The number of "cord cutters"—users who give up traditional cable services—continues to grow. Rising costs and lack of flexibility drive them to explore new territory, but the available alternatives go far beyond Netflix and YouTube. If you're ready to take the first step, welcome to IPTV. What does that mean? There are thousands of free IPTV channels for 2021 waiting for you, and all you need to access them is to download the right lists and use a compatible player.
Television is no longer what it used to be—I think we're all convinced of that. Some channels survive thanks to exclusive sports broadcasts, and others basically depend on a mix of game shows (e.g., "questions and answers") and gossip. But that doesn't mean television is obsolete. On the contrary, it's going through a transition, and its ultimate destination is the Web. At the end of March, we explored Pluto TV service, which offers dozens of free channels, but if you're interested in multiplying that number, we have something better for you: free IPTV.
That's right. Just as you enjoy technologies like VoIP, today you can access thousands of free IPTV channels. From a technical standpoint, you only need three things: a channel list, a stable connection, and a compatible app. In theory, anything that can read playlists in m3u or m3u8 format supports IPTV, and although there are some exceptions out there, the problem is solved by finding another app. VLC Player is one of the most popular, and below we'll explain how to install free IPTV lists in it.
How to Set Up a Free IPTV List in VLC Player
The process is very simple, so much so that it works almost the same as a conventional video file:
- If you download the playlist manually, use the option "Media - Open File".
- Otherwise, if you prefer the URL path of the list, use "Media - Open Network Stream".
Press CTRL+L to open VLC's playlist, and that's it! You can switch channels with a double click, or use the player controls without any issue. As always, some channels may not be broadcasting, so be patient if it doesn't work at first. Now, what if you don't like VLC Player? Don't worry! If your preferred software reads m3u or m3u8, it should work with free IPTV channels.
For example, I personally prefer Media Player Classic Home Cinema, and to load channels I go to the "Open File/URL" option. The rest is opening the playlist and exploring. However, we're missing one last piece of the equation: Smart TVs. If you have a huge screen connected to the Web, free IPTV is just a few buttons away...
How to Set Up a Free IPTV List on a Smart TV
https://www.youtube.com/embed/v4AaV-LG-HYThe video published by Alberto TV is essentially one of the best on the web explaining this, which is why it's shared here. But the final answer is "it depends on the model." Every Smart TV has a set of apps in its store, and some of them may not want anything to do with IPTV. In this case, the tutorial focuses on the SS IPTV app, which works in four phases:
- Install the SS IPTV app on the Smart TV and run it.
- Note the code generated by the app.
- Go to the SS IPTV page and link the Smart TV with the code.
- Load the free IPTV channel list with the URL address.
I insist: the exact steps depend on the model type and the availability of apps in their stores. Some players only support manual entry of URL addresses, which creates certain difficulties (anyone who has tried to type text with a remote control knows what I'm talking about), but it's not impossible. Free IPTV on your Smart TV awaits, though we have one more thing to do...
How to Get the Best Free IPTV Channel Lists
They have to come from somewhere, right? One of the most recurrent questions from users is why we deal with lists instead of accessing channels directly. It turns out that channel addresses are not constant. Some signals change IP, and others... disappear. The best way to adapt to these changes is to get IPTV lists and look for periodic updates. One of the most comprehensive sources of free IPTV channels is the IPTV-Org project on GitHub, and below you'll find a table of contents with its main lists.
By Category
- Entertainment
- Documentaries
- Education
- Kids
- Movies
- Music
- News
- Sports
- Weather
- Adult entertainment (NSFW)
- Others (almost 4,000 channels)
By Language
- Spanish
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Japanese
- Chinese (general)
- Korean
- Hindi
- Arabic
- Russian
- Turkish
By Region
- Latin America
- Europe
- Asia
- Oceania
- Middle East and Near East
- Africa
To finish, if you think a specific language or country deserves a place in this list, you can leave a comment and we'll add it as soon as possible, or visit the IPTV-Org portal directly and grab any missing IPTV list from there.
In summary, we've done our best to concentrate the best of free IPTV in one place, but the story doesn't end here. The Web is full of free IPTV channel lists, and adding one or two extra m3u files to what we've published won't cost you any effort. Enjoy, and good luck!
