There are a number of new sites on the Internet where viewers can watch television shows for free. While several of them have been in the works for years, the spring of 2008 saw the launch of many of them. There are Joost, Hulu, Miro, and LiveStation, just to name a few. What makes them different from YouTube is that the focus is on commercial, rather than user-generated, content.
These sites offer full episodes of both classic and recent television shows with “limited commercial interruption.” The content differs site-to-site, as each has signed agreements with different content providers, some corporate, some independent.
Hulu, owned by NBC and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp offers a lot of shows and even movies. The other night I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with just four commercials popping up overall. Not bad. Hulu doesn’t offer anything in the way of independent shows, but it does offer “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” (a couple of personal favorites). You can also watch PBS shows like “Carrier” and “NOVA” on Hulu.
The owners of Joost have signed deals with Warner Music and Viacom, and the service, using a peer-to-peer network, offers a wide variety of streaming videos. Miro is a little different in that it allows users to upload content. It also offers a lot in terms of independently produced content. And it uses file sharing device BitTorrent to enable its users to download, not just stream, videos.
LiveStation is unique in that it offers news and public affairs shows streamed live. Right now, you can watch Al Jazeera in English and BBC World on your computer. More stations will be added soon.
It is even possible to stream hi-def television — albeit on a limited basis. You can do that with some movies via Apple TV. Netflix has recently released its Netflix Player, which allows you to play streamed (though not hi-def) content on your TV. TV on the Internet is now truly an alternative to cable TV.
Productions of Thirteen/WNET are also up for viewing online. There is much to choose from, from something as important as “Wide Angle” to something as fun as David Byrne’s music installation in the Battery Maritime Building, the focus of a recent “Sunday Arts.” We even have archived several shows from the early days of public television, including an interesting news show called “The 51st State.” For a nice introduction to the history of public television, go here. Also of great interest is this video of the opening broadcast of Channel Thirteen featuring Edward R. Murrow.
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Interesting article, I have been slowly becoming aware of the fact that “TV on the internet” is going to be the next big thing. However, I wasn’t yet aware that there were so many websites dedicated to this feature already. I had no clue Channel Thirteen was posting programs for online viewing. Thanks for keeping us (the general public) updated.