It is kind of funny really, at the same time people in America complain that they can't watch BBC shows and series that they like without buying the DVDs, across the drink people want to watch Hulu in the UK for the same reasons. There is a cable option for BBC America, but it is usually part of a premium package and only has certain shows. PBS has BBC news, and they run the same Brit comedies from the 90's over and over again, but it is not the same, so fans of Foleys War for instance had to wait a year for the DVDs to be available on Netflix, as that is the usual time the networks make you wait before distributing on of their shows.

Over in the UK people want to watch a lot of the popular American shows that are currently running or some of the series like Lost and Friends that recently completed their run. They get a taste of some of these shows like and want to see more or the complete series and not just what the happen to show on the networks and cable. They run into the same problem the same seasons of Law and Orders are shown over and over again, and that want to see them all.

The reason you cannot go online and stream shows from other countries comes down to a financial deal. The BBC sells the show to American TV and American sells the rights to shows to BBC. If you could go online to a place like Hulu that has tons of American television shows available, and down load for free, then they would lose money, so for now you cannot watch Hulu in the UK and the same goes for Americans with Brit shows. They way they can tell where you live is with your IP address, and if you do not live in the country where the show was produced or where the rights are owned, then you can't download or stream the televisions show.

There is one way that seems to work, and that is with a virtual private network. What these do is give you an IP address in the country where the VPN servers are. Most people use these to enhance their Internet security so they can safely do business online and protect sensitive, confidential and personal information. But it also works as a way to watch Hulu in the UK by giving you a United States IP address.