Shoq is the streaming service from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), live since 2023 with 200+ live TV channels, Hollywood titles from the STARZPLAY catalogue, Pakistani movies and dramas, kids content, news and live cricket. Everything plays in up to 1080p, the interface speaks both Urdu and English, and the whole experience is tuned for a Pakistani audience. That mix of local and international entertainment for a few rupees a month makes it a household favourite back home.
The trouble starts the moment you open Shoq from another country. The service is tied to the Pakistani market, bills in rupees, and the STARZPLAY catalogue is licensed for Pakistan only, so the player blocks the stream once it sees a foreign location. The fix is a VPN: connect to a server in Pakistan, pick up a Pakistani IP address, and the app lets you back in. You still pay PTCL for the subscription; the VPN only changes your apparent location. Here is the full walkthrough.
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | Shoq | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ExpressVPNBEST | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 6 | Try it |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | July 4 | Open |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | July 6 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 4 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ~ Partial | July 5 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ~ Partial | July 3 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ~ Partial | July 2 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works~ Partial~ Partial~ PartialTakes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
Shoq is only available in Pakistan. To access it from anywhere else, use a premium VPN.
Shoq is blocked in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in Canada and in New Zealand, plus in 188 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like ExpressVPN.
Shoq is the OTT service of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), launched in 2023. It carries 200+ live TV channels, Hollywood films and series from the STARZPLAY catalogue, Pakistani movies, dramas, kids content, news and live cricket in up to 1080p. Because Shoq is built for Pakistan with rupee billing, travellers reach their account with a VPN set to a Pakistan server. Your subscription stays with PTCL.
4 tips from our Shoq testing team · Updated June 21, 2026
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Everything you need to know before subscribing to Shoq.
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