How does Catch-Up work?
Catch-up is one of the most appreciated features in modern IPTV. Simply put, it lets you go back in time and watch programmes that have already aired — like a built-in replay service directly within your IPTV app.
Missed the news? Fell asleep during the film? With catch-up it doesn't matter.
What is catch-up?
Catch-up works by channels storing their broadcasts on a server for a limited time — usually between 24 hours and 7 days depending on the channel. During that time you can go back in the EPG guide, click on a programme that has already aired and watch it just as if it were live.
It's important to understand that catch-up is not the same as VOD (Video on Demand). VOD is a separate library of movies and series. Catch-up is specifically linked to what has been broadcast on live TV channels.
What do you need for catch-up to work?
Three things need to be in place for catch-up to be available:
- The channel must support catch-up — not all channels have the feature enabled
- Your app must support catch-up — most modern IPTV apps do
- You must have EPG enabled — catch-up is linked to the EPG guide
| App | Catch-up support |
|---|---|
| TiviMate | Yes |
| UHF | Yes |
| MYTVOnline+ | Yes |
| Opus IPTV | No |
| SET IPTV | Limited |
How do you use catch-up?
The process is simple and similar across most apps:
- Open your IPTV app and go to the EPG guide (programme guide)
- Navigate to the channel you want to watch
- Scroll backwards in time through the EPG guide
- Click on the programme you want to watch
- The app asks whether you want to watch from the beginning or from a specific point
- Press play — the programme starts
Tips
In TiviMate you can identify catch-up programmes by a small clock icon in the EPG guide. This means the programme is available to watch after it has aired.
How far back can I go?
It depends on the channel. Different channels have different catch-up periods:
| Catch-up period | Typical channels |
|---|---|
| 24 hours | Some sports and news channels |
| 3 days | Most common among Nordic channels |
| 7 days | Major channels like SVT and TV4 |
| No catch-up | Sport stream channels and smaller international channels |
How to tell which channels have catch-up
You do not have to guess. Channels with catch-up are marked in the channel list, usually with a small clock icon on the channel thumbnail – what the marking looks like varies between apps. If the marking is missing, the channel does not have the feature — and no amount of scrolling back in the guide will make a past programme clickable.
That is not a fault in your app or your account. It is a property of the channel.
Sport is the most common exception
A channel without an EPG cannot have catch-up, because the feature is built on the guide. That applies above all to PPV and event channels, where matches and one-off events live — they have no guide to scroll through.
So if you are looking for a match after the fact, that is usually not where you will find it. Many matches also air on a regular channel with a guide, and that channel may well have catch-up.
The app must have been running during the period you want to go back to
This surprises most people, and it is the most common reason catch-up appears to be missing on a channel that actually has it.
Your app builds its guide as it is used. It continuously fetches what is scheduled ahead and stores what has passed locally on the device. The programmes you can click on afterwards are exactly those stored rows.
So if you have just added your account to the app, there is nothing behind you to click on yet — regardless of what the channel supports. The guide starts accumulating the day you add the playlist, and grows from there.
Tips
Several apps have a setting for how many days of past guide data to keep. In TiviMate it is called Past days to keep EPG and often starts at 1. Raise it to the number of days you want to be able to go back, or the rows are cleared before you get to use them.
In short: catch-up requires that the channel supports it, that the channel has a guide, and that your app had the playlist active during the period you want to watch back.
Why doesn't catch-up work on all channels?
There are several reasons why a channel doesn't offer catch-up:
- Rights — the channel doesn't have a licence to allow replay of all content
- Technology — the channel lacks infrastructure to store and stream catch-up
- Live sport — matches and events are often broadcast without catch-up for rights reasons
- International channels — smaller channels rarely have catch-up functionality
Info
Sport stream channels in the "SE – MAX PPV" and "SE – TV4 Play PPV" categories normally don't have catch-up. Matches must be watched live or recorded manually in your app if you don't want to miss them.
Catch-up vs recording — what's the difference?
| Catch-up | Recording | |
|---|---|---|
| Stored on | uPlay's server | Your device |
| Requires planning | No — always available after broadcast | Yes — must be scheduled |
| Availability | Limited time (1–7 days) | Until you delete it |
| Requires extra storage | No | Yes |
| Works on all channels | No | Yes (if channel is live) |
Want to save a programme beyond the catch-up period? Use the recording feature in TiviMate and save directly to a USB drive or external hard drive.
Frequently asked questions
Catch-up is not working – what could be wrong?
Work through the three conditions in order:
- Does the channel have a clock icon on its thumbnail? If not, the channel has no catch-up, and there is nothing to fix – pick a channel that has it.
- Is it a PPV or event channel? Those have no guide, and therefore no catch-up.
- Did the app have the playlist active during the period you want to watch? If you added the account recently, nothing has been stored behind you yet.
If all three hold and it still does not work, the app is where it hangs – try refreshing the guide manually, or test the same channel in a different app to establish where the fault lies.
Can I fast-forward in catch-up programmes?
Yes, in most apps you can fast-forward and rewind in catch-up programmes just like a regular video. Some channels restrict fast-forwarding for rights reasons.
Why do catch-up programmes disappear after a while?
The catch-up period is limited — usually 3–7 days. When the period ends the programme is automatically removed from the server. Want to save a programme for longer? Record it with TiviMate.
Does catch-up work abroad?
Yes, catch-up works wherever you are as long as you have access to uPlay. See our guide on uPlay abroad for more information.
Summary
- Catch-up lets you watch programmes that have already aired — up to 7 days back
- It works through the EPG guide in your IPTV app
- Not all channels support catch-up — sport stream channels usually don't
- Catch-up is stored on the server, recordings are stored on your device
- TiviMate and UHF have the best catch-up support among the apps we recommend