For many Americans the advent of high speed internet has literally made TV obsolete. In the absence of large TV sets their living rooms have stared to look roomier. Have they stopped seeing TV soaps and serials? They certainly haven’t. They are simply watching TV shows online.

If the major American online companies, which have made available free online TV shows, have their way this may be the shape of things to come and not a passing fad. All this has been made possible by high speed internet which has very effectively promoted TV online shows.

Though majority of Americans still watch their favorite shows on TV the viewership of TV online shows is steadily going up. At ABC 8% of the viewers they track watch these shows. And the encouraging thing is that these shows are watched not only by kids but also by adults on their computers. It is also possible that you may not browse on the computer as much as you channel surf the TV and thus be loyal to a few programmes

All things however come with some down sides. A popular TV show may draw too many people and crash the website. The other disadvantage is that the shows are posted a day late – too late for some avid viewers. There are hardly any live sports event and none whatsoever of the big ones. And of course movie is more fun on bigger screens. Who would like to see “Dr. Zhivago on the computer.

The websites to go to watch a TV show online are abc.com, nbc.com, cbs.com and fox com. TV shows at these web sites are usually posted 24 hours after being shown on TV.

In addition to TV shows, there are also several websites that feature downloadable movies too.