A Guide To Watching Free TV Shows Online

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A Guide To Watching Free TV Shows Online

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Written by Chris Channing

Saturday, 10 May 2008

by ChrisChanning

You could ask any consumer that is currently paying a cable or satellite TV bill, and they would say that sometimes it just isn't worth the high fees necessary to watch television. In many cases, consumer are only paying for several channels that they enjoy anyways- not necessarily the hundred or so channels that contain no value to the everyday consumer. In this case, the Internet may have a viable solution.

Watching TV online isn't the illegal activity that many make it out to be. In fact, networks such as YouTube are very strict on their policy against any type of copyright infringement. YouTube and other video websites keep strict policies on user rights, with the average user being able to submit home videos, public material, or even uncopyrighted work or work they have rights to publish. In that case, video sites today are actually quite legal and legit in manner.

Other resources have struck deals with cable companies and networks that have access to TV shows, and offer services based on monthly fees. This is essentially just like paying a cable bill, only the rates are usually much lower because of the lowered cost to the cable networks in question. This is also an alternative to the expensive installations that are necessary for satellite installations.

While paying for TV shows at lowered costs is appealing to the average consumer, getting them completely free is much more appealing. In this case, copyright holders will put content on the Internet for free in exchange for advertisements being placed throughout the episode and on the website that is showcasing the content. Popular TV shows such as "South Park" have tried this experiment out, and the creators have seen a great success from it.

Still other media outlets have struck special deals with owners of copyrighted content. In the popular deal between YouTube and NBC, NBC agreed to give out certain episodes of certain TV shows for free on YouTube in exchange for advertising and other benefits. Included TV shows is the vastly popular "Saturday Night Live," which has been a successful series for many years. Others such as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" have appeared on YouTube as a result of the deal.

Out of all the possibilities of getting free or discount TV shows from the Internet, one option that should not be explored is the illegal route. In this route, websites will commonly say they are legit and charge consumers money in exchange for access to TV show, when in reality they don't have the right to do so. This not only puts consumers at legal risk, but it benefits scammers instead of the true copyright holders. In this case, it's best to ask for proof of publishing rights before buying such a service.

Closing Comments

Getting access to TV shows for free is an interesting concept. Clearly, it may take some ingenuity and work on the consumers part to find legit episodes of TV shows for free. But the hard work pays off when monthly cable bills are erased forever- and what glory and satisfaction that is.

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