The Underground World of IPTV
These days, with everything moving at lightning speed in the digital world, streaming services have totally changed how we watch TV and movies. Just a few clicks and you're set with movies, TV shows, and live sports right from your couch. But there's a shady side to all this convenience: illegal IPTV services. These pirating providers offer tons of channels for way less money, making you wonder: should I be cutting the cord and get far more content for a far cheaper price ?
What Is IPTV?
To get what's up with illegal IPTV services, you first need to know about Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Basically, IPTV delivers TV content over the internet instead of the usual cable or satellite. This tech lets you stream channels and on-demand stuff from all over the world, as long as your internet is solid.
While big names like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount and Amazon Prime are killing it in the market, more and more people are checking out other options that offer more channels for less cash due to the incredible high price of lessor legal IPTV services.
A few years ago, I wrote a post about "cutting the cord" in Canada (Cutting The Cord In Canada ) regarding the frustration that surrounds streaming media in our country. The monopolizing "Big 3", Rogers, Bell and Telus, refuse to let streaming live TV services in the country because, well, you guessed it, they will loose money.
If LIVE streaming is allowed in Canada, the monopoly would loose money, so they do everything in their power to have these services blocked from being in Canada. Even the CRTC rules that live streaming content is only allowed if it contains a minimum of 30% Canadian created content. Seeing as how the film and TV industry is predominantly American... we get no LIVE Streaming. But the rest of the world does get it.
Enter illegal IPTV services.
Why Illegal IPTV Services Are So Tempting
The main draw of illegal IPTV services is usually the price and the huge selection of channels. A lot of people are fed up with traditional cable costs, which can go over $100 a month. In contrast, illegal IPTV usually costs between $10 to $30 a month and gives you access to thousands of channels, including big sports events, premium movies, and international shows. So, when the Big 3 control what we are offered at an exorbitant cost to boot, you can now understand why so many are cutting the cord to their services and switching to illegal offerings.
Picture paying just $15 a month for over 1,000 channels instead of the hundreds you'd shell out for cable. It's easy to see why the underground market looks so appealing.
Plus, the ease of access and anonymity these services offer make them even more attractive. A quick search can lead you to tons of IPTV providers promising huge channel lineups with simple setup. This convenience however, often hides the potential downsides.
How Illegal IPTV Services Work
Illegal IPTV services usually work on a subscription basis, much like legit services. You pay a monthly fee and get access to loads of channels, many of which are copyrighted and not meant for redistribution.
These services grab content from official feeds—often illegally—and stream it using certain protocols. While this lets you watch sports and movies for less, the quality can be hit or miss. Buffering, lag, and bad video quality are common complaints, showing the trade-off between saving money and getting good quality. That being said, for the most part, as long as you have stable high speed Internet in your home, the quality is fantastic and the up time is incredibly decent.
Spotting Illegal IPTV Services
Figuring out if an IPTV service is illegal can be tricky. Here are some red flags to watch out for:
- Too Good to Be True Pricing: If a service offers a super low monthly rate compared to mainstream options, be careful. Cheap services often mean legal risks with the content you're accessing.
- Shady Websites: Legit IPTV providers care about their online look. If a site looks sketchy, lacks clear contact info, or just seems unprofessional, it might be a scam. They also like to "hide" the offered services behind server hosting lingo or hosted "web services" without a clear indication of what you are getting.
- Limited Payment Methods: Trustworthy companies usually offer several secure payment options. If a service only takes cryptocurrency or weird payment methods, it might be illegal.
Legal Consequences of Using Illegal IPTV Services
Although getting tons of content for cheap sounds great, using illegal IPTV services can possibly land you in serious legal trouble.
Using these services can lead to lawsuits and big fines. Many content creators are stepping up their game against illegal streaming, using advanced tech to track unauthorized viewers. Law enforcement can trace IP addresses of users watching pirated content, leading to warnings or serious legal trouble.
Governments around the world are also seriously cracking down, shutting down illegal streaming services and going after prosecutions. The number of successful convictions is rising substantially, but some users mistakenly think they're safe, not knowing the real risks.
However, these crackdowns are not pointed at the end users of the services, for the most part. It is all about taking down the pirating providers. Most of these providers do not save any identifiable information of their customers and therefore there is nothing to handover to the feds to incriminate the end user. Although, not all providers follow this practice and there are several that end up having to handover client information. This is where you can get into some legal trouble for using pirated services. But for the most part, unless you are reselling these services illegally, you are not likely getting into any serious trouble. BUT:
If your internet provider has caught on to you however, in where you are using their offered internet service to stream pirated content, they have every right to cut your service and take legal action against you. This has happened to many people I know. For this reason, many end users implemented VPN services to hide their internet traffic from their providers. Those that didn't know any better however, didn't hide their traffic and have been subject to fines and further legal action. So, when we originally saw this big jump in advertising and awareness to get a VPN for your security... this was why. Millions of users were onboard the illegal IPTV train and looking for ways to hide their locale and online data use.
Legal Alternatives to Illegal IPTV Services
Before you jump into illegal IPTV services, think about the many legit options available now, that offer better value in terms of legality, quality, and customer support.
- Free Streaming Channels: Platforms like Pluto TV, Tubi, and Crackle offer free streaming channels funded by ads. While their content might be limited and not recent, they let you watch legally without spending money. Our household uses these services and they are very good for watching re-runs of shows and older movies. Yes, there is advertising however, it is far less than traditional cable/satellite TV.
- Broadband Bundles: Many internet providers offer packages that include streaming services. These bundles can save you a lot compared to traditional cable plans but, now with the market being highly competitive, pricing is relatively equal. Unfortunately, these prices are skyrocketing rather than coming down.
- Subscription Services: Services like Hulu, Disney+, Paramount, Amazon Prime TV, and HBO Max have huge libraries of both recent and past content including limited Live TV content as well. Many of these platforms even offer free trials to new users, so you can try them out before fully committing and the pricing is fairly decent especially if you catch some of their deals around the holidays.
Protecting Yourself Online
If you still insist on going with the illegal offerings, always ensure you are protecting yourself when online:
- Use a VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can help keep your identity safe by hiding your online activity. But remember, using a VPN doesn't make illegal activities legal.
- Stay Informed: Keeping up with changes in online piracy laws can help you make smarter decisions about your streaming options.
- Check for Secure Servers: Some illegal IPTV services can expose you to malware risks. Only go for services with strong cybersecurity reputations.
Wrapping Up
The underground world of illegal IPTV services might be tempting, but it can have it's risks and pose potential legal trouble. While the idea of getting tons of content for cheap is appealing, there can be consequences.
But, trust me, I get the frustration and the huge temptation to use such services. I myself have even used them in the past. The control that the Big 3 have in our country is absolutely absurd. Beit for TV, internet or mobile data, Canadian residents pay the most expensive rates in the world. Yes, in the world! And why? For lessor services, quality and options? How is this allowed?
And, even in a more ridiculous way, the Canadian government has stepped in a couple times to order forcing the pricing down by insisting there be market competition and allowance of smaller companies to fairly compete. But how can they? Many have started and tried but do not have the funds to wire their own infrastructure across a province, let alone across the country, so they are forced to "rent" access from the Big 3's infrastructure. The costs are too high for this rent and therefore, these smaller companies cannot survive so... guess what happens? The Big 3 buy them up and run them. So while we see several companies offering Internet, TV, phone and mobile services in Canada - in reality - it's just the Big 3 controlling and owning it all. And, they set the rules -while they feed massive amounts of "donations" from their profits to political parties. Right Rogers? Yeah, I called you out. As does the rest of the fed-up Canadian citizens.
If you didn't get a chance to see the hilarious (but sadly true) sketch that a comedy sketch group, Extremely Decent, put together a few years ago to bring awareness of Canada's frustrations and report some facts along the way in a very funny message, check them out below 🚨🚨Foul Language🚨🚨:
Thankfully, there are many legit streaming alternatives that offer safer, more reliable, and often more enjoyable viewing experiences. Unfortunately, for those that are on a tight budget, you will need to pick wisely for the best service that has the most to offer for the lowest price. Many do offer a now much cheaper starting price-point that has some advertising during your viewing sessions while not overly intrusive so they can be quite tolerable. But, for those that don't want advertising, and want a selection of on-demand TV and prime movies including Disney offerings, Amazon and Paramount exclusive shows and Netflix specials, be ready to put out near $100 a month on top of your monthly Basic Cable or Satellite offerings for Live TV. Whichever road you choose to travel for your streaming services, be safe, be mindful, do your diligence and do your research. Happy Streaming!
