We're moving closer and closer to a time when the question of "when" doesn't even matter to TV shows regular airtime. Soon enough everyone will be watching television at their leisure because of the Internet. Already there are televisions that connect to the Internet and companies trying to jump ahead of the game by providing television services where you can download and buy specific episodes to view, however none have perfected this system and Apple has really fallen behind the competition of companies less well-known. The only reason I know the day and time shows air is because A) I'm obsessive and B) I have no life outside of work (and before you attack me for just not getting out there, try living in Fargo and have an exciting life at the same time. It doesn't happen). In college however all I did was watch shows after they aired. Anyway, I digress.
It may seem unreasonable that at some point television ploys like Thursday Night Comedy on NBC or ABC Family Comedy Wednesdays and other various marketing tools like that would leave because they are there to specifically draw in an audience so that advertisers will pay them for time on air. If you've ever used Hulu though you'll see that they're trying out a new method of advertising. You can choose between watching a long-form commercial, usually between 1.5 and 2.5 minutes, but then you don't have any interruptions during your show (so I usually just mute the computer and do something else before the episode actually starts). Even websites like www.Sidereel.com have advertisements that pop up on their website. These don't air before any episodes though since Sidereel doesn't actually host the shows, they just link you to places that actually host the shows like Megavideo.
So, once advertising finds a way to make as much money on the Internet, broadcast television will become obsolete. Advertising has already taken a personalized spin by receiving data from Facebook information (e.g. I have interested in men on my profile so of course I get advertisements all the time for really gay things, or because my current city is Fargo I get advertisements for political campaigns specific to the area.), and Hulu always asks whether an advertisement is relevant to you. So now my Hulu ads are largely ads for Heineken and movies I want to see instead of Tampax Pearl commercials (I don't know if they actually advertise on Hulu, but it is definitley something that is the opposite of relevant to me.)
Ultimately what this whole rant comes down to: Start using Hulu and Sidereel and stop worrying about catching shows when they air. Go to Hulu for more recent shows that have aired (unless it was on CBS, because for some reason they still haven't caught up with everyone else), like current seasons and they usually have the last 5 episodes that aired (which is also helpful to shows to keep viewers up to date and interested). Go to Sidereel if you want to watch shows that haven't aired recently, or shows that are on cable channels like Showtime (for Dexter) or HBO (for True Blood). On Sidereel the options towards the bottom are usually best. This applies in general and to each category like whether the website you're going to is Megavideo or divxden or wisevid (three best options really). There are numerous places you can find shows online, but if you want an almost perfect way of finding the shows, go to Hulu first for the best quality and easy navigation, and try Sidereel after, where you have to look harder, but there are more results.
Fennopian
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