The term P2PTV refers to peer-to-peer software applications designed to redistribute video streams or files on a p2p network, typically TV stations across the world. The draw to these applications is significant because they have the potential to make every TV channel in the world global.

The benefit of using peer-to-peer technology is similar to that of standard peer-to-peer software. Each user, while downloading, is also uploading, thus contributing to the overall available bandwidth. The video quality of the channels typically depends on how many users are watching; the video quality is better if there are more users. Similarly, downloading video is faster if there are more users.