The primetime TV schedule, once committed to memory so we could keep track of our favorite shows, long ago lost its hold. Digital recorders and, increasingly, online options have unchained us from the tube at designated days and times.
The broadcast networks, which initially resisted releasing us, now provide free multiple viewing options.
If you missed Sunday’s “Desperate Housewives” on ABC or Monday night’s “K-Ville” on Fox, no problem. Tune to or for the latest installments.
TNS Media Intelligence, a research company that provides information to advertisers and media outlets, says about 16 percent of viewers with Internet access at home watch some TV shows online.
That’s not exactly a widespread phenomenon, but the percentage has nearly doubled from a couple of years ago, so it’s definitely catching on.
Commercial breaks do exist online, but they’re minimal compared with broadcast episodes. An hour-long show runs about 43 minutes on the Web, while a half-hour sitcom takes a mere 22 minutes. Ads and promotional spots rarely run more than 15 to 30 seconds, and the breaks are few.
Most people who watch online, the study found, are catching up on a missed episode. They’re not necessarily choosing to watch TV on their computers instead of their TVs.
After trolling the four major networks’ websites to watch full episodes of primetime series, here’s a rundown:
ABC.com: The most recent episode of “Desperate Housewives” was posted by date and easy to find. Screen-size options range from mini (3 inches by 1.5 inches) to normal (5.5 inches by 3 inches) to big (8 inches by 4.5 inches) to full-screen (however big your computer screen is). The bigger the screen size, the fuzzier the picture. The video was a little choppy, and the episode took longer to load than shows on the other networks’ sites.
CBS.com: When I clicked on the most recent episodes of the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” and the drama “CSI,” I had to download Flash Player both times, and the video quality was jerky. This was by far the worst of the lot, and the screensize option, besides full-screen, was an old-fashioned 5.5 inches by 4 inches, instead of the more modern widescreen shape.
NBC.com: The latest installments of “The Office” and “Bionic Woman” offered good screen options, from “normal” (7 inches by 4 inches) to “large” (9.5 inches by 6.5 inches) in addition to the full-screen choice. The video fares pretty well, even on the largest screen, but NBC’s downfall online is that episodes on the menu are numbered but have no dates, which makes for frustrating searches. Most of us know when we missed something, not what number it is or what title it has.
Fox.com: This is by far the best online video quality. No jerky movement, no fuzziness. And there are four screen-size options. Episodes have dates and titles, for easy searching. I breezed through episodes of “King of the Hill” and “K-Ville” in no time.
