MEDIUM Online

Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, so you may already be aware of this, but you can now watch NBC shows online! For free! (Assuming you ignore the monthly cost of your cable modem, hehe.)

Apparently, NBC is one of a handful of TV networks that are putting their content on their websites. So if you don't have TiVo (which I don't) or even cable (which I don't) you can still watch your favorite shows on that network!

I discovered this after catching a great episode of MEDIUM tonight, feeling guilty because I wasn't able to tape it so Brian could watch it, and going online to see if it was on my favorite site for catching TV shows I can't watch on TV.

It wasn't.

But then I remembered something My Genius Friend Dave told me, so I went to NBC.com and found not tonight's episode, but the past 3 episodes prior to tonight's! (Which means that tonight's will probably be online by the time you read this entry -- assuming you don't read it 3 weeks from its writing, lol.)

I'm blogging about this because IT'S FRIGGIN' COOL!!! It looks as though broadcast television is finally catching on to what's happening around them and -- if you can imagine it -- ADAPTING!!!

I say this with surprise, because large corporations aren't traditionally known for their adaptibility. The last 3 decades (if not longer) we have seen corporations lay-off entire departments rather than rework their business strategies. And TV, in particular, has not been known for cutting-edge thinking!!! They make shows based on popular movies, or remake shows that have worked in other countries, or base shows ON OTHER TV SHOWS!

So seeing a TV network looking into the future and actually a step toward it is amazing for me!!!

I just watched 2 highly entertaining episodes of a really, really well-made show online as a result of some foreward thinking by a TV network!

Astounding!

Blah.

Anyway, in case you didn't know about this little mini-revolution in broadcasting, check your favorite network's website and see if maybe they're doing this, too.

And if they're not, you can always pay to watch your favorite shows on iTunes.

But free is ALWAYS better, if it's an option.

Oh, one minor thing: I haven't done any real research -- other than watching a couple of episodes of MEDIUM online -- so I don't know what the story is on the other networks doing this. But NBC has a single sponsor for each episode. So at the beginning of the episode you'll see a bumper telling you who is sponsoring the episode, and 2 comercials placed throughout the episode.

This isn't bad. Remember when TV WAS free? You got to watch free TV because you were sitting through comercials. Only now you're paying your cable company for the privelege of watching all those commericals, as well as the show you actually WANT to see.

Well, 2 commercials for an hour-long program (when you watch online) is AMAZINGLY
acceptable, to me anyway. You've got about 45 minutes good TV viewing and 1 minute of advertising.

If only Hotmail.com were as reasonable. (Is it just me? I check my email from a variety of connections, from last-millinium, barely-eligible-to-be-called-cable-modem to super-fast, and they ALL get bogged down by all the flashing ads ALL OVER the page! Very annoying.)


Okay, that's all I've got this time.

OOH! It's almost mid-April! I need to check on the Shuttle Program and see if Atlantis is going to make the mid-April launch!

Actually, I might go check on that now.

See ya! :D