The easiest way to watch Pakistani TV channels in Australia is an IPTV service with a Pakistani section: one app on your TV, Fire TV Stick or phone gives you live Urdu dramas, news, religious and sport channels, with a programme guide and on-demand titles. About 10 Mbps per screen is enough for HD.
The Pakistani community in Australia is large and growing: the 2021 Census counted nearly 90,000 people born in Pakistan and more than 100,000 Urdu speakers, along with many Punjabi and Pashto speakers. Here is how to bring Pakistani TV into your home.
Why Pakistani dramas need a good setup
Pakistani dramas are watched far beyond Pakistan, and many families follow several serials at once. New episodes air in Pakistan's evening, which is late at night in eastern Australia. A setup with a reliable programme guide, catch-up where available and on-demand episodes lets you keep up without staying awake until midnight.
Pakistani channel categories
Pakistani sections on IPTV usually include:
- Urdu drama and entertainment channels.
- News channels in Urdu and English.
- Islamic channels with Quran recitation, naats and lectures.
- Sport channels.
- Regional channels in Punjabi, Pashto and Sindhi.
- Music and film channels.
Ramadan and Eid
During Ramadan, Pakistani channels run special transmissions around sehri and iftar, with religious programmes, talk shows and new drama episodes. Those times follow Pakistan, not Australia, so a live sehri show from Karachi lands in the middle of the morning in Sydney.
Use catch-up, where the channel offers it, to watch these programmes at your own sehri and iftar times. Eid specials, which are among the most watched shows of the year, can be replayed the same way.
Cricket on Australian time
Cricket is the national passion, and matches played in Pakistan or the Gulf usually run through the evening and night in eastern Australia. If you watch live, connect the TV with a network cable and avoid big downloads in the house during the match, so the picture stays stable at the key moments.
The time difference
Pakistan uses UTC+5 all year and does not change its clocks. It is 3 hours behind Perth, 5 hours behind Brisbane, and 5 or 6 hours behind Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra depending on Australian daylight saving. A drama at 8 pm in Lahore airs at 1 or 2 am on the east coast and at 11 pm in Perth.
If the guide shows Pakistani times, adjust the EPG time offset in your IPTV app so it matches your own clock.
Internet speed and devices
Pakistani channels use about 10 Mbps per screen for HD, 15 Mbps for Full HD and 25 Mbps for 4K. An nbn 50 plan handles two or three screens. Our IPTV speed calculator tells you what your home needs.
A Fire TV Stick 4K or a Google TV with TiviMate gives the smoothest guide on the main TV. Samsung and LG Smart TVs can run IPTV apps directly, and IPTV Smarters works well on phones. If one person wants the cricket while another watches a drama, choose a 2-screen plan.
Parents visiting from Pakistan
Many families host parents from Pakistan for months at a time. Familiar channels make a long stay in a new country much more comfortable. Before they arrive, set the TV to open straight into the IPTV app and make a short favourites list with their news, drama and Islamic channels, so they can watch on their own.
Common problems and fixes
Most issues are easy to solve:
- Programme times are wrong: adjust the EPG time offset, and check again in October and April.
- Picture freezes during cricket: connect the TV with a network cable and pause other streams in the house.
- Hard to find a drama: use the search, or add your serials to a favourites list.
- No IPTV app on your TV: plug in a Fire TV Stick, which supports the main IPTV apps.
Keeping children close to Urdu
Children born in Australia often understand Urdu or Punjabi but answer in English. Cartoons, children's programmes and family dramas in Urdu keep the language part of daily life. Give the children their own favourites list, and use the app's parental controls to hide categories that are not suitable for their age.
Movies and on-demand titles
The subscription also includes 98,000+ movies and series on demand, including films in Urdu and other languages. Use the search to find a title, and add series to your favourites to continue where you stopped. On-demand titles are a good choice for weekend family film nights, when nobody wants to follow a live schedule.
Check your channels with a free trial
List the Pakistani channels your family watches, ask for our free 24-hour trial on WhatsApp and check them in the evening. Plans start at A$24 for one month, or A$99 for 12 months on one screen, and you can ask for a full refund within 7 days.
Frequently asked questions
Can I watch Pakistani TV channels in Australia?
Yes. With an IPTV service that includes Pakistani channels, you can watch live Urdu dramas, news, religious programmes and sport over your internet connection on your TV, phone or computer.
What is the time difference between Pakistan and Australia?
Pakistan is 5 hours behind Sydney and Melbourne in winter and 6 hours behind during Australian daylight saving. It is 5 hours behind Brisbane and 3 hours behind Perth all year.
Can I watch Pakistani dramas I missed?
Where a channel offers catch-up, you can play recent episodes from the programme guide. Many dramas also appear in the on-demand section, so you can watch them at a time that suits you.