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Internet TV: Lost the Remote? Not a Problem
Almost every major TV channel has its own internet streaming service nowadays where you can catch up on all of your favourite shows without having to even turn on the TV. The rise of these streaming sites will surely come as a welcome relief to those faced with the eternal dilemma of 'Facebook or Corrie' with the ability to catch up on all of their drama when they feel like it. So far BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all have their own services offering access to all of their broadcast programs plus a wide range of radio stations and even movies that can be downloaded to the players for a small fee. One of the major benefits of using the Internet to catch up on TV is that there is no pesky license fee to pay; as long as you are not watching it live you are in the clear, well apart from having to pay for actually being online that is. With so many sites dedicated to offering everything you could possibly want (and a lot that you don’t) is traditional TV on its way to being obsolete?
It's not just soaps and Friend's repeats that are being watched across the internet, two of the biggest events in Internet TV streaming involved real life, nail biting occurrences. The 2010 world cup pushes internet streaming sites to their max with millions of people all around the world refreshing pages to catch up on the latest matches. The BBC offered both a live stream and the ability to 'catch-up' on every match they had shown along with radio commentary for those trying to sneakily keep up to date with headphones in the office. The 2008 US presidential election also had internet users from around the world clambering for any updated piece of news content with UK news streaming sites such as Sky and BBC inundated with people trying to access the campaign coverage and Obama's victory speech.
It probably won't be long before the powers that be start clamping down on TV streaming however until that happens why not enjoy the ability to throw away the TV guide and break loose of the constraints of staying in on Saturday night to watch Match of the Day. The internet already gives us access to books, newspapers, albums, films and shops, now with TV in the mix there really is no need to ever detach ourselves from our computers.