Yes, and no. Depending on how you are watching TV on the Internet determines if it’s legal or not. Often, the easiest way to determine if the content is legal is if it contains advertisements or a sponsor. The producers of the content cannot afford to release their content without some type of sponsorship. If you are downloading or watching TV without commercials or sponsorship, it may be illegal.

Where on the Internet can I watch TV for free and legally?

The websites listed below allow users to watch TV shows through their site, by way of streaming video. Some sites provide the streaming TV at no cost, but available content may be limited. Other sites require a small subscription fee to watch all available TV shows or a subscription to a cable or satellite service. You may need to log in with your cable or satellite service account to verify your eligibility to watch TV shows through the site, but no additional costs are required.

If you are downloading or viewing illegal content, it’s a security risk since many of the sites hosting the content are supported by malware.

  • Where on the Internet can I watch TV for free and legally?

  • Popular illegal methods of watching TV shows.

  • Other non-free solutions.

  • Hardware devices that support Internet TV programs.

  • Hulu - The number one location for finding full and legal TV shows, trailers, and some movies for US visitors. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC, Fox, and many more.

  • Puffer - A free service operated by Stanford University that streams broadcast TV from California. The available channels are PBS, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and CW.

  • Kanopy - A streaming service that is free for anyone with a card from a participating local library.

  • Emol - Another great collection of free public domain movies, videos, music videos, and TV shows.

  • A&E - The A&E TV site features such popular shows as Dog the Bounty Hunter, Intervention, Obsessed, and The Cleaner.

  • ABC - The ABC page has many of its popular shows, such as Dancing with the stars, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, and Scrubs.

  • CBS - The CBS page has full shows from such shows as 60 Minutes, CSI, The Amazing Race, and more.

  • Comedy Central - The Comedy Central site features shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, South Park, and more.

  • Discovery Channel - The Discovery Channel page features such shows as Man vs. Wild, The Colony, Verminators, and more.

  • Fox - The Fox Broadcasting site features such popular shows as 24, American Idol, Cops, Family Guy, Hell’s Kitchen, The Simpsons, and more.

  • FX - The FX page features such shows as 30 Days, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rescue Me, and more.

  • History Channel - Expedition Africa Ice Road Truckers, Pawn Stars, and more.

  • Lifetime - The Lifetime network features such shows as Army Wives, How I met your Mother, and How to look good naked.

  • MTV - The MTV page features such shows as America’s Best Dance Crew, The Hills, Punk’d, and more.

  • NBC - The NBC page has many of its popular shows such as America’s Got Talent, ER, Heroes, Law and Order, The Office, Saturday Night Live, and many of their old classic shows.

  • Paramount Network - The Paramount Network page features such shows as Yellowstone, Bar Rescue, Ink Master, and Battle of the Fittest Couples.

  • TBS - The TBS page features shows such as 10 Items or less, Family Guy, My Boys, and Seinfeld.

  • TheCW - The CW also features many of its shows, such as 90210, America’s Top Model, Gossip Girl, and Melrose Place.

  • TheWB - The WB site has a collection of their new and old shows online, such as Angel, Babylon 5, Buffy, Smallville, Firefly, Friends, Gilmore Girls, and The Lake.

  • TLC - The TLC page features such shows as Cake Boss, Flip That House, Miami Ink, and Say Yes to the Dress.

  • TNT - The TNT site features popular shows online, such as Bones, ER, Law and Order, Saving Grace, and The Closer.

  • Tubi - Tubi offers licensed content from various companies. The service generates revenue through advertisements.

  • USA - The USA network features such shows as Burn Notice, Monk, Psych, and Royal Pains.

  • VH1 - The VH1 site features shows such as Brooke Knows Best, Sober House, and the T.O show.

  • Bittorrents - Downloading a TV show through a bittorrent is often illegal. These shows are put up and shared by people who do not have the rights to the Copyright.
  • TV streaming sites - Many TV sites are set up to link to other places on the Internet that stream or allow you to download full TV shows from external sources. These sites may have disclaimers citing they are not responsible for the content that is linked on the site, and have links to report broken video links. While the link sites themselves are not illegal, the content that is being linked to is often considered illegal. We also highly recommend avoiding these sites since many of them or the pages they are linking to are riddled with intrusive advertisement, spyware, porn, and other malware.

Other non-free solutions

Hardware devices that support Internet TV programs

Downloading a Copyrighted TV show or movie you have not paid for or received permission to download is considered Copyright infringement and illegal.

There are also TVs that support an Internet connection, called Smart TVs, and include some online programs. Hulu and Netflix are two common programs included on Smart TVs.

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  • Internet help and support.