The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » IPTV: The Most Complete Expert Guide For Canadian Cord-Cutters

RadioActive · April 6, 2026 5:42 pm

I'm a bit skeptical of some of the advice in this article. And I have to agree with the one comment on the page so far- the author never refers to whether you can get U.S. networks or other cross border services. It may be cheaper than cable, but what's the point if what you want to watch isn't there?

I'm not really familiar with IPTV, but frankly, it sounds too good to be true.

For what it's worth, here's one expert's advice. Is he right?

IPTV: The Most Complete Expert Guide For Canadian Cord-Cutters

RadioAaron · April 6, 2026 5:54 pm

Yes, they're real, and yes you get US networks. All of them, including cable, movie channels and all sports packs and PPVs.

What the article really isn't telling you is that they're illegal. They're pirating streams/signals and re-streaming them without permission.

As an end user, you're safe. It's those providing the services that are taking the risk.

(Also, the term IPTV is misleading. Most cable tv is now IPTV.)

RadioActive · April 6, 2026 6:04 pm

I admit to knowing next to nothing about this. Is there an equivalent of a DVR included? Plus, I'm not a fan of piracy, so there's that. And as a former C-Band satellite owner, I well remember the days of the altered cards. What guarantee does a buyer have that the entire thing won't go down, or that you won't lose certain channels?

RadioAaron · April 6, 2026 6:17 pm

You get a virtual DVR for a few extra bucks a month.

There's no guarantee you won't lose channels or the whole thing won't go down, but there's also no commitment, upfront, or equipment cost, There's also a ton of redundancy; one I "know of" has at least 20 local channels for each American network, for example.

Last edited by RadioAaron (April 6, 2026 6:20 pm)

RadioActive · April 6, 2026 6:34 pm

And that non-reliability is exactly what was the worst thing about the C-Band days. You could come home one day and find you're totally blacked out. I know people in those pre-Internet days who would come home hoping to watch a show they'd taped (VCRs in those days), only to find the channel either with no audio or a completely black screen.

A friend of mine went this route and the lack of dependability drove him crazy. He finally just took out his credit card and subscribed to the channels he wanted. Not cheap, but he was sure it would be there when he turned on his system.

RadioActive · April 6, 2026 6:41 pm

Just in case anyone's curious, here's a C-Band satellite price list from a now long gone company called Murphy's Programming Service. It was quasi-illegal - they would establish you a U.S. address and you could get things like HBO and Showtime. But you did pay for what you were getting, it was very reliable and you didn't need to pay for any channels you didn't want - unlike cable!

It sure was fun while it lasted.

RadioAaron · April 6, 2026 6:57 pm

The reliability of the best of these services is likely a lot better. The one "know of" hasn't failed in two years. And a home internet provider that offers free or almost free basic service makes a nice backup.

Radiowiz · April 6, 2026 11:44 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
As an end user, you're safe. It's those providing the services that are taking the risk.

It goes beyond that.
Some of these IPTV services invite people to become a reseller.
Doing so is not wise. You will be treated the same as the original provider of the service when it comes to being caught. Investing in the reselling business is just not worth the risk.

RadioActive · April 7, 2026 6:15 am

The more I read, the more I think of that line from the movie "War Games" - the only way to win is not to play.

Shorty Wave · April 7, 2026 8:30 am

RadioAaron wrote:
Yes, they're real, and yes you get US networks. All of them, including cable, movie channels and all sports packs and PPVs.

What the article really isn't telling you is that they're illegal. They're pirating streams/signals and re-streaming them without permission.

They’re completely illegal and that’s why I take issue with them, you’re essentially stealing. I had the same problem with knock off DVDs etc. back when they were popular, even bootlegs LPs for that matter, going way back! Theft is theft.

Radiowiz · April 7, 2026 9:57 am

Shorty Wave wrote:
They’re completely illegal and that’s why I take issue with them, you’re essentially stealing. I had the same problem with knock off DVDs etc. back when they were popular, even bootlegs LPs for that matter, going way back! Theft is theft.

The better argument is that if they were to stop at only offering what an antenna everywhere town to town picks up, it wouldn't have been theft. It's all this crap about not having to pay Netflix or some of the others ever again that rubs me the wrong way.
OTA is not theft. If it is than please shut that down too.

*Adding to that, if a sports game (ie hockey) is airing on an American channel that is not available here, carrying the American viewpoint should be allowed freely on IPTV.
However, I do agree that if it's an ESPN game (in the States, or any non OTA game blacked out in your market) ordering the Sports pack here in Canada should be the only way to be able to watch it leagally.

Long story short, if it's an OTA channel from anywhere, it's not stealing. If it is, then shut the whole OTA thing down too.

Last edited by Radiowiz (April 7, 2026 10:13 am)

mace · April 7, 2026 11:12 am

I have a friend who went the IPTV route. He is a huge NFL fan. He gets NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX from the top 60 U.S. markets, so he says it is far better than Sunday Ticket. Only drawback, no access to PBS.

Shorty Wave · April 8, 2026 8:24 am

Radiowiz wrote:
Shorty Wave wrote:
They’re completely illegal and that’s why I take issue with them, you’re essentially stealing. I had the same problem with knock off DVDs etc. back when they were popular, even bootlegs LPs for that matter, going way back! Theft is theft.
The better argument is that if they were to stop at only offering what an antenna everywhere town to town picks up, it wouldn't have been theft. It's all this crap about not having to pay Netflix or some of the others ever again that rubs me the wrong way.
OTA is not theft. If it is than please shut that down too.

*Adding to that, if a sports game (ie hockey) is airing on an American channel that is not available here, carrying the American viewpoint should be allowed freely on IPTV.
However, I do agree that if it's an ESPN game (in the States, or any non OTA game blacked out in your market) ordering the Sports pack here in Canada should be the only way to be able to watch it leagally.

Long story short, if it's an OTA channel from anywhere, it's not stealing. If it is, then shut the whole OTA thing down too.

Good post Radiowiz. I agree that OTA channels should not considered theft.

RadioAaron · April 8, 2026 8:55 am

Shorty Wave wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:
Shorty Wave wrote:
They’re completely illegal and that’s why I take issue with them, you’re essentially stealing. I had the same problem with knock off DVDs etc. back when they were popular, even bootlegs LPs for that matter, going way back! Theft is theft.
The better argument is that if they were to stop at only offering what an antenna everywhere town to town picks up, it wouldn't have been theft. It's all this crap about not having to pay Netflix or some of the others ever again that rubs me the wrong way.
OTA is not theft. If it is than please shut that down too.

*Adding to that, if a sports game (ie hockey) is airing on an American channel that is not available here, carrying the American viewpoint should be allowed freely on IPTV.
However, I do agree that if it's an ESPN game (in the States, or any non OTA game blacked out in your market) ordering the Sports pack here in Canada should be the only way to be able to watch it leagally.

Long story short, if it's an OTA channel from anywhere, it's not stealing. If it is, then shut the whole OTA thing down too.

Good post Radiowiz. I agree that OTA channels should not considered theft.

What it's an OTA station from another market? You've taken a viewer from a local station, and therefore cost them potential ad revenue.

mace · April 9, 2026 7:55 am

RadioAaron wrote:
Shorty Wave wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:

The better argument is that if they were to stop at only offering what an antenna everywhere town to town picks up, it wouldn't have been theft. It's all this crap about not having to pay Netflix or some of the others ever again that rubs me the wrong way.
OTA is not theft. If it is than please shut that down too.

*Adding to that, if a sports game (ie hockey) is airing on an American channel that is not available here, carrying the American viewpoint should be allowed freely on IPTV.
However, I do agree that if it's an ESPN game (in the States, or any non OTA game blacked out in your market) ordering the Sports pack here in Canada should be the only way to be able to watch it leagally.

Long story short, if it's an OTA channel from anywhere, it's not stealing. If it is, then shut the whole OTA thing down too.

Good post Radiowiz. I agree that OTA channels should not considered theft.
What it's an OTA station from another market? You've taken a viewer from a local station, and therefore cost them potential ad revenue.

Likely why the Timeshifting feature Canadian cable subscribers enjoy will never be available south of the border. The folks at WGRZ/WIVB/WKBW would go on spin cycle if some viewers were watching west coast network primetime programming instead of the local 11pm news.

RadioActive · April 23, 2026 5:42 am

This should help answer a lot of questions.

Is Your IPTV Service Legal in Canada? A 2026 Guide

The Weed · April 23, 2026 2:10 pm

RadioActive wrote:
This should help answer a lot of questions.

Is Your IPTV Service Legal in Canada? A 2026 Guide

The IPTV service linked to in the article - https://iptvcad.ca/canada/ - is, IMHO, a little suspect as they have an @gmail address rather than a domain address and when I try to access the link to Movies, Sports, etc., I'm returned to the same page, not taken to a new page. No install instructions for Sony TVs. And the $79 price for an annual subscription seems low. Not saying the service is not legit, just pointing out some, for me, red flags.