TVSquad

As I've mentioned a few times, I don't have cable or satellite. I have a computer with an HDTV tuner and a digital antenna sitting on top of our TV cabinet. I get crystal clear reception on every available network except for CBS and PBS, and I can pick those up with old fashioned bunny ears. And while I could supplement my free TV buy purchasing the cable-only shows I really want to see from iTunes or Amazon Unbox, Hulu has been saving me the trouble by providing new BattleStar Galactica episodes within a day or two of their original air date. So while most fans have been tuning into Sci Fi for their BSG fix on Friday nights, I've just fired up the old web browser on Saturday mornings.

And then this weekend things went horribly wrong. There was no new episode on Saturday morning. Or evening. Or Sunday. Today I checked out the Battlestar Galactica page on Hulu, and I found a note showing the air dates and "available on Hulu" dates. Apparently new episodes will not be made available online exactly one week after their original air date. Well, most episodes. If you look closely, you'll see that this past week's episode is scheduled to be online in about a thousand years. But I'm hoping that's just a typo because I'm not really sure I can wait that long.

Honestly, a one week delay isn't unreasonable. It makes sense that Sci Fi would want to encourage people to watch on television rather than their computers. I'm pretty sure they're still making more money from TV advertisements than web-based ads. And the latest episode is already available from Amazon Unbox for $1.99. So I either have to adjust my expectations and avoid spoilers for a week, or shell out some money. Seems fair enough.

Have you noticed any other programs getting a delayed Hulu release?