How to watch BBC and ITV in Ireland

You can watch BBC and ITV in Ireland legally, and for free: the channels are broadcast free-to-air by satellite, and a dish with a free-to-air or combo box picks them up. BBC iPlayer and ITVX are a different story. Neither is offered in the Republic of Ireland.

Can I watch BBC and ITV in Ireland for free?

Yes. The BBC and ITV channels are on the free satellite line-up broadcast from Astra 28.2°E, a group of satellites that beams hundreds of TV and radio channels to homes in the UK and Ireland. It’s the same position Sky uses.

Free means free. An Irish satellite retailer describes it as €0 a month, with a one-off cost for the box and the installation. There’s no contract to sign and nobody to ring when you want to leave.

You do still need an Irish TV licence, €160 a year, as with any telly. The TV licence rules are their own page.

Which BBC and ITV channels do I get?

This is from the Freesat channel list as updated in January 2026. A generic box lists the channels in its own order.

That’s the main BBC and ITV channels in HD, the news, and enough CBeebies to buy you a quiet hour. The rest of the line-up, and what’s changed lately, is on free satellite channels.

What the dish doesn’t give you is anything Irish. RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4 come through a Saorview aerial, and Saorview in turn has no BBC or ITV on it. Which is why the sensible setup is both.

What kit do I need?

Three things.

• A dish. If Sky ever lived at your address, there may be one on the wall. An Irish satellite retailer’s FAQ says you can simply replace the Sky box with a free-to-air box to get the free UK channels. If the dish was used with Sky Q, the LNB on it has to be changed to a standard one first.
• A box. A free-to-air satellite receiver does the job. A combo box does it better: it takes the dish and the Saorview aerial and puts the Irish and UK channels on one remote.
• Someone to point it. A dish has to be aimed precisely. Most people get it done. Prices are on aerial and satellite installation costs.

No dish, no aerial, no idea what’s on the roof? Aerials explains the Irish side, and an installer can tell you in one visit what you already have.

Are BBC and ITV on Sky or Virgin Media in Ireland?

Some of them. Pay TV line-ups here are not the same as the UK ones, so check before you sign anything on the strength of one channel.

A few things to take from that.

• The BBC One and BBC Two on Sky’s Irish streaming list are the Northern Ireland versions.
• ITV1 is the gap. It isn’t on the Irish Sky Stream and Sky Glass list, and RXTV noted in January 2025 that ITV isn’t on Sky’s main channel list in the Republic. Virgin Media’s list shows ITV3 and ITV4 only.
• Channel 4 is on both. Channel 5 is on neither list we checked.

Line-ups change, and channel numbers change more often. Treat the table as a snapshot and check the provider’s own guide before paying. Virgin Media’s channel list (official source, opens in a new tab)

If ITV1 is the one you’re after, the dish is the answer. It costs nothing a month and it has the lot. Our Sky review covers what Sky is actually good for.

Can I get BBC iPlayer in Ireland?

No. The BBC’s help pages put it plainly: BBC iPlayer is funded by the UK TV licence and its use is restricted to UK residents only. It also says you need to be in the UK to stream or download programmes or watch BBC TV channels on iPlayer, because of rights agreements.

That’s the BBC’s rule, and this site isn’t going to suggest a way around it.

What the BBC does offer people outside the UK, by its own list: BBC News, BBC Sport, BBC podcasts and BBC radio through the BBC.com app or BBC Audio.

Does ITVX work in Ireland?

No. ITV’s help centre says you need to be in the UK to watch ITVX. Same answer as iPlayer, and the same response from us.

So how do I catch up on BBC and ITV programmes?

The honest answer is that the broadcast channels are what’s on offer here, so the catch-up is whatever you arrange yourself.

• Record it. Some combo boxes record. Recording free-to-air telly to watch later is what a recorder is for. Combo boxes says which ones do it.
• Use the +1 channels. ITV1 +1, Channel 4 +1 and the rest are on the satellite line-up. An hour’s grace, free.
• Look the title up. Where to watch lists which service has which title in Ireland, checked on Irish pages. If a series is on a service that operates here, that’s where you’ll find it.
• Use the Irish players for Irish telly. The Irish broadcasters have their own apps, built for here. Just normal telly puts the whole free setup together.

What does it all cost?

Monthly: nothing. The channels are free-to-air and stay that way whether or not you ever ring anyone.

One-off: the box, plus a dish and fitting if there isn’t one already. Irish installers publish their prices, and we’ve collected them on aerial and satellite installation costs. If the dish is already there, it’s a smaller job.

The short version

BBC and ITV in Ireland: yes, free, by satellite, with a dish and a box. iPlayer and ITVX: no, and that’s that. Get the dish checked, add a Saorview aerial, put both into a combo box, and you’ve a telly that does both islands without a bill. For everything that isn’t on either, the finder does the sums.