Breaking The Law?

The Fall television season is in full swing.  There are some shows that I watch because I love and others I watch because I feel obligated.  Watching tv can be like a chore.

And because of my hectic schedule, I'm perpetually playing catch up with my tv viewing.  As a result I watch a ton of shows online.  And usually I watch things on Xfinity.com, because my internet flows from Comcast.

However some shows aren't on Xfinity...




Now, I can completely understand why some shows aren't on Xfinity.  A show on a pay cable network like Boardwalk Empire, Treme or Homeland shouldn't be available for free streaming online.  Those are subscription based networks, so I really don't have a problem buying those shows on DVD or going to someone's house and watching them On Demand.

My problem is with shows that are on basic cable and why some of them can be streamed while others can't.

Take Sons of Anarchy, for instance.  I've been watching Sons of Anarchy online since it began.  And while I'm a critic of the show, I'm invested enough in some of the characters and story lines that I want to watch the show.

And while every episode of previous seasons of Sons of Anarchy have been available for streaming, generally with a month delay, this year not a single episode of the current season has been available on Xfinity.

Contrast that with American Horror Story, which like Sons of Anarchy is on FX, and things get confusing.  Episodes of American Horror Story are available for streaming and apparently there's only a week delay before they go up.

Same network.  Different shows.  Different results.

Things get even more confusing with Top Chef, a Fish & Spaghetti favorite.  Apparently Bravo, as a network, only allows a handful episodes available for streaming each month.  And that's not "handful of episodes per show" that's "handful of episodes per network."

So while the new season of Top Chef has begun, I've yet to watch the premiere.

Except that's a lie; I've totally watched the first episode.  Anyone who can type  can find a dozen ways to watch any episode of any show that's currently being broadcast.  I don't advocate for it and I don't feel great about watching it that way, but I don't have cable and Bravo won't put it online, so that's going to happen.

USA seems to be able to have it's shows steadily streaming after they air.  I'm sure I could watch episodes of popular MTV shows if I were ever to suffer a brain injury.  But I have to go though the dark alleys of the internet if I want to watch an episode of Top Chef on my computer?

C'mon, there's something wrong with that picture.