģ��Ƶ football programmes?

Why is S4C on Ģ��Ƶ iPlayer?