Just launched Globe TV - Free live TV for travelers & digital nomads
Hey IndieHackers,
While traveling I realized how hard it is to watch live TV without jumping through hoops like VPNs, dodgy sites, or pricey subscriptions. That frustration turned into Globe TV → https://globetv.app.
It’s a free platform to explore and watch live TV channels from all over the world - no accounts, no cables, just click and watch. You can spin a 3D globe (built with Three.js + ThreeGlobe) or pick a country from the sidebar to dive into local content. There’s even a “Random Channel” button if you want to discover something unexpected.
⚙️ Behind the scenes:
Uses the IPTV-org API (a community-driven, DMCA-compliant database updated daily with free channels).
Three.js + ThreeGlobe for rendering the interactive Earth.
Video.js for smooth playback, plus Tailwind for styling.
🛡️ Important:
Globe TV doesn’t host or own streams - it only connects to publicly available links from IPTV-org. If something gets taken down there, it disappears here too.
💡 Extra:
The full source code is also available for sale — only 5 copies will be sold: Ko-fi link.
I’d love feedback from this community:
Do you see value in this for digital nomads / travelers?
Any suggestions on features that would make it stickier?
Growth hacks you’d try in my place?
Thanks for reading, excited to hear your thoughts.
Really like how clean this feels. I tried it out and the globe navigation is surprisingly fun as you end up clicking around longer than expected just to see what’s out there. The “no sign-up, no hassle” approach is exactly what makes it work.
It actually reminded me of when I first started using Alora for work , it's the same kind of experience where you don’t need a manual, you just log in and get what you need right away. Tools that stay simple on the surface but still deliver depth end up being the ones I stick with.
For travelers, I think adding favorites or a quick history would be useful. That way you can jump back into what you were watching yesterday without spinning around the globe again.
I love the idea. Tried it but got this error everywhere tho: Unable to play this stream The server is not responding or the format is not supported.
This is a great product! For me the biggest win here would be to target the Sports niche since even OTTs fall short to cover it all. You could create a dedicated Sports tab and cover it by the Sport and Live matches. It would be easy to charge $10/mo for an all-in-one sports streaming app.
Smart idea for travelers. Two quick questions, which three use cases do you want to nail first and how will you detect and swap dead links automatically. I would add favorites and continue watching, a simple guide with local time, Chromecast and a lightweight PWA. For growth, ship SEO pages per country and channel, for example watch live BBC in Spain, and offer an embed to travel blogs and hostels.
“Cool niche—you’re going after travelers. Curious how you’re planning to handle licensing/content rights as you scale?”
Congrats on the launch, this is such a clever idea. Being able to spin a globe and drop into local TV feels like a fun mix of utility and discovery, especially for travelers. I think adding a lightweight “save favorite channels” feature could help with retention so people come back instead of just trying it once.
Hi Viggo,
The app has already a favorite channel option. You can mark the channel as favorite above the player by pressing the star icon.