The idea of being able to watch television shows off of the internet how we want and when we want seems to be no-brainer as far as many people are concerned, and it seems that the days traditional television may be numbered, with the demand for online content increasing.

Limited time has forced a lot of us to be very selective of the TV shows we do watch. The solution seems to be catching up on missed episodes via websites such as YouTube, and by other ways using the internet, allowing us to choose when we watch, instead of TV schedules dictating that for us.

That’s not to say TV will be going away anytime soon. The internet simply gives people additional options in terms of how they watch programming. When viewers have the opportunity to watch good ‘ol TV, they do.

“My first resource is TV. If I can’t, I watch it online. I don’t download, I watch it streaming,” says Jason Bass, a student at Lethbridge College.

Jason brings up a very good point. People are doing what they can to watch content legally. Some websites that stream programming to viewers are more legitimate than others, but viewers who want to watch U.S. programming, but can’t, are doing what they can to watch the content without getting themselves in legal hot water.

Many students are hoping that the major networks in the United States will soon start allowing residents in Canada the ability to watch and download their shows, and the idea of having control over how they watch that content and when is a very powerful motivator.

“If I could, I would watch it online or download it at my convenience,” says a very enthusiastic Chelsi Brisebois, a General Studies student at Lethbridge College.

TV stations in the U.S. and Canada are recognizing the changing television landscape and are offering their content online after their shows originally air for people to watch at their convenience, albeit with a 30-second ad before the show starts. All major Canadian broadcasters are included in this movement.

Many issues plague the possibility of watching U.S.-based content, including copyright issues, copy protection, and legal roadblocks, Many websites, including NBC and CBS, which are based in the United States, don’t stream or allow access to downloads of their programming across the border, forcing many to get that same content by other means.

An increasing number of TV shows and movies are available through alternative services, such as the iTunes Store, offered by Apple Inc, which allows those who have chosen to download content alternative legal ways of doing so.

Originally posted 2009-01-26 18:17:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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