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Do You Watch TV Shows Online?

October 22, 2009 by Janice

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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I used to have a love/hate relationship with TV.

dwight-the-officeI loved relaxing at the end of a crazy day with a new episode of one of my favorite shows. But since I never could watch shows when they were live, I would have to record them — on VHS! (I know – I didn’t get TiVo until this year! So sad!)

When September rolled around, programming my VHS became a constant source of stress. I hated to keep track of what tapes had what shows on them, and which tape had room to record. AND when I messed up and missed one of my favorite shows, I was completely miserable!

As much as I loved having a special treat recorded for when I finally had the kids asleep and my work done, the effort of it made me almost dread the new seasons starting.

But NOW my TV viewing has become blissful. I am no longer chained to my VCR and left devastated when I missed taping an episode. I can go online!

I am so busy this year, I haven’t even taken the time to program most of my favorite shows on my TiVo. But I don’t worry because I can just go online and watch full episodes of Glee, The Office, Desperate Housewives, and Grey’s Anatomy, etc.

Since I am Canadian, my online options are limited compared to you lucky Americans. The major networks block their shows from being played outside of the states. But I have been able to find my favorites on the affiliated Canadian network websites. SUCH a relief!

fancastlogo-300pixJust recently my friend, Barbara Jones from One 2 One Network, asked me to check out Fancast and let you all know what I thought of it.

Since I love to watch TV shows online, I said, “No problem!” (Apparently by posting this I am also entered into a random draw for $100. But whatever — I am hardly counting on winning a random draw! LOL I just wanted to chat with you all more about one of my new favorite things – watching TV online! I actually asked about your TV viewing habits the other day over at our site, Say it Face to Face.com)

Fancast looks great with tons of shows, extras, and even some movies to watch — all for FREE!

Unfortunately, since I am Canadian, the network shows are still blocked for me. Boo hoo! But I can watch the special feature and extras.

But for you Americans – Fancast is a FANTASTIC site!

fancast-screenshot

Here are some fast facts on Fancast:

  • Fancast debuted in January 2008 and now has more than 10,000 hours of online video programming; with more than 60,000 videos available, including over 13,000 full-length shows (more are being added every day)
  • Fancast aggregates TV content from more than 100 sources (including Hulu), but Fancast has more TV extras than any other site including: movies, pictorials, blogs, listings, live chats and Q&A’s with stars, and much more.

There are limited commercial breaks but it’s not a whole block of them so that is no problem. Plus, I would rather watch a 10 second ad and get to use the site for free! So thank you to the sponsors!

Your Turn: Do you watch TV shows live, online, or on TiVo/DVR?

And for some more interactive commenting fun, head over to my conversation at Say it Face to Face, and tell me what your favorite shows are and how you watch them!

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About Janice

Janice is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. She's been working online since 2003 and is thankful her days are full of social media, writing and photography.

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18 Comments

  1. AJ says

    January 19, 2013 at 11:40 pm

    Agreed, I watch all on my tv online these days: http://www.real.com/resources/watchtv-shows-online

    Reply
  2. Danielle says

    October 27, 2009 at 1:51 am

    For those of you in Canada, Australia and all parts in between I would look at these 2 sites which will allow you to watch all your favorite TV shows from just about anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection. And I mean ALL your favorite shows. http://www.tv4pcs.net and http://www.yourteamlive.com

    Reply
  3. Auriette says

    October 25, 2009 at 2:07 am

    We haven’t had satellite since 2004, and we don’t even have an antenna. We basically stopped watching TV (except for the DVDs that we buy) until we discovered Hulu. Now we watch a few shows regularly (Castle, Bones, Family Guy, Warehouse 13) again. We try out some shows that don’t catch our fancy. We watch the occasional movie there, too. It’s great, because it fits our schedule and it’s basically free.

    Reply
  4. Trish says

    October 24, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    Our VCR broke a while ago and we haven’t replaced it. There aren’t that many shows we really care about, but it is a bit frustrating to not be able to record anything! I just checked out Fancast and quickly found something I had been wanting to see – very cool. 🙂

    Reply
  5. rc says

    October 23, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    Sounds like a great tool!

    Reply
  6. Deborah says

    October 23, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Wish Fancast was available her in Australia.

    Reply
  7. Jen says

    October 23, 2009 at 4:51 pm

    I thought I was the only soul left without a DVR! We just got one a few months ago, before that I watched A LOT of shows online and I still watch some since my DVR can only record 2 at a time. I will have to check out Fancast! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  8. Brenda Rupp says

    October 23, 2009 at 11:47 am

    I think it would be great!

    Reply
  9. Marj McClendon says

    October 23, 2009 at 10:47 am

    No, the lag would be terrible with the present pc.

    Reply
  10. Melanie says

    October 23, 2009 at 6:31 am

    I have a tivo and watch 80% of my tv shows that way. The other 20% I watch on-line. I usually watch them through the station that originally airs them though.

    Reply
  11. Amy says

    October 23, 2009 at 12:52 am

    I don’t know what I did before DVR. It’s the best! I would really like to check out Fancast. I need to connect my computer to the TV I just haven’t made it to that point yet. I think I’ll become a Hulu junkie if I do, and then it’ll all go downhill. Ha.

    Reply
  12. Gelle says

    October 23, 2009 at 12:50 am

    I have never heard of Fancast that sounds great. I rarely watch TV, everything I find is online, like the news and weather and whatever shows I want to see.

    Reply
  13. Dr Mom Online says

    October 23, 2009 at 12:09 am

    FREE?? Seriously?!? I’m totally going to check it out! Very cool!

    Reply
  14. AJ Collins says

    October 22, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    Not on fancast… but WOWZER! That sound terrific! I watch online at ABC, which is nice and smooth, but at CBS it takes LONGER to watch an hour show WITHOUT THE COMMERCIALS because of the lag… just sayin’
    🙂 Thanks for the revue… I might have to check that out!

    Reply
  15. The Redhead Riter says

    October 22, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    Cool! I haven’t ever heard of Fancast before but it sounds awesome

    Reply
  16. Becky says

    October 22, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    We don’t have a TV/VCR/DVD player, and we haven’t for about 5 years.
    We use our computer. We have a TV tuner on the computer and we record shows that we can’t watch online. This is great for shows like Curious George & Clifford re-runs for the kids. 🙂
    Of course, we do have a great selection of online shows to watch as well. I am not a big “tv-watcher” but there are times: For example, if I am sick (or really tired–I’m pregnant again!) I may be in the mood or watch two or three shows. And it is great to have ALL my favorite shows so easily accessible!

    Reply
  17. Anna says

    October 22, 2009 at 7:57 pm

    My husband absolutely refuses to get cable, dish or anything other than plain ole TV. Now that we have the digital stuff, we have lost our ability to get Fox and CBS. This is when I discovered Fancast. I love Fancast!!

    Reply

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