You don’t need cable to watch BBC America. You can watch BBC America through any of the following streaming services: Philo, Sling TV DIRECTV STREAM, and YouTube TV. These streaming services allow you to watch BBC America on streaming devices, mobile devices, and online. You can watch great shows like The Graham Norton Show, Killing Eve, and Doctor Who as they air on BBC America or record the show and watch later as each of these services include a cloud DVR.
Streaming Services With BBC America
All of the following streaming services will let you watch BBC America live just as if you had cable. Each of these online streaming services will also carry some BBC America content on-demand.
Philo is The Cheapest Way to Watch BBC America
The most affordable way to watch BBC America without cable is by subscribing to the streaming service Philo. For just $25 a month, you get over 60 channels, including BBC America, as well as the ability to record as many shows as you like and watch them for 30 days. Philo offers a seven-day free trial to try the service.
Sign Up For A Free Trial To Philo
Philo is supported on Apple iPhone and iPad (running iOS 9 or newer), Android phones and tablets (running 5.0 or newer), Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.
BBC America on Sling TV
A more price-conscious alternative is Sling TV. BBC America is in its “orange” and “blue” packages, each of which is $40 a month. Sling TV provides a live stream of BBC America, so you can watch what would be airing on BBC America just as if you had cable. It is included in its Cloud DVR, so that you can record shows for later.
Sling TV is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and more, so it’s not a problem to enjoy BBC America on a TV, tablet, computer, or other smart devices. There are more channels available on Sling TV than what I’ve mentioned here. To find out more about what Sling TV has to offer, and more information about Sling TV device compatibility, check out this detailed review of Sling TV.
The review includes information on a Sling TV free trial and ways to get discounted (and Free) streaming devices, so be sure to check it out. Currently, there are offers for a 7-day trial and free Amazon fire stick if you sign up for two months.
BBC America on DIRECTV STREAM
BBC America is one of the channels available on AT&T’s streaming service DIRECTV STREAM. For a price of $79.99 you will get the following:
- watch 20 streams simultaneously per subscription
- a cloud-based DVR
- channels like BBC America, AMC, HGTV, Discovery, and more
- supported on Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more
You can check out everything this service offers by taking advantage of their online offer or read about it in our DIRECTV STREAM review.
BBC America is on YouTube TV
YouTube TV also offers BBC America live, as well as limitless storage space for recording your shows. Your library of recorded shows can be streamed anywhere. BBC America is included in the base package for $72.99 a month.
YouTube TV provides:
- BBC America, Local Network Channels, and over 70 other channels
- unlimited cloud DVR storage
- stream on three devices at once
- YouTube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app has also returned to Roku devices after settling a dispute between the two companies.
- Includes YouTube TV on-demand
- offers a 1-week free trial.
Check our review of YouTube TV for more details.
Is BBC America on Hulu?
No, BBC America is not available on Hulu’s live TV service at this time. We do have a review that contains a full list of channels on Hulu Live TV if you need more information. Hulu does stream some BBC America shows on-demand through Hulu’s streaming library. See Hulu’s BBC America page for more details.
Watch Select BBC America Shows Through AMC+
You can watch several BBC America shows directly through the Prime Video App, Roku Channel, and Apple TV Channels. BBC America is owned by AMC Networks and BBC America Shows like The Watch and Killing Eve can are available on these apps if you subscribe to AMC+.
Subscriptions to AMC+ are free for 7-days and include ad-free access to shows on AMC, BBC America, Shudder, SundanceTV, and IFC. You can watch BBC America shows through AMC+ using the following methods.
Prime Video Channels: First, sign up for AMC+ on Prime Video Channels through your Amazon account. Then you can download the Prime Video App to your supported device and sign in with your Amazon account, and shows from AMC, BBC America, Sundance, and more will be available for you to watch through the Prime Video App.
The Roku Channel: While the Prime Video app is available on Roku devices, users of the Roku Channel can sign up for AMC+ through the Roku Channels App. You can do so through the Roku Channel app interface.
Apple TV Channels: While the Prime Video app is available on Apple TV, users may choose to sign up for AMC+ through the Apple TV channels interface.
For more information see our review of AMC+.
Watch Select BBC America Shows Through Max
Select BBC America shows are also available through distribution on Max, most significantly, Doctor Who, as well as a decent backlog of classic series and miniseries. A subscription to HBO-Max costs $15.99 per month for their ad-free plan and $9.99 per month for their ad-supported service (meaning a few commercials with every episode). You can sign up here. Max is supported on Android, iOS, Apple TV, Chromecast, Playstation, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
Max doesn’t only air HBO, but content from WarnerMedia and other sources. Content on Max includes:
- A selection of acquired series and movies
- All of HBO
- An exclusive collection of new Max Originals
- Select favorites from the WarnerMedia brands Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, DC, CNN, the Turner library, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes, and more
- A selection of acquired series and movies (South Park being a notable example)
For more information see our review of Max.
Watch BBC America for Free
A few streaming services that carry BBC America offer a free trial. You can take advantage of those and watch free BBC America for almost a month or longer if you use different email addresses. Let’s look at the free trials available.
- Philo – offers a 7-day free trial
- YouTube TV – offers a 1-week free trial
As long as you cancel before the free trial expires, you won’t be charged. You can cycle the free trials to get nearly a month of BBC America free. If you get creative with email addresses and payment methods, you could watch free BBC America even longer. Doing this would also let you test out the various live TV streaming services to see which one you like the best.
Watch BBC America Live on Roku
To watch BBC America on Roku, follow these instructions.
- Subscribe to a streaming service that carries BBC America (Sling TV, YouTube TV, or Philo)
- On your Roku Menu, navigate to “Search” and press “OK” on your remote
- Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
- Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
- Select “Add Channel” press “OK” on your remote. If the channel is already installed, “Go To Channel” will be an option.
- The App is now installed on your Roku. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. BBC America will be a channel available through the apps live TV guide.
Watch BBC America Live on Fire TV
To watch BBC America on Fire TV, follow these instructions.
- Subscribe to a streaming service that carries BBC America (Sling TV, YouTube TV, or Philo)
- On your Fire TV Home screen, click on the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
- Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
- Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
- Select “Download,” and the channel will install
- The App is now installed on your Fire TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. BBC America will be a channel available through the apps live TV guide.
Watch BBC America Live on Apple TV
To watch BBC America on Apple TV, follow these instructions.
- Subscribe to a streaming service that carries BBC America (Sling TV, YouTube TV, or Philo)
- Scroll right to the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen
- Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
- Select the streaming service click the cloud icon, and the channel will install
- The App is now installed on your Apple TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. BBC America will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.
The BBC America App
The BBC America app on your Apple TV, Roku, or other devices will allow you to watch its shows on-demand if you have a subscription to the streaming services Philo, Fubo TV, and YouTube TV. You can use your login from these services as your TV provider when signing on to the BBC America app. It will unlock all the content on the app. This will allow you to watch on BBC America on your browser, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, or other supported streaming devices.
How To Watch on Your Device
For example, let’s assume we have a Philo TV subscription and a Roku. We can follow the steps below to get the BBC America app working on our device. While the steps below use Philo and Roku to watch BBC America, most streaming services and devices will have the same process.
- Go the channel store or app store on your device. On Roku, it’s called the “Channel Store.”
- Search for BBC America
- Add the BBC America app to your device and then open it.
- Your Roku device will then show you an activation code and a URL.
- Using a computer or mobile web browser, you go to the URL.
- You will then be asked for a TV provider and a username/password. I’m entering the username and password I use for Philo. I’ll supply a full list of TV everywhere apps and supported streaming TV providers in the next section.
- Once you sign in on BBC Americas website, your TV screen will refresh. You should now have access to all the video content the app provides.
