Im really confused about the website surf the channel?

Question

basically i found this website where you can watch any tv show online and im worried about using it incase its not legal, the website says that all websites have to pass laws to be able to show this copy righted materials and are there fore deemed worthy to show the show.

i was wondering if any one knows about this and uses it and knows if its legal?

thanks

Answer 1

It's illegal in most countries.  Even if you just watch it, it actually downloads the file to your hard drive while it's streaming.

Another thing to keep in mind:  many people in Hollywood make money off of residuals.  When you watch a legal stream, like at hulu.com, the actors, writers, producers, directors and other creative people get paid.  It's easy to say that the stars have plenty of money, but the others who get paid include small time character actors and others who are just trying to make a living.  They don't get paid when you watch illegally.  Additionally, when you watch a legal stream or download legally (like through iTunes), this counts toward the show's ratings.  The networks know the figures, and this can help a show get renewed.  There have been some cases where a show was on the bubble and might have been canceled, but was saved because it was a top show on iTunes.  When you watch illegally, it doesn't count.

Answer 2

its illegal but unless u hav a guilty conscience it really doesnt matter. the only thing is i hate how it has to buffer for so long  

Answer 3

lol, uploading the content is illegal, everyone watches the content, and the owners of the movie/show try to pull it down.

They fail miserably and only annoy those who watch tv online to some extent, but don't worry about watching the content.  Just like with youtube.  Someone uploads a tv show episode, lots of people watch it, and then it gets taken down.

Then someone uploads it again. ^-^

Answer 4

As far as I'm aware it's legal to watch online, it's just not legal to download. (Sorry I can't give you any references to this information but I had the same worries a while back and did some research, I didn't find much but that's what the general consensus seemed to be)

Answer 5

A lot of those videos are from asian sites like tudou (thats why some of them have asian subtitles), the ones uploaded on dailymotion or veoh are usually taken down at some point. You're not doing anything illegal by watching the videos linked by surfthechannel, but those providing the videos are. If you want a completely legitimate site, you should try and see if the shows you are looking for are on hulu.com. There are usually two or three 15 second ads, the video quality is great, and its completely legal. Also, when the new tv shows start in the fall most of them will be put up on the network websites the next day.