CCT #153 – Police Crackdown on IPTV & Piracy, AT&T Could Lose Sinclair Locals, & More

Story #1 Giveaway! Enter Now to Win a Channel Master Stream+ DVR, Smartenna+ Antenna & a $100 Hulu Gift Card! https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/giveaway-enter-now-to-win-an-channel-master-stream-dvr-smartenna-antenna-a-100-hulu-gift-card/

Story #2 Sinclair Locals Could Go Dark on DIRECTV & AT&T TV NOW Next Week https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/att-sinclair-agree-to-a-7-day-extension-to-keep-sinclair-locals-on-directv-att-tv/

Story #3 Best Buy & Staples Are Being Sued For Encouraging Piracy & Selling “Pirate Devices” https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/best-buy-staples-are-being-sued-for-encouraging-piracy-selling-pirate-devices/

Story #4 Police Shutdown an Illegal IPTV Service With 50 Million Subscribers https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/police-shutdown-an-illegal-iptv-service-with-50-million-subscribers/

Story #5 The FBI Seizes iStreamItAll For Copyright Infringement https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/the-fbi-seizes-istreamitall-for-copyright-infringement/

Story #6 98% of Cord Cutters Say They Will Never Go Back to Cable TV According to New Study From Roku https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/98-of-cord-cutters-say-they-will-never-go-back-to-cable-tv-according-to-new-study/

Story #7 Acorn TV Reaches One Million Subscribers https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/acorn-tv-reaches-one-million-subscribers/

Story #8 Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks Are on Sale, But New Fire TV Sticks Could Be Coming Next Week https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/amazons-fire-tv-sticks-are-on-sale-but-new-fire-tv-sticks-could-be-coming-next-week/

I have had Acorn TV for a couple of years now and have enjoyed the content. It’s great for binge watching. Downside is the content rotates out and some of the series skip seasons. I was excited for BritBox to come along which is very good. I had hoped the competition between the two would offer a better library of content and newer series.

HULU Account Compromised .. it's pretty rare that I ever have anything compromised, but apparently someone logged into my account. Here's my experience:

I received a couple email notifications, one was for my daughter's new iPhone (fine), but another about a Browser and an LG V20 phone in Arizona.

Immediately I DEAUTHORIZED the connection and then called Hulu. Unfortunately Hulu wasn't too helpful, I was trying to find out if it was a brutal attack or simply a login. Since Hulu said they use CAPTCHA challenge .. either my kid gave them the login information or a phone is compromised or the Hulu system is compromised. We do use Google's Login Service, if that's compromised countless millions are SOL big-time.

Next I changed every single streaming password. Unfortunately I had one set for all our streaming services to make KISS Login for Dummies. Now they're all unique.

My next concern .. example if you take into account say 10 Passwords (times) 10 Devices = you have the potential of 100 NEW and dare I say fun Logins. Flaw Pro vs Con .. Thankfully or is it "thankfully" LINKED devices are still ALL Authorized. It's a problem if ANY of the Linked Devices are PIRATED! So easy in one hand but now I have the potential nightmares of determining if any linked is indeed Pirated.

My conclusion of thoughts .. 1. Don't use the same Login even on something so simple as low priority Streaming Services. 2. Act Fast if there's any suspicious activity to minimize the headaches and damage. 3. Not all Streaming Services are secure as others. Most are lacking in 2FA or other similar good protection schemes.

Only Google and Philo based services have an easy 2FA, Google requires you to set-up 2FA. Amazon also offers 2FA but I don't recommend SMS, instead a 2FA AWS like a U2F, MFA or a virtual like Google Authenticator which frankly are often too complex for the average person.

Prioritize any stream service with unique usernames and passwords with services that have access to your credit cards: Amazon, Apple, Google, Movies Anywhere, Music services, etc

Roku came with my TCL tv, have not yet found a reason to use the Roku service.

I have 2 TCL Roku tvs with Netflix. In the past I've spent thousands with Dish. Will I go back? Not so. Don't miss it. Sometimes I feel enticed by Disney+ & Prime. Do I want to spend more? Not really.

All this talk of lawsuits against these streaming services and possibly going after subscribers makes me a little nervous. How can you know if a streaming service is legal to use? Just because a streaming service charges money, or they say they are allowed to stream TV apparently doesn’t make it true. I have a Roku device and I only install what Roku offers through it’s channels store for streaming services. Locast TV is available through Roku and I tried it. But now I’m hearing that Locast is being sued by most of the major broadcast networks. So just because it’s in the Roku app store doesn’t mean it’s always going to be legal. Are the other so called free streaming services really legal or are they on the verge of being sued and judged as well? Will they come after the subscribers(me) and ask them to pay $thousand$?

I wish I could put up an antenna and just use a VCR/DVR to record shows. But there are no TV signals in my area. It’s either cable, satellite, or streaming.

All paths lead back to Hollywood and the entertainment media industry. They are the worst of the worst of corporatists, price gouging and ripping people off. I cannot wait for the day when they're as financially bankrupt as they are morally bankrupt.

I just called spectrum and cancelled my cable they're going to charge me $70 for internet which is better than $225 with tv cable bundle. I bought a $16 antenna from wal-mart and I get 12 local channels plus I have my firestick which I like😀

Cut the cord about 4 years ago and will never go back to cable. Since cutting the cord we watch way less tv too, which is great, we only watch what and when we want 🙂

Stealing is stealing

They would likely go after resellers, but not end users. It wouldn't be worth their time and effort to go after individuals since they could only charge them for copyright infringement. They didn't profit from it. Those that do profit are subject to more serious laws and higher damage claims. For the cost of suing end users, the benefit would be too small and they could even loose money doing it.

I cut the cord two months ago and I could not be happier. I left DirecTV where they were charging me around four times and the service was mediocre at best. Satellite loss during heavy Florida showers frequently led to recordings of searching for satellite signal and missed programming. I like the ability of paying for what I watch and disconnecting something hassle free when the service goes stale or just trying new content without long term commitment. Services online have easier access to content and online DVR service means my shows get recorded even if the power is out locally. Most of my content travels seamlessly thru smartphone and plug in devices. You can add me to the statistic of some who will probably not ever go back to cable.

As far as your comments on piracy I'm of the belief that if it's worth having for you to watch you should pay for it. Stealing is stealing and when I was in the service I saw firsthand piracy on a large scale in Asia. I believe the best solution to piracy is setting appropriate price points in developing Nations and offer low cost alternatives for the under privileged. Also consumers who can afford legitimate entertainment should budget and pay appropriately. Like drugs the persons making a quick buck is usually someone in need but there are cartels and organized criminals and even terrorist who reap large rewards as this is just another means to an end.

Having this information for the user does not mean to say they are using it….they need to determine you were using it…..plus getting logon does not prove you are watching channels, also you could have been watching legal streams from your iptv

They need to stop crying about IPT V it gives the options for more choices and a and T has screwed the TV platform Mr. Cord cutting is still the best

We cut the cord going on a month now. Prior we had AT&T U Verse which we liked but our cable was about to go up dramatically from $168 to $225/ month for bundled TV/Internet/Phone service. We felt enough was enough and decided go explore streaming services and cut U Verse lose before the increase took affect. Admittedly, we had a couple of IPTV services that were pretty good until earlier this week, they both went down due to the UK crackdown. After reading up on various news reports and listening to Cord Cutter News on You Tube, we decided to look into the legal streaming services (i.e. Philo, Hulu, Playstation Vue). We are currently using the free trials for those services and we've determined that Hulu TV Live is the best option for us. I find it interesting that despite the crackdowns, there are still some Youtube posts promoting IPTV services. Nonetheless, being better educated about what makes an IPTV service legal has lead us to utilize legal streaming services. Yes its a little more money, but still much cheaper than cable. We now have Comcast Internet only and we stream using Amazon Fire sticks and TV devices. Im glad to have and subscribe to Cord Cutter News. Thank u for all you do to educate us on cord cutting. We are very happy with our decision. Wish we had done it years ago. I will admit that although we had the other IPTV services for a little over a month before they went down, it was nice having access to all those channels. In my opinion, the crackdowns are gonna dramatically scale off the various IPTV services our there and even if some of them resurface, will people take a chance and order them? Some probably will. There will be resellers out there. But do you run the risk of being found and shut down? VPN can only do sooo much. Im sure those folks who were shut down had VPN but If the government wants to know what your doing, they can find out! Just my take on all this. Happy cord cutting 😊

DirecTV? Early retirement

About 6 years and no unless wife has too

I am NEW CORD CUTTER
and I wish I had done it 20 years ago !!!!!!
Ever go back to Pay TV ????? " N.e.v.e.r. " !!!!!!!!!!
T.O.O. MANY COMMERCIALS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pretty Sad that WE THE PEOPLE PAY
for Greedy Money Grabbing Corporations
To come into our homes and
INTERRUPT OUR PRIVATE TIME WITH
20 COMMERCIALS PER BREAK WHILE
TRYING TO WATCH A 3 TO 4 HOUR MOVIE
THAT USE TO BE 1 HR 30 MIN MOVIE ??????
PAY T.V. SHOULD BE. " FREE "
PAY T.V. IS ON ITS WAY OUT JUST LIKE HOME TELEPHONE SERVICE,,,
HOME TELEPHONE SERVICE IS NOW JUST A
PIPELINE FOR INDIA'S SCAMMERS AND TELEMARKETERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cut the cord over a year ago will never go back

Been 1 1/2 yrs since i cut the cord..never going back.if something would happen to iptv and streaming apks then i would just go without

First off my wife and I cut the cord. I want to say 9 years ago. I had cut it a couple years prior to that. But then got Dish Network, when they offered their Bronze HD package for 20$ a month.
Once my 2 year contract was up was cut the cord and never looked back.

As far as users of IP TV services being charged. Many of these companies would advertise on Facebook and target the not so tech savy. Many of the users may not know they're using an illegal service.

I wish you included time stamps on each story

you mean to say people still have cable tv?

Unless the cable companies can give me a plan for 5 tvs for $10 with every single channel then ill go back

We cut the cord about a year ago, after so much prompting from the kids… we don't miss it! The cable bill with internet was running about 260.00 per month. We bought a Roku… we have Amazon Prime content and Netflix. We've Never. Looked. Back.

I'm a new cord cutter and got the Mofi modem, because we live out in the country, where our only choice was DSL. The problem is, Hulu has a problem with us not having an internet provider, so we cancelled it. My question is, what live service doesn't require an internet provider? I promised my husband, he would get sports, but now he doesn't have it.

I've never had cable or satellite TV. I remember when it was analog it came in static.

tried philo found nothing i wanted

I am tired of aggressive TV. It does remind me of when the phone Co. maw Bell was blown up. It was illegal to own your own phone.
I am rooting for Maine.

I wish I had a better understanding of what all this is about. I’m not used to tv problems and I don’t understand the language. I don’t understand what IPtv is either.

@10:40 You said you can't get Disney+ and other services if you have cable… um, yeah you can subscribe to other services as long as you have the internet. Don't drink so much of the Kool-aid that you forget people aren't locked to any specific service because it sounds just as outlandish you making that statement as some of the crap the cable companies spout.

you looks like a brother of bruce willis! 🙂

i use directv and iptv but almost never use DirecTV since using iptv,

I have an nctv and none of my tv guides are working can anyone help me?

I will NEVER go back to being financially raped by cable companies. I dont care WHAT they shut down. NEVER EVER EVER will they get me back as a cable customer. I rather go without then give them as much money as they're charging now. They'd better get used to a world where they offer EVERY channel for 50 dollars or less because THAT is the only way ill ever consider going back. Until then, NEVER!

Would you please stop spreading misinformation about IPTV! IPTV is a protocol for sending television streams over the internet. It is not an illegal service; in fact, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Pluto TV, AT&T TV, AT&T TV Now, PlayStation Vue, Youtube TV, and others are legal users of this technology! Just because there are illegal services using the IPTV protocol, does not make it illegal.
You need to be clear, that the technology is not illegal, and the crackdown is for illegal service domains!

Okay. Cable companies just creating monopoly from nothing. Channels doesn't make profit from service providers, they make profit from advertising. In any way, they need people to watch it. Look, in UK we have few major internet/cable providers, who drain money, but they also creating content, they providing service for their channels. Fibre internet will die in few years, 5G is here and it's faster/cheaper. Same will happen with cable companies. And those crackdowns….come on, they have tried to kill torrents, look what happened. Companies have to adapt to people, not people have to adapt to companies.

Lol my iptv is alive

I cut the cord 4 years ago and I'm never going back.

Cut the cord for the last three and a half years having look back. Found some apps and just been using that to watch TV and movies. My internet's including from my master Association pays for the internet through a franchise agreement which is a higher speed than the average cable user from Cox and that's only fifty bucks a month so that's the only thing I pay for. Also I have an antenna to get OTA channels.

What is your opinion ? Do you think this case will stand or will we have iptv back? Never going back to Cable fcuk that!!

I've been streaming since 2019. I started because the cable companies just lost their mind with pricing. I spoke on the phone with both Time Warner Cable, who became Spectrum Cable in my area about my family usage of cable. I told them this, my wife watches Lifetime, Lifetime Movies and Food Network; my kids Animal Planet, and a few other kid networks; and I love one channel call Thriller. I received the same response from both, The Thriller channel is in only one of our tiers, the most expensive one. The truth is, most families are like; regardless if your provider can provide 250 channels or 2500 channels; most people only watch a hand full of channels. The cable company knows which channels are popular and if you one that one specific channel, it's always in the most expensive tier. This causes families to pay upto $250 a month for cable services to get one channel. It's unfair and affordable for families. Just to get local channels is $20 a month for all the taxes and fees and you only get about 20 channels. I put an antenna on my roof and I now get over 60 channels from my antenna and I stream them to all my TVs using Tablo. Any other content we want to watch that's not local, we stream with other apps and my monthly internet only bill for 200+ mpbs comes to $54 tax included. I have looked at IPTV services and I do support most of them for the service they provide. I don't support IPTV services like Gears TV who charges $50 per month, for something he's getting for free. I don't care how good the services or perks are with his service and feel he's moving in the wrong direction; and taking advantage of his customers. At $50 per month, if he has a 1000 customers, that's $50,000 per month, and what's his overhead? A few server blades and gigabit service. Whatever his overhead, it's been paid for in the first month of service. He and anyone charging over $15 a month are being abusive. My message to them is to not become a part of the problem.

any new detail on playstation vue. this srrvice is very nice.

Add speedy0808 on discord for one if the best IPTV serivies