TVSquad

Reader Rod wrote to us recently asking for a comprehensive list of all the television programs that can be downloaded or streamed online. That's a pretty tall order, and I'm sure I'll forget a few, which is why I'm asking our faithful readers to fill in any gaps left due to my ignorance or plain forgetfulness. I'm going to focus purely on legitimate downloads and not such things as peer-to-peer downloads or torrents. I'm not going to list specific shows, because obviously as the television schedule changes, so do the programs.

I encourage you to add this post to your Favorites, as I'll be updating it every now and then.

(Last updated on 01/21/07)

ABC: http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing

ABC Family: http://abcfamily.go.com/broadband/index.html

CBS: http://www.cbs.com/innertube/

NBC: http://www.nbc.com/Video/

FOX: FOX is currently streaming full episodes of some of its programs in select markets. Unfortunately, you can only watch these episodes if you live within that specific broadcast area. Right now those areas include Dallas, Boston, Greensboro, Los Angeles, New York, Birmingham, Tampa Bay, Orlando and Washington, DC. FOX also offers $1.99 downloads on the IGN Direct2Drive site. FOX has deals with several sites to stream its television shows, including the News Corp-owned MySpace, plus Google Video, MSN, and TV Guide.

The CW: http://video.cwtv.com/

PBS: Full episodes of Frontline are available here, and some PBS shows were recently added to the iTunes store.

Cartoon Network: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/app/index.html

Toonami: http://www.toonamijetstream.com/

Adult Swim: http://www.adultswim.com/adultswimfix/index.jsp

MTV: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/#/overdrive/

Comedy Central: http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/

Nickelodeon: http://www.nick.com/turbonick/

Disney Channel: http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/video/index.html

E!: Mostly clips, occasional full episode premieres. Go to www.eonline.com and click on "The Vine."

ESPN: ESPN 360 is only carried by certain internet providers.

TNT: http://alt.tnt.tv/d-vision/vidplayer.html

VH1: http://www.vh1.com/vspot/player.jhtml?launchedFrom=/vspot/

TV Land: http://www.tvland.com/tvlhome.jhtml

Current TV: http://www.current.tv/network/video (Thanks, Rod)

C-SPAN: Recent programs listed under video/audio.

The N: Go to the Web site and click on "The Click."

TBS: As of this writing, the Laugh Lab section of the TBS site will stream repeats of the series 10 Items or Less and My Boys.

Sci Fi: Sci Fi First Look offers occasional full premiere episodes.

Brilliant But Cancelled: The name pretty much explains it.

In2TV: http://television.aol.com/in2tv/full_list_tv (free retro shows of all kinds offered through this AOL site*)

AOL Video also offers a surfeit of shows both for free and at a cost (thanks, Rod).

Yahoo TV offers some (but not many) full episodes from the major networks, as well: http://tv.yahoo.com/

MSN: Premieres offered for free on the TV Buzz section of the MSN site.

Amazon Unbox also has shows from several networks available for a cost.

iTunes: As I said at the beginning of this post, I'm not going to list specific TV shows but rather provide links to the download sites since TV shows come and go and new ones are always coming down the pike. I figure this way you can stick this post in your Favorites and come back to it whenever you feel like foraging for TV content online. As of this writing, the following networks are offering content through the iTunes store: A&E, ABC, ABC Family, ABC News, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Biography Channel, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, CSTV/CBS Sports, Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, E!, ESPN, FOX, FOX Reality, Fuel TV, FX, History Channel, FX, Jetix, Logo, MTV, NBC, NBC News, NFL Network, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Sci Fi Channel, Showtime, Sleuth, SOAPNet, Speed, Spike, The N, TLC, Travel Channel, TV Land, USA and Warner Bros.

UPDATE: jbelkin hepped me to this site that lists free-for-a-limited-time iTunes downloads: http://www.itsfreedownloads.com/

TV shows can also be found on Google Video if you feel like poking around. I personally find the site to be a bit too arduous for my taste. UPDATE: Reader Lampbane made a list of the shows offered through Google in the comments. Thanks, Lamp.

If I missed anything, and I probably did, let me know in the comments. Keep in mind I'm only interested in full episodes, not clips.

NEW: Commenter dr.tv has a massive list of shows available online here. A great source.

*TV Squad is also owned by AOL.