It's Time to Dump Your Cable Bill: Get Free TV Online

One might think that cable prices would go down over-time due to increased competition and better technology, but that certainly hasn't been the case in North America in the last decade. Cable prices are seemingly increasing perpetually, and we're nickel-and-dimed to death for every extra feature that we might want along with our cable package. I took a look at our cable bill (which includes internet, DVR, digital cable, and some premium movie channels) that my room-mate takes care of, and it was nearly $125! That's a lot of money for television! If you're in a similar situation, it's definitely worth taking time to consider some of the free alternatives available through the web.

The big three television networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS are now offering their prime-time shows available to watch online for free, whenever you want. It's like your own digital video recorder that you never have to set! On some of the sites, you can even go back and watch entire seasons of your favorite show.

If you're looking for more than just prime time, there are a number of other television offerings from cable channels and smaller networks online. A great source for such content is AOL Video. They have content from MTV, TNT, TBS, VH1, Spike, Fox, Comedy Central, CMT, A&E, and a number of other channels. Some of the content on AOL Video is free, you'll have to pay a couple of bucks for some of the episodes, but it's still much cheaper than paying for an over-priced cable package.

Joost is a new option currently in beta that will allow you to watch many cable channels online just as if you were watching them on television, and do so all for free. You'll be able to see networks such as MTV, Comedy Central, The Soccer Channel, National Geographic, and Sci-Fi. Currently the software is available on an invite only basis, but if you do some looking online, chances are you'll be able to get an invite without very much effort.

There are also a number of non-conventional shows made available online for free by their creators, known as video podcasts. These are usually low budget informative shows that discuss a niche topic. It's almost surprising how many great video podcasts are online for free. People with an interest and a little bit of video editing technique create a show, refine the process over time, and before you know it, there's 100,000 people watching the show whenever it comes out! With special software such as Juice Receiver, you can set it up to automatically download new shows for you when they become available.