IPTV in Pickering: what you keep, what you lose and what it costs

IPTV in Pickering costs $15 a month for over 20,000 live channels, every major sports network and a library of more than 80,000 movies and series. Cable in Pickering with a comparable sports package sits above $150 a month after the introductory year ends.

The question people actually ask before switching is not about price. It is whether they lose something they watch now. This post goes through what carries over and what changes. It also covers what genuinely does not exist here and how it behaves in a Pickering apartment or house.

Feature	IPTV at $15	Cable at $150
Canadian networks and local news	Included	Included
Sportsnet and TSN, all feeds	Included	Sports tier only
American sports networks	Included	Top tier only
International and language channels	Included	Paid packages
Movies and series on demand	80,000+ titles	Separate subscription
Pay per view events	Included	$80 each
Contract	None	12 or 24 months

What carries over from cable?

Everything you watch now, in practice. The Canadian networks are all there along with local news. The specialty channels people actually use, from the documentary and lifestyle networks through to the kids channels, are in the lineup.

Sport is where it stops being a like for like swap and starts being an upgrade. Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet 360, the regional Sportsnet feeds and TSN 1 through 5 are all in the base subscription. On cable that is a tier costing $25 to $40 on top of the bill.

The American networks come with it. ESPN, ESPN 2, NFL Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, MLB Network and TNT, plus the regional sports networks that carry out of market games. Those regional feeds are the ones that matter for hockey, because they carry the games your national broadcast does not.

What do you actually lose?

There are 3 things and it is worth being straight about them.

You lose the cable company set top box and its recorder. What replaces it is a catch up feature on most live channels, letting you scroll back through the last few days. That covers most recorded viewing but it is not the same as setting a series to record for a season.

You lose the single bill. Your internet stays with Rogers or Bell and your television becomes a separate Interac e-Transfer to us. Some people prefer that and some find it a nuisance.

You lose the technician. There is nobody to send to your house. If something breaks you message us on WhatsApp and we talk you through it, which is usually faster but does mean you are the one holding the remote.

What is the movie and series library like?

Over 80,000 titles and it behaves like a streaming app rather than a cable movie channel. You browse by genre, pick something and it plays immediately.

New films land in the library shortly after their theatrical run finishes. Series are organised properly by season and episode with full back catalogues rather than whatever is airing this month.

This is the part that surprises people switching from cable. On a cable package the movie channels show you what is scheduled. Here you pick what you want and it starts. For most households it quietly replaces a streaming subscription or 2.

Which channels do Pickering households ask for?

Sport first. Hockey carries most of it through the winter and the football coverage takes over in the autumn, with the American networks carrying the full Sunday slate.

Cricket and the subcontinental channels come next. Pickering has grown a large South Asian population through the newer subdivisions in the north end, and the Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil and Urdu channels get requested constantly. They are in the base subscription rather than sold as a package.

Then the Arabic, Urdu and Filipino lineups, and after that the British channels. Soccer coverage runs across the English, Spanish, Italian and German league channels. All of them are included.

Does apartment living in Pickering cause problems?

It changes where the problem sits rather than whether this works at all. The towers around the Pickering Town Centre and along Liverpool Road share building infrastructure, and speeds dip in the evening when the whole building is streaming.

That shows up as the picture stalling between 7pm and 10pm, and it looks exactly like a stream problem. It is not. It is contention on the building line and it affects Netflix the same way.

There are 2 fixes. Switch your device onto the 5GHz band, or run an ethernet cable to the television. In a condo the cable run is usually short and it removes the issue completely. That single change resolves most of the evening picture complaints we get from Liverpool Road.

Houses in south Pickering near the waterfront and the newer builds in the north rarely have any of this. You need 15 Mbps for HD and 25 Mbps for 4K, and Rogers cable or Bell fibre clear both easily. The rural stretch north of Highway 407 toward Claremont and Greenwood is the one part worth speed testing first.

How long does setup take?

About 10 minutes on a device you already own, done once.

A Fire TV Stick is the usual choice here because it costs less than one month of the cable bill it replaces. The Firestick guide walks through every screen with a picture. There are separate guides for Android boxes, Smart TVs, MAG boxes and Apple devices.

We do not sell hardware. Whatever you already have almost certainly works.

The step people skip is favourites. Mark the 10 channels you actually watch and the 20,000 channel list turns into something that feels like a normal television package. It takes 5 minutes and it is the difference between using this and being annoyed by it.

Common questions

Do I lose my local Canadian channels?

No. All the national broadcasters and local news are in the lineup alongside everything else. Nothing you watch now disappears.

Can I record shows like I did on cable?

Not exactly. Most channels have catch up letting you scroll back through the last few days, which covers most recorded viewing. There is no season long series recording.

Are sports channels included or extra?

Included. Every sports network is in the base plan at $15 a month with no tier and no add on. That is the single biggest difference from a cable bill.

Why does the picture stall only in the evening?

Almost always your building or your Wi-Fi rather than the stream. Move the device onto the 5GHz band or run an ethernet cable. That fixes most evening problems in the Liverpool Road towers.

Can I watch on my phone away from home?

Yes. The account works anywhere you have a connection. Allow the app to use mobile data in your phone settings or it will only work on Wi-Fi.

Do I have to switch internet providers?

No. Keep the provider you have. This is completely separate from your internet service and works on Rogers, Bell, TekSavvy, Carrytel and Distributel.

How many televisions can I use at once?

Tell us how many screens you need at signup and we configure it. Most Pickering households run 2 or 3.

Is there a contract or a cancellation fee?

No. Nothing auto renews. You pay by Interac e-Transfer for the period you picked and it ends there.

Try it on your own television first

Do not cancel anything yet. Take the 2 day free trial, install it on the television you actually watch, and check the specific channels you would miss. Put a live game on it. Open the movie library and see whether the titles you want are there.

If it holds up, choose a plan and cancel the cable after. If it does not, you owe nothing. Neighbouring Ajax and Oshawa have their own guides.