Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
I’m a senior in college, and for the first time since I was about 6, I don’t have cable TV. Who knows why: some combination of cheapness, laziness, and some subconscious desire to actually do productive things sometimes. If you know me, you know that’s a bit of a problem: I have approximately 59 shows I must watch every week always, or people start losing limbs.
Believe it or not, though, I don’t miss cable. Thanks to these seven websites, I can waste every bit as much time watching TV, and never (ever) miss an episode of my favorite shows.
Here’s where I get my fix:
Network Websites
ABC, CBS, NBC and many other networks all have their own websites, where they put up recent episodes of most of their shows. The upside of these sites is that they’re usually the first to have the show, it’s usually great quality, and it’s a decent way to support the shows you like. The downsides: the websites are usually ridiculously slow, and you’ll probably see a lot of ads.
Hulu
Unless your favorite show is on CBS, it’s probably on Hulu. Hulu’s got deals with most major networks, meaning the shows it has are good quality, and they’re supporting the show and network. Hulu’s also an excellent website, and full of content—it’s where I look first for any show I want to watch.
Fancast
Fancast is a lot like Hulu—except nobody knows about it. It’s a Comcast website, and has a huge number of TV shows and movies for you to watch—including CBS, for some reason. There’s basically no difference between Fancast and Hulu, except the Hulu interface is better and the videos are slightly higher quality. Between the two, odds are great you’re going to find what you’re looking for.
Justin.tv
Justin.tv is tough to navigate, but awesome when you get it working. I can’t tell you a lot about it, because I only really use it for one thing: live sports. Sports were, for a while, the only reason I still had cable, but now I can mostly do without it. When there’s a game on that I can’t get on TV, odds are great that someone’s streaming it on Justin.tv—just search for what you’re looking for, and enjoy!
SideReel
SideReel’s a combination of information, reviews, and discussion about TV shows, all alongside links to episodes. No videos are actually hosted by SideReel—it just keeps links out to tons of shows and movies, including every episode, ever, from a lot of TV shows. It’ll often point you to slow, crappy-looking videos, but it’s as complete a database as I’ve found, and works great in a pinch, even offering links to buy from Amazon or iTunes if you’re really in need.
Surf The Channel
Surf The Channel’s basically the same as SideReel, except it’s better at letting you pick which site you want to go to, and prioritizing the best ones. If the episode’s available on Hulu, STC will tell you to go there first—it also indexes the network websites and a few others, meaning its got an enormous world to search through for episodes of your favorite shows.
South Park Studios
South Park Studios does only one thing, and does it mind-blowingly wonderfully: it plays South Park episodes. Every single one. From every season. In all their poorly-drawn glory. I’m just getting into South Park recently, and I can safely say it’s the greatest thing in the history of the universe. No exaggeration.
Where do you watch TV or movies online? Movies, in particular, are harder to find for free—where do you look?
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Hey thanks for the very nice shout-out to Fancast, David. I would note we had 11.3 million unique visitors last month, so some folks do know about it!
Cheers,
Jim (for Fancast)
Hi David,
Great post. I wanted to introduce you to my company, CastTV, as an 8th way to watch TV online for free.
http://www.casttv.com offers “one stop watching” for online video, from sites all over the web.
http://www.casttv.com/shows – With CastTV, you don't need to remember which website has your favorite show. CastTV's video search technology automatically finds and organizes shows like Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl and more.
http://www.casttv.com/online-tv-guide – Guide to free online TV episodes for the week. Your favorite shows from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Hulu and more.
Cheers,
Marie
marie@casttv.com
http://twitter.com/mariedeorio
Hey thanks for the very nice shout-out to Fancast, David. I would note we had 11.3 million unique visitors last month, so some folks do know about it!
Cheers,
Jim (for Fancast)
Hi David,
Great post. I wanted to introduce you to my company, CastTV, as an 8th way to watch TV online for free.
http://www.casttv.com offers “one stop watching” for online video, from sites all over the web.
http://www.casttv.com/shows – With CastTV, you don't need to remember which website has your favorite show. CastTV's video search technology automatically finds and organizes shows like Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl and more.
http://www.casttv.com/online-tv-guide – Guide to free online TV episodes for the week. Your favorite shows from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Hulu and more.
Cheers,
Marie
marie@casttv.com
http://twitter.com/mariedeorio
there is also this link site with over 1000+ free movies,tv,documentaries and cable links
sorry the link is http://www.nosubscriptionrequired.net/
there is also this link site with over 1000+ free movies,tv,documentaries and cable links
sorry the link is http://www.nosubscriptionrequired.net/
Title should be “7 Ways to Watch TV Online For Free In The U.S. (only)”
Title should be “7 Ways to Watch TV Online For Free In The U.S. (only)”
Adultswim.com has episodes of their shows, like Metalocalypse and Venture Brothers.
Adultswim.com has episodes of their shows, like Metalocalypse and Venture Brothers.
Weird that there's no mention of downloading the episodes directly from torrent sites and so on. You can get them in HD quality, within an hour or two of their original broadcast, with zero commercials.
Weird that there's no mention of downloading the episodes directly from torrent sites and so on. You can get them in HD quality, within an hour or two of their original broadcast, with zero commercials.
absolutely wonderful article…i m personally big fan of such techeniques
absolutely wonderful article…i m personally big fan of such techeniques
I have a feeling that David didn't mention it because, well, it is illegal. You may not get caught, I won't debate that but it is still illegal.
I like the idea of CastTV. That is what we want, right? I mean having a “one-stop-shop” for viewing all the free, legal, video online sounds great. I can't stand that I have to remember where to go to watch certain things. I don't know if CastTV is the solution, as the CastTV employee said above, but I do think they have the right idea.
Now just to get all of the networks in on it!
Good looking out! That's exactly my reason. I won't tell anyone not to torrent, I've even done it myself, but I'm wary of advocating it for everyone. I don't want to be responsible on the off chance something terrible happens.
Fair point, thanks for mentioning that. Are all of these US only? Without any international experience myself, I have no idea.
True! And I just got into Metalocalypse a couple of days ago – SUCH a funny show. Thanks for mentioning that one!
Yeah, I am guilty as well. I don't think that it is cool to advocate it though, regardless of what your personal thoughts and practices are. I guess you never know who is reading!
I have a feeling that David didn't mention it because, well, it is illegal. You may not get caught, I won't debate that but it is still illegal.
I like the idea of CastTV. That is what we want, right? I mean having a “one-stop-shop” for viewing all the free, legal, video online sounds great. I can't stand that I have to remember where to go to watch certain things. I don't know if CastTV is the solution, as the CastTV employee said above, but I do think they have the right idea.
Now just to get all of the networks in on it!
It's my current favorite TV show, and Dethalbum II is my current favorite album.
Good looking out! That's exactly my reason. I won't tell anyone not to torrent, I've even done it myself, but I'm wary of advocating it for everyone. I don't want to be responsible on the off chance something terrible happens.
Fair point, thanks for mentioning that. Are all of these US only? Without any international experience myself, I have no idea.
True! And I just got into Metalocalypse a couple of days ago – SUCH a funny show. Thanks for mentioning that one!
Yeah, I am guilty as well. I don't think that it is cool to advocate it though, regardless of what your personal thoughts and practices are. I guess you never know who is reading!
It's my current favorite TV show, and Dethalbum II is my current favorite album.
From what I have seen of Fancast, they just aggregate all the content from Hulu and the rest, I can't recall seeing them provide any content of their own. I have tried finding unique prime time episodes there, but there isn't anything there you can't get from the source sites.
From what I have seen of Fancast, they just aggregate all the content from Hulu and the rest, I can't recall seeing them provide any content of their own. I have tried finding unique prime time episodes there, but there isn't anything there you can't get from the source sites.
I stay away from the “free” sites. I watch a variety of shows and games and it's much more convenient to go to one site then hunt around. I spent a one time fee of $33 at http://www.yourteamlive.com and it makes watching tv alot easier.
I stay away from the “free” sites. I watch a variety of shows and games and it's much more convenient to go to one site then hunt around. I spent a one time fee of $33 at http://www.yourteamlive.com and it makes watching tv alot easier.
In truth, immediately i didn’t understand the essence. But after re-reading all at once became clear.
I really would recommend using blinkbox as it offers brilliant content, both free and paid for to which is all clearly marked.That way, you clearly know where you stand – Al the free stuff on this site is legal.
http://www.blinkbox.com/TV
Try WatchTV Web service. It's free and it seems like a good site. http://watchtvweb.trilogiksoft.com
You can also download WatchTV software at
http://watchtv.trilogiksoft.com
I WATCH http://icefilms.info FOR MY TV SHOWS AND MOVIES. THE STREAMS ARE CLEAR AND GOOD IN QUALITY,HAS ALOT OF MOVIES ALSO- IF I REMEMBER RIGHT OVER 65,000. FOXFIRE IS THE EASYEST WAY TO VIEW THIS SITE WITH THE GREASEMONKEY SCRIPT THING. THE SITE USES MEGAUPLOAD AND DID HAVE THREE WAYS OF CATCHING/VIEWING THE STREAMS. WITH IE YOU HAD TO INSTALL A TRIXIE SCRIPT THING TO GET THE GREASEMONKEY SCRIPT TO USE IE. NOW I SEE THEY SAY TO DOWNLOAD IE7PRO(NOT MIRCOSOFTS IE) FOR GREASEMONKEY SCRIPT TO WORK WITH IE. I USE TO BE LIKE ALOT OF THE READS I SEE HERE JUMPING FROM SITE TO SITE FOR DIFFERENT SHOWS. I JUST HAVE TO WAIT ADAY NOW AND I CATCH THEM ON ICEFILMS. HOPE THIS DOES SOMEONE SOME GOOD. IF SO ENJOY.. the_GASS
TRY http://icefilms.info NEED DIVX PLAYER , LOOK IN FORUM FOR HELPS- ON WHAT U DO TO WATCH THE TV SHOWS OR THE 54,000 PLUS VIDEO TITLES. GOOD CLEAR STREAMS…the_GASS
try http://www.computeruser.com/blogs/entry/satelli... you can get over 9000 channels
You forgot to mention http://www.inner-live.com
we can watch the south park tv shows online and also download
brother there are some other ways to watch the tv shows free but i agree your six ways also it is also the best way to watch online free
brother there are some other ways to watch the tv shows free but i agree your six ways also it is also the best way to watch online free
Guys (and Gals)
It’s as easy as 1,2,3…
The best free place to watch TV online is:
http://www.freetv.tv
Watched http://www.freetv.tv
Great site