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Earlier this year, BBC Studios launched a new audio service outside the UK on BBC.com and the BBC app. This includes BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service English and access to thousands of hours of podcasts.

As part of the announcement, we said we planned to close BBC Sounds to audiences living outside the UK. We can now confirm that BBC Sounds will close for listeners based outside the UK on 21 July 2025.

Can I still listen to live BBC radio if I’m based outside the UK?

Yes. Our radio stations will continue to be available for people outside the UK to listen to live after the closure of BBC Sounds outside the UK. If you live overseas, how you access live radio station may change.

Please refer to the station directory on BBC.com where you can find links to listen to BBC’s radio stations from across the UK. This includes the BBC’s music stations - BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 3, 6Music, 1Xtra and Asian Network, Radio 4Xtra and 5Live, all the BBC’s stations from the UK nations and every local radio station in England. BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service English is available on BBC.com already and will continue to be.

Listening to BBC audio programming on non-BBC platforms will not be affected by this change.

- @SimCityAT

That's a bit rubbish.  I always said that the BBC should have a subscription model for those outside the UK.  I have almost stopped bothering with the BBC. I don't listen to R4 anymore except the odd podcast.  I usually listen to LBC but that's even declining. I get fed up with the repetitive reporting of stories that are in the mainstream.  They continuously repeat them in detail and the only way you wouldn't have known about whatever the story is if you were living under a rock on Mars.  I am also positively avoiding some of the presenters - just so inane.