Best Kodi add-ons for use in the UK

There are hundreds of add-ons for Kodi. Many don't work, some give you access to content which is illegal to view in the UK such as copyrighted movies, sport and television series, and some seem to just be too niche to be any use to most people in the UK (Gun reviews in Russian anyone?). Amongst them are some gems. Here is a post to help UK Kodi users find the diamonds in the rough.

BBC iPlayer This essential add-on allows streaming of live and BBC TV and radio and catch-up TV from the iPlayer database. It has a much simpler menu system than the layout on BBC's content-heavy iPlayer website, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference. Personally I like its simplicity and aside from Cmyth (see below), this is my most used add-on.

ITV Player Again, another essential add-on for UK viewers. Not quite as slick as the iPlayer add-on in terms of menu layout, but still easy to use, and allows streaming of live ITV broadcasts across ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 as well as streaming catch-up TV from ITV player's database.

USTVnow UK viewers can get live (HD for several months before reverting to SD) access to 6 US channels, for free. ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, CW, and PBS). OK, this one is a bit of a grey area as it is designed for US citizens living abroad, and requires you to tick a box saying so. However, the only time I use this add-on is when my American pal visits to watch the superbowl. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! If you visit https://www.ustvnow.com/ and sign up for free registration, you can then add your username and password to the USTVnow add-on settings and the add-on will stream these free to view channels in Kodi.

Youtube Allows quick and easy access to Youtube direct from 

Kodi. Unfortunately, Youtube seems to have limited access to some DRM-protected content such as official music videos, meaning they can't be viewed from Kodi, but you could view them via a browser. Nonetheless, still a useful add-on.

Radio If BBC radio isn't broad enough for your listening tastes (Zouk, anyone?), Radio gives you access to hundreds, maybe even thousands (I haven't counted - let's just say, lots!) of international radio stations, which you can search by popularity, genre, topic, country, city, language, or search for local stations.








FilmOn Allows access to free to air channels from UK Freeview and many others around the world. The picture quality is not particularly good, but this is made up for by the range of channels available.









Spotimc You'll need a premium Spotify account for this to work. If so, installing this add on lets you search for music, browse for music and play your favourite playlists, all from inside Kodi.





This is just a small selection of the Kodi add-ons out there, and these happen to be my most often used ones. I also use a MythTV add-on which connects to my MythTV backend for me to watch and record UK Freeview TV and Radio.

Hope this list has been of some use to other Kodi users in the UK.

BBC iPlayer add-on for Kodi, and Channel 4's 4oD

After being stopped by BBC several months ago, I've just noticed that the BBC iPlayer add-on for Kodi is working again. I can now watch live BBC TV and access all iPlayer's catch-up recordings via this add-on.

This is good news as I no longer have to access it via browser - the Kodi addon works so well and is far easier to navigate and find programmes than BBC's own iPlayer web site.

If only Channel 4 would allow such third party access to their 4oD service, too. I appreciate it is available on Windows PCs, iOS, Android, some games consoles, Smart TVs and set top boxes, but Channel 4's use of DRM restricts access to viewing via one of these devices. So, my only way of accessing 4oD is via Android - not a great viewing experience! Come on Channel 4, please open up http://m.channel4.com/4od/ once again so that third party 4oD apps can work again. I've tweeted Channel 4 with this request and on the form at http://www.channel4.com/4viewers/contact-us. You could do the same if this matters to you, too.

Watch live terrestrial UK TV and catch-up TV on XBMC

As well as watching your film and listening to your music collection, XBMC's add-ons are a great way of being able to access content on the web including access to UK Freeview live TV and radio streams and catch-up TV including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

The process is straightforward enough, with plenty of guides on the internet, but here is one which I found really clear and easy to follow (thanks to Jamestonbradley).

Once you've added the relevant add-ons, you should be able to view UK TV (BBC content is intended to be viewed in the UK only, so if your IP address is non-UK, you may not be able to view BBC streams).

This should also give you enough practice with video add-ons to be able to search through the hundreds of other add-ons available to see if there is anything else that is of interest to you e.g. MTV music videos, IMDB movie trailers, various kids TV channels, classic movies, extreme sports, cooking, the list goes on... have a look here to see a list of some of the video add-ons available.