One of the major advantages to having dish TV has always been the sheer number of channels you have access to. While cable has made strides in recent years to keep up with dish TV, the fact is that the widest selection of programming is one of the main selling points of dish TV services. That being said, there is a phenomenon that’s crept up recently that has some providers of pay-TV worried, and that is streaming TV via the Internet.
To be sure, Internet TV is still in its infancy, and most cable or dish TV providers aren’t exactly quaking in their boots. Adoption of Internet TV is somewhat slow. If you doubt that, look at the lackluster success of the Apple TV device. Even after the re-launch of this product was announced this summer, demand has not grown tremendously.
Here are some of the sources that folks are using to get their Internet TV:
- Netflix. The Netflix service is ideal for many folks. It allows you to stream movies, TV shows and more to your computer. You can also stream those movies to your TV using a Netflix-enabled device. Many of the newer Blu-Ray players are actually being produced to be compatible with Netflix as well as the other Internet TV services. Of course, you also have DVD service with Netflix, where you can have DVDs sent to you through the mail. There is a monthly fee for the Netflix service, although this fee is small compared to the cost of cable or dish TV.
- Amazon on Demand. Amazon’s Video on Demand service offers programming in a streaming manner, as well. Typically, these are on a per-diem cost rather than as a subscription.
- iTunes. Like Amazon on Demand, you can also watch episodes of some TV shows via iTunes.
- Hulu. The idea behind Hulu is to offer streaming television programs to users via the Internet. Hulu relies on an advertising model rather than a subscription model. Hulu has more current programming than you would find on Netflix or on Amazon on Demand, for example, and often has shows the night after they air on TV.
- Network websites. Some networks broadcast their TV shows the next day after they air via their websites, as well.