Come On! Give Me My Shows!

Maybe I'm just a little grumpy but there's something that is really driving me crazy. Long ago I lost my interest in professional sports. When I was a kid the Cincinnati Royals left town for Kansas City then The Big Red Machine was dismantled. So now I see professional sports as disruption in my television watching schedule. That's why I was so pleased when I started seeing networks migrate their shows onto the net. Sure, I could always break the law and bittorrent the shows, but I'd rather just watch them while I work without waiting hours to download a file or breaking the law. Plus, there's the added benefit of supporting the networks doing a smart thing, or so I thought.

Last Thursday, I was excited to watch the latest episode of The Office, since it was written by Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant, the original creators of the British version of the show.

I had a meeting toward the end of the day and as I stood at the window of the conference room that overlooks the stadium, I realized the Bengals were playing and the game was televised. This meant my shows would be preempted!

However, I had hope. Since NBC posts shows on their site I assumed I could catch up the next day. But for some odd reason, NBC only posts some shows to their site. For the others they put up a two-minute replay to "get you caught up."

This is another sign that the networks just don't get it. Here let me break it down for you. You have fans who are so into your show they will take hours to download an episode illegally. I mean hours. Rather than offering these rabid fans the show with a few commercials you give them a two minute synopsis.

The best way for the networks to battle illegal downloads is to give fans the shows with advertising. Only the more technically saavy are able to download illegal shows. Average users just want to click a button and watch the show. THEY'LL EVEN SIT THROUGH COMMERICALS!

Did I get to watch The Office. Well, you'll never know. After all, I would have had to break the law to do that. Do you really think I'm that kind of guy?