Is IPTV legal? The technology is. The question is about licensing.
This is the most-asked question in the category and almost nobody selling a service will answer it on their own site. Here is the distinction that actually matters, and where we sit in it.
People ask one question and mean another
Almost every confused argument about IPTV comes from collapsing these two things into one.
Is the technology legal?
Yes, completely, and it is not close. IPTV means television delivered over an internet connection instead of a coaxial cable or a satellite dish. YouTube TV is IPTV. So are fubo, Sling, Hulu Live and DirecTV Stream. The protocol is as neutral as email.
Nobody has ever been in trouble for the fact that video arrived over the internet. There is no law about the pipe.
Is a given service licensed?
That is an entirely separate question and it has a different answer for every service. A licensed operator negotiates carriage agreements with each network, the way a cable company does, and pays for them. That is most of why YouTube TV costs $82.99 a month.
A reseller charging $5 a month is not paying for carriage agreements at those rates. The arithmetic does not allow for it, and you should not let anyone tell you otherwise.
What Northstar TV is, and what it is not
Stated plainly, in the same words as our terms, because a disclaimer that only appears in small print is not a disclaimer.
What we are
- A service provider. We operate servers that deliver video to subscribers.
- A reseller of access to a catalogue, sold for a fixed term.
- A small operation that answers on WhatsApp and tells you what it cannot do.
What we are not
- A broadcaster. We do not originate, produce or host any content.
- A rights holder. We hold no broadcasting rights and claim none.
- Affiliated with any network, league or broadcaster named on this site.
- Able to tell you that your use is lawful where you live.
The part we cannot answer for you
Copyright and broadcasting rules differ by country and by state, and they change. Whether your own use of a service is lawful where you live is a question about your jurisdiction and your circumstances, and nothing on this page is legal advice. If the answer matters to you, ask a lawyer rather than a reseller. That includes us.
What you are actually choosing between
There is a straightforward trade here and it is worth looking at squarely rather than through marketing copy on either side.
The licensed route. YouTube TV, fubo, Sling, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream. They publish their carriage deals, sit in official app stores, give you a proper programme guide and a cloud DVR, and let several people watch at once. You pay between $20 and $83 a month, you get fewer channels, and some sport still sits behind extra tiers. What you are buying is certainty, and for plenty of households that is worth the money.
The reseller route. Far cheaper, far broader, no contract, no equipment. What you give up is the certainty, along with multi-screen, catch-up and a guide archive. The legal position is yours to assess rather than something the seller has settled on your behalf.
We sell the second one. We are not going to pretend it is the first one, and we are not going to tell you the licensed services are a rip-off, because they are not. They are expensive for a reason.
Three things to be sceptical about
"100% legal" badges. A reseller cannot make a service licensed by putting a green tick on the pricing page. If a site claims to hold rights, ask which networks and for which territory, and watch what comes back.
"A VPN keeps you safe." A VPN is a privacy and networking tool. It changes nothing about what is lawful. We mention VPNs on this site in exactly one context, as a troubleshooting step for buffering a speed test cannot explain, and never as legal cover.
"Lifetime subscription." Lifetime means the lifetime of the reseller, which in this market is often measured in months. It is also a reasonable signal of how long they expect to be around.
If this page makes you uncomfortable
Then do not subscribe, and we mean it without any sarcasm. We would rather you read this and walk away than pay and feel uneasy about it in week two. The licensed services above are straightforward, they work, and nothing about them requires you to think about any of this.
Our terms and conditions set out the same position in the language that actually binds both of us, and IPTV vs cable covers the practical trade-offs in more detail.
About the legal position
Is IPTV legal in the United States?
IPTV is a delivery technology and the technology itself is entirely legal. YouTube TV, fubo, Sling and Hulu Live are all IPTV. The legal question is never about the technology, it is about whether a particular service holds the rights to the content it carries, which varies service by service.
Does Northstar TV hold broadcasting rights?
We are a service provider. We operate servers that deliver video; we do not originate, produce, host or own any of the content that passes through them, and we hold no affiliation with any network, league or broadcaster named on this site. We make no representation that any particular content is licensed for your territory.
So is it legal for me to subscribe?
That depends on your jurisdiction and on what you watch, and we are not in a position to answer it for you. Copyright and broadcasting rules differ by country and by state. If the answer matters to you, ask a lawyer rather than a reseller, including us. Anyone in this market who gives you a flat yes is telling you what you want to hear.
Which services are definitely licensed?
The ones that publish carriage agreements and appear in official app stores: YouTube TV at $82.99 a month, fubo at $64.99, Sling at $19.99, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream. They are more expensive and carry fewer channels, and they come with the certainty you are paying for. That is a real trade and worth weighing.
Is using a VPN a legal protection?
No. A VPN is a privacy and networking tool, not a legal shield, and nothing about it changes what is or is not lawful. We mention VPNs on this site only as a troubleshooting step for buffering that a speed test cannot explain. Do not treat one as legal cover.
What happens if I am not comfortable with this?
Then do not subscribe, and we mean that. We would rather you read this page and walk away than pay and feel uneasy about it afterwards. The licensed services above are straightforward and we would rather point you at them than argue with you later.
Questions before you decide?
Ask on WhatsApp. We will give you the same answer there as on this page, which is rather the point.
One payment. No auto-renewal. No card kept on file.