The 74th annual awards show of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will be held on April 10 and 11, at 7PM and 8PM GMT, respectively. The biggest stars of British film will be there, sporting their best outfits and crossed fingers hoping for an award-winning outcome. Fans can stream the 2021 BAFTA live online, even if you’re abroad and outside of the UK or US.
Please note that we will only recommend official sources in this guide. Most popular events, like the BAFTAs 2021, are carried by official broadcasters and unlicensed streamers alike. However, unlicensed streaming sources often come with significant negatives, including poor quality streams, long buffering times, and malware on the site or apps offering such streams. Thankfully, there are plenty of legitimate sources, meaning you’ll be able to watch the awards show with no hassle and in high quality.
To watch the awards show on your usual services for free, you may need a VPN if you’re traveling abroad outside the US or UK.
How to live stream the BAFTAs 2021 online (for free)
If you’re in the US or UK, you’ll be able to watch BAFTA 2021 free online. If you’re abroad, however, you may need to follow these steps to bypass geographic content blocks.
Here’s how to live stream the BAFTAs from anywhere (for free):
- First, sign up for a qualified VPN service. We recommend NordVPN but Surfshark and ExpressVPN are both trustworthy, secure alternatives.
- Download the VPN app onto the device you plan to stream the 2021 BAFTAs.
- Connect to a VPN server in either the UK or the US, depending on which streaming source you’re using.
- Connect to the streaming option you plan to use while connected to your VPN server. (Note: You will need US payment method to sign up for the free options in the US; the payment method is used to verify location. If you encounter VPN blocking messages, try clearing your browser cache, cookies, and other location-identifying temporary files.
BAFTA 2021 will be broadcast live with on-demand streams available later. If you want to avoid social media spoilers, watching the live stream is likely going to be your best option. For this reason, we recommend testing your VPN ahead of time.
How to watch the 2021 BAFTAs for free on UK TV
As in past years, the BBC holds broadcast rights for the BAFTA awards. The 74th BAFTA awards will be available on TV and online through a few streaming options.
For most people, BBC iPlayer will be the easiest way to watch. This service doesn’t cost anything to use, although you will have to create an account beforehand. Additionally, you’ll need a TV license, even if you’re only watching this event on-demand.
Having trouble accessing BBC iPlayer? You might have more luck with TVPlayer. This is an entirely legitimate service that offers live streams of many British free-to-air channels.
If you are abroad (outside the UK, US) you can still watch the BAFTAs by getting a UK IP address using a VPN. We recommend NordVPN. This service isn’t just fast and versatile, it also offers a risk-free 30-day money back guarantee. In other words, you can just cancel during this time to receive a full refund.
How to Watch Bafta 2021 on US TV
To watch the BAFTAs for free in the US, you’ll need to sign up to one of several cord-cutting services that carry BBC America. Most of these services come with a seven-day free trial, meaning you can sign up, watch the 74th BAFTA awards show, and then cancel your subscription right after.
The following “skinny bundle” TV services carry BBC America:
- Philo: 7-day free trial, $20/mo after
- fuboTV: 7-day free trial, $64.99/mo after
- Sling TV (Orange Package): 7-day free trial, $35/mo after
- YouTube TV: 7-day free trial, $64.99/mo after
If you’re currently traveling outside of the US, you can still use these services by getting a US IP address with a VPN. However, you’ll need a US-based credit card to sign up, as all of these services require location verification through a verified payment account.
How to watch BAFTAs 2021 on German or Swiss TV
If you’re in Germany or have a VPN to access a German service, you can use the free live TV service Zattoo to watch BAFTAs 2021 on BBC One.
Zattoo is a free over-the-top TV service located in Europe and available in Germany and Switzerland. It offers a wide variety of German and British TV channels and its free package includes BBC One.
Anyone connecting to Zattoo with an IP address from outside of Switzerland or Germany will be blocked from accessing it. However, this service does not appear to be blocking VPN servers.
How to watch BAFTA film awards on Kodi
If you want to watch the awards show on your TV device, using Kodi instead of a browser, here are your options.
What is Kodi?
Warning: Kodi should only be used for content to which you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocates the use of Kodi for piracy.
iPlayer WWW Kodi addon
The iPlayer Kodi addon will allow you to connect to bbc.co.uk/iplayer and play videos without using a web browser. It can be found in the official Kodi repository. To install it, click addons from the Kodi main menu. Then click download → video addons → iPlayer WWW → install.
Zattoo Box Kodi addon
The Zattoo Box Kodi addon will allow you to connect to Zattoo without using a web browser. It can be found in the official Kodi repository. To install it, click addons → download → video addons → Zattoo Box → install.
Once you’ve got Zattoo Box installed, right-click it and select information. From there, click configure and input your username and password in the fields provided. After this step, click OK and then Open. You’ll see options to view “live TV – favorites,” “live TV – all channels,” or “Recordings.” Select live TV – all channels. From the channel menu that appears, select BBC One.
2021 BAFTAs: Nominees
See also:
- How to watch BBC iPlayer outside of the U.K.
- The best Kodi repos and some to be wary of
- How to watch BBC iPlayer on Kodi outside the UK
