Ask LH: When Is Planet Earth 2 Coming To Australia?

Dear Lifehacker, How can I watch Planet Earth 2 legally in Australia? I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second series ever since it was announced. The show is now playing on the BBC but doesn’t appear to be available locally. I refuse to watch low-quality snippets on the internet – it needs to be on my big screen telly in full HD! Do you know when/if it’s coming to the ABC? Thanks, Attenborough Disciple

Dear AD,

For the uninitiated, Planet Earth II is a wildlife documentary series that follows on from the award-winning original. Filmed entirely in 4K with the assistance of drones and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it is a landmark achievement in documentary filmmaking and may prove to be the tipping point for 4K TVs. Here’s the official trailer:

Planet Earth II will indeed be coming to Aussie free-to-air television in Australia – but not for a while. In a recent statement, the BBC confirmed that Channel Nine will broadcast the show in Australia. However, it won’t premiere until some time in 2017.

This means we’re looking at a wait of at least two months to watch in Australia. By then, it’s conceivable that the series could already be available to buy on Blu-ray or via digital download.

Alternatively, if you have a VPN you can watch the series right now using BBC iPlayer. You can use the web app to watch the show on PCs, tablets, phones, video game consoles and connected TVs.

The legalities of this are a bit dubious, but there are currently no laws in Australia prohibiting the circumvention of geo-blocks. You can find some of our personal VPN recommendations here.

Cheers
Lifehacker

Got your own question you want to put to Lifehacker? Send it using our [contact text=”contact form”].


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


3 responses to “Ask LH: When Is Planet Earth 2 Coming To Australia?”