American TV

Hello!  I'm going to be moving to the UK in January.  Sadly, one of the things I am most concerned about is missing a few of my favorite TV shows (I know this is pathetic).  I understand that you are not able to watch TV online as we would in the US through Hulu, abc.com, etc.  Does anyone know if there anyway to make this happen? 

Thanks! 

Hi,

You're right that Hulu, ESPN360 and other online TV generally won't be available in the UK (you can go to the site, but you'll get a message that the service isn't available to your area).

There are three ways around this.  The first way is to use a proxy server to hide the fact that you're in the UK.  I haven't tried this, but other people on here have, and if you have a search through the forum you'll find some ideas about how to do this.

The second way around is to download copies of shows from torrent sites.  I don't use this method, either, and haven't seen too many people here who do.

The third way, the one I use, is to go to sites like missedashow.net or ovguide.com and find the shows there.

Hope that helps.

Carl

[edit out a bit about a method that is probably not legal, unbeknownst to me ]

If you're planning on getting a TV subscription service here (Sky, Virgin, etc.,) you probably won't miss that much TV.  Some things take a while to get over here, but others are only delayed a week or two.  Some, like "The Daily Show", is pretty much the next day (albeit a truncated version).  Even with Freeview you can catch a lot of stuff fairly current.

But don't expect some of the channels on cable to be just like their American counterparts.  For example, Comedy Central here is basically 5 American sitcoms rotated during the day in 1 hour slots and about 4 or 5 played at night (more "mature" or newer usually) with the occasional movie and standup act.  IMO, I am glad we have it now (although I didn't miss it when we were on Freeview), but don't get too dazzled by the prospect of so many channels with American counterparts in the US.

ETA:  If you're planning on getting a TV subscription service here (Sky, Virgin, etc.,) you probably won't miss that much TV.  Some things take a while to get over here, but others are only delayed a week or two.  Some, like "The Daily Show", is pretty much the next day (albeit a truncated version).  Even with Freeview you can catch a lot of stuff fairly current.

I agree - depending on what shows you watch, you may be able to catch them on TV here in the UK. Several of the primetime US shows are aired here in the UK only a few days (or maybe a few weeks) after they've aired in the US.

At the moment, we are getting new episodes of House (season 6) and Flashforward in the same week that they have been aired in the US, and from January they'll be showing the new seasons of 24 and Lost on cable/digital as well. The last few weeks, we've been able to watch Dancing With The Stars on cable just 4 days after the US live shows and in the New Year, we should get American Idol a few days after it's aired too. Normally we'd have Desperate Housewives and Heroes on at the moment too, but for some reason, they haven't starting airing the new seasons here yet.

Also currently airing in the UK at the moment are: Defying Gravity, Gossip Girl season 3, Fringe season 2, Lie To Me season 2, Big Bang Theory season 3 (starting this month), Bones season 5 and I've read that Glee will be shown in the New Year too.

Often the UK TV stations will start showing US shows a few months after they're first aired in the US (maybe in Jan or Feb) so that they can show the entire season in one go without having mid-season breaks between the episodes - so by the time we reach the end of the season, we are only a few days behind the US. More recently though, they've began showing them closer to the US airdate to reduce internet piracy/illegal downloading (i.e. if a show is aired in the US on a Wednesday, it will be on in the UK by the weekend).

If you keep a US credit card or bank account you can link an itunes account to it and download from the US site, if you want to pay. I did that for a few shows. We also had slingbox, which was great.

[mod note]

I've said it before, I'll say it again - the use of slingboxes in this way is not strictly legal.  I think we all know the situation with torrents too?? UK Yankee does not recommend or endorse the use of these methods.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/175602

I didn't realise that about Slingboxes. I don't have one (nor do I use torrents). I won't suggest them again. Feel free to edit my post. Otherwise, I can edit it later when I am near a PC.

There are numerous websites that host links to where you can watch television. If you use firefox, you can add-on headers that allow you to access US websites. The possibilities are endless 

Casttv and Project Free tv are excellent sources to first try out.

Wait, how is having a slingbox, that we purchased, hooked up to a tv that belongs to my family, and watching it on my computer not legal? I am being honest here, I don't get it. That article actually says it is not legal when you pay for a slingbox sharing site, but when you purchase it, hook it up to your tv (or a tv of someone you know) and watch it on your computer, how is this illegal? FWIW, only one person can be hooked up to a slingbox at a time, so I couldn't share my info with someone and have them use it at the same time as me.

I am not trying to be snarky, I am genuinely confused as to how the above scenario is not legal.

Wait, how is having a slingbox, that we purchased, hooked up to a tv that belongs to my family, and watching it on my computer not legal? I am being honest here, I don't get it. That article actually says it is not legal when you pay for a slingbox sharing site, but when you purchase it, hook it up to your tv (or a tv of someone you know) and watch it on your computer, how is this illegal? FWIW, only one person can be hooked up to a slingbox at a time, so I couldn't share my info with someone and have them use it at the same time as me.

I am not trying to be snarky, I am genuinely confused as to how the above scenario is not legal.

I agree. That makes no sense. The article was about charging strangers for the use. That is quite unrelated to what was being suggested by the other posters.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!  I am excited to say (but kind of embarrased too) that my anxiety about moving across the pond has just decreased tremendously!    

I just watch a couple of Primetime shows, i.e. Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and I'm more than happy to wait for them. 

Thanks again! 

Ashley

Wait, how is having a slingbox, that we purchased, hooked up to a tv that belongs to my family, and watching it on my computer not legal? I am being honest here, I don't get it. That article actually says it is not legal when you pay for a slingbox sharing site, but when you purchase it, hook it up to your tv (or a tv of someone you know) and watch it on your computer, how is this illegal? FWIW, only one person can be hooked up to a slingbox at a time, so I couldn't share my info with someone and have them use it at the same time as me.

I am not trying to be snarky, I am genuinely confused as to how the above scenario is not legal.

If you're viewing shows in an area where they would not normally be transmitted, you're infringing the broadcaster's ownership rights. What if ABC  tried to syndicate a show to Channel 4 in the UK and Channel 4 said no because everyone's already using a slingbox to watch it? That's lost revenue for ABC.

Again, UK Yankee does not endorse the use of slingboxes  in this way.

If you're just using it to watch something on your laptop in another room, no problem.

It's worth noting the slingbox was invented by a couple of guys who wanted to circumvent baseball blackout zones.  MLB has spoken out against their use, I believe.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!  I am excited to say (but kind of embarrased too) that my anxiety about moving across the pond has just decreased tremendously!    

I just watch a couple of Primetime shows, i.e. Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and I'm more than happy to wait for them. 

Thanks again! 

Ashley

Thos particular shows are all on here so you'll be fine!

I just watch a couple of Primetime shows, i.e. Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and I'm more than happy to wait for them. 

Brothers and Sisters Season 4 will be shown in the UK in early 2010 on channel E4 (available on Freeview and digital/cable TV, but not on basic terrestrial TV).

Desperate Housewives is also due to return for season 6 in early 2010 on Channel 4 (basic terrestrial channel) and also on E4 (which is its sister channel on freeview/digital).

Grey's Anatomy is a difficult one because it seems to be further behind other shows. It's aired on cable/digital only at the moment, on Living TV. Season 5 was aired earlier this year, but I'm not sure when season 6 will start. It seems that they've only aired seasons 1 and 2 on terrestrial TV so far and the rest of the seasons have been shown on digital only.

I guess I don't see Slingbox that way, and I don't personally think it would be allowed to be sold in major stores if it was illegal. The other thing is that people in the UK can't buy a US slingbox and set it up with a US househould/cable system without having family or friends in the US, so the chances of the Slingbox actually causing shows to not be broadcast on TV are slim to none.

Again, not being snarky, I just disagree.

I understand UK-Yankee is not endorsing the use of the slingbox, and I respect that. As a personal user I can say it was great for me for the 3 years I was in the UK.