IP Television: What It Is, How It Began and Where It’s Used

IP television, usually shortened to IPTV, is television delivered over an Internet Protocol (IP) network instead of through over-the-air antennas, cable coaxial signals or satellite dishes. The channels are sent as data packets to a set-top box, smart TV, phone or computer, which turns them back into pictures and sound. It covers live channels, replays of past programs and on-demand libraries.

That simple idea now sits behind TV packages from phone companies, the screens in hotel rooms and the info displays in offices and stadiums. This article explains what IP television is, where it came from, how it compares with other ways of watching TV and where you will find it in daily life.

IP television defined in plain words

Traditional TV broadcasts every channel at once, all the time. Your TV or tuner simply picks the frequency you want. IP television works the other way round: the provider sends only the channel or video you ask for, at the moment you ask for it.

Because the content travels as IP data, it can share the same line as your internet connection and run on almost any connected device. It also allows features that broadcast TV struggles with, such as pausing live TV, restarting a show that already began, or browsing an on-demand catalog from the same menu as live channels.

The term covers the delivery method, not a specific company or app. A national telecom operator, a hotel system and a subscription app can all be IP television, even though they look very different to the viewer.

A short history of IP television

IP television is older than most people think. It grew in step with broadband.

From there, two paths developed side by side. Telecom operators kept building managed IPTV on their own networks, while internet services began delivering live channels over the public internet as apps. Both are IP television, and the line between them keeps getting thinner.

How IP television differs from cable, satellite and OTT

The easiest way to understand IP television is to compare it with the other ways TV reaches your home.

The key split is between managed IPTV, where the same company owns the network and can reserve capacity for TV, and OTT (over-the-top), where the service travels over whichever internet connection you already have. Many people use “IPTV” for both, which is technically fair since both use IP. For a closer look at the home-viewing tradeoffs, see our comparison of IPTV vs cable.

The three kinds of IP television

Whatever the provider, IP television content falls into three types. Most services offer all three from one menu.

1. Live television

Channels streamed in real time, just like broadcast TV: news, sports, entertainment. On operator networks, live channels are often sent by multicast, which means one copy of a channel is sent through the network and shared by everyone watching it.

2. Time-shifted television

Programs that already aired but can be watched later. This includes catch-up TV (replays of the last few days), start-over (restart a show in progress) and network recording, where your recordings are stored on the provider’s servers instead of a box under your TV.

3. Video on demand (VOD)

A library of films and series you can start at any time. Each viewer gets their own private stream, so you can pause, rewind and skip without affecting anyone else.

Where IP television is used today

Home TV packages are only part of the story. IP television quietly runs in many places you might not think of.

• Telecom and broadband operators. Many phone and fiber companies bundle TV with internet using their own set-top boxes, such as Free, Orange, SFR and Bouygues in France, Deutsche Telekom’s MagentaTV in Germany, Bell’s Fibe TV in Canada and EE TV in the UK (formerly BT TV).
• Hotels and hospitality. Hotel IPTV systems send channels, welcome screens, room-service menus and checkout information to room TVs over the building’s network.
• Businesses and offices. Companies use IPTV to send live news, internal broadcasts and town-hall meetings to screens and desktops across a site.
• Education. Universities and schools stream lectures and campus channels to classrooms and dorms.
• Hospitals, stadiums and transport. Patient-room TV, venue screens showing the live feed, and passenger information displays often run on IP video networks.
• Internet TV subscriptions. App-based services deliver live channels and VOD to smart TVs, streaming sticks and phones over regular home broadband.

The technology behind these setups is similar. What changes is who controls the network, how many screens are involved and what kind of content is sent. If you want the technical side of how streams are encoded and delivered, our guide on how IPTV streaming technology works goes deeper.

Is IP television legal?

Yes. IP television is simply a way of delivering video, and it is used by some of the largest telecom companies in the world. What can be illegal is the content: a service that rebroadcasts channels without holding the rights is breaking copyright law, regardless of the technology. The rules and enforcement vary by country, so check what applies where you live. Our article on the legality of IPTV in Canada shows how this works in one market.

Getting started with IP television at home

At home you have two broad routes. You can take the TV package from your broadband operator, which comes with its own box and usually a contract. Or you can use an app-based service over the internet you already have, which works on smart TVs, streaming sticks and phones and is easier to cancel or move between devices.

For the second route, you will need a decent connection, a compatible device and a player app. Our beginner’s guide to setting up IPTV walks through it step by step. If you want a ready-to-use option, our IPTV Journal plan costs $89 for 12 months and includes live channels, movies and series on all major devices.

FAQ

Is IP television the same as IPTV?

Yes. IPTV is the short form of Internet Protocol television, and IP television is just another way of saying it. Both describe TV delivered as data over an IP network rather than by broadcast signals.

Do I need the internet for IP television?

You need an IP network. For home users that is almost always a broadband connection, either from the operator providing the TV or from any internet provider if you use an app-based service. Hotels and businesses may run IPTV over their own internal networks.

What is the difference between IP television and streaming apps like Netflix?

Netflix is on-demand streaming over the internet, which is one form of IP-delivered video. IP television usually means a service that also includes live, scheduled channels, often with a program guide and catch-up, similar to a cable package.

When was IP television invented?

The name goes back to 1995, when Precept Software created a product called IP/TV. Commercial IPTV over DSL arrived around 1999 in the UK and Canada, and it spread widely in the 2000s as broadband became common.

Is IP television better than cable?

It depends on what you value. IP television offers more flexibility, such as catch-up, on-demand content and viewing on many devices, while cable and satellite do not depend on your internet speed. Many households now prefer IP television for its features and lower setup costs.