In the Beginning
Since the demise of Seinfeld and Friends, I haven’t been a big sitcom enthusiast. But last year, Penny (that’s my wife, who’s suffering along with me this year in watching everything online) introduced me to How I Met Your Mother, and we started watching regularly. The quirky humor combined with just a tad of geekiness, not to mention Cobie Smulders (<growl>, you have to watch an episode of HIMYM in HD to get the full CS experience) as Robin Scherbatsky and, my personal idol, NPH as Barney Stinson, made it a must-see for us each week. A few weeks in, I plopped myself down in front of the tele 10 minutes early and got instantly hooked on The Big Bang Theory. So much so that TBBT is more of a must-see for me that HIMYM. What can I say, I identify with a group of socially awkward geeks. 
The Search for Answers
Fortunately for me, I was able to catch the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory last week (before I started the experiment), and it did not disappoint. This past week however, the experiment had begun, and I’m off TV. I didn’t actually expect there to be any problem. Boy, was I wrong.
The Big Bang Theory, despite ostensible appeal to people who spend most of their days (and nights) basking in the glow of their computer monitors, is not to be found online in full epsiode format. CBS.com, whose site is more difficult to navigate than a mapping of the human Genome (another post in the works: why the major networks all need to redesign their websites), has a page devoted to TBBT, with only clips and recaps of each episode. Like the great mysteries of the universe, this left me asking the One Great Question: WHY?
Ok, no problem, I thought. Let’s just fire up the old iTunes and download the old episode (as much as I loathe buying content in this format - again, a post for another time - for TBBT, I would have). Not available. Not available via the Zune Marketplace or Amazon Video On Demand either. As far as I can find, The Big Bang Theory is not available in full episode format online.
CBS.com does provide a recap, a photo gallery (photo gallery?!?! What year is it?) and a few clips from each episode, which give the gist of the overall plot, but leave you without the full Big Bang experience. Whatsmore, CBS squeezes every last drop out of even their two-minute clips; a 15- or 30-second pre-roll ad is played before most clips. Why not just put the whole episode out there and put in two or three 30-second ads? Like science’s quest to find a theory to unify quantum gravity and quantum mechanics, it boggles the mind. At the very least, clips from TBBT are embeddable, but only if you grab them from a certain page, which I can’t seem to find right now (again, CBS.com is overly confusing).
Final Examination
So, as far at the The Big Bang Theory goes:
- Full episodes available online: F
- Full episodes available for purchase/download: F
- Clips available online: C+ (points for embedabble on some players, deductions for pre-roll ads)
- Website experience: C
Overall grade: D
As such, I have no choice but to give The Big Bang Theory, and CBS, a broken TV for their failure to bring this geek-friendly show to the online world.
(QED)
I don’t know what I’m going to do this year with The Big Bang Theory, it’s been one of my favorite shows. If anyone has any other hypothesis as to how to solve this dilema (other than BitTorrent; one of the rules, which are forthcoming, is nothing illegal; but that’s what most everyone else would do), please let me know.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Charles Hoffmeyer 11.08.08 at 5:48 pm
I agree, what are they thinking???? Why won’t they let me PAY them to watch these shows on iTunes even???? I’ve given up TV and only watch shows over the internet as well. This is a crummy move on CBS/TimeWarner/whoever’s part.
David Swedlow 09.14.09 at 9:57 pm
It’s a year later, and the same state of affairs exists. Are you listening CBS? Perhaps we can look forward to watching episodes as cave drawings…
doug 09.30.09 at 11:46 pm
This is the one and only reason I’m considering buying a dvr. Monday nights I can’t watch tv, but its never been a problem because 2.5men, HIMYM are online. BUT WHY CANT I GET BBT ANYWHERE? Its really frustrating. Right now my solution is to ftp the show from a friend of mine who rips them down via a high-end graphics card and pc. Not a convenient setup. Questionable legality, but where there’s a will and a pc, there’s a way.
Meggan 05.19.10 at 6:16 am
Well, if I’m correct and CBS is owned by Time Warner, guess who Time Warner owns? Comcast. The number one cable company in the nation. Guess who Comcast owns? Fancast.com. Believe me this is not the only show or channel I’ve had issues with trying to find online video for. I happen to be a big junkie to The Real Housewives serious on Bravo. What can I say…I’m a girl, and this kind of stuff is my crack. However, I’m also a big fan of TBBT, and missed the infamous Lenoard Meet Sheldon episode.
I recently cut the cable cord, and just stick with what I can get with my digital tuner. So at least I can watch this show, as long as I catch it on TV, along with other basic channel line ups.
I recently received an email from Bravo saying they would “LOVE” (they put love in all caps) to be able to keep their housewives episodes online (as you can only watch the last two or three, and your lucky if they even post the episode in the first place), but because of the deals they have with cable companies, they are only allowed to do so much. However, if I wanted I could head over to iTunes to purchase those episodes for $1.99. I would rather pay for online access to all their programing, then per episode, or per show.
Personally I think it’s a big money maker crap deal, between these giant companies who have their hands in everyone’s pocket. Things are starting to stink of anti-trust.
As well there was a recent article about the tremendous amount of people who are moving to online, so as to cut the cable with cable, and quit getting robbed. While they are still sitting pretty, they are at a presebus where the scales will begin to tip soon. I think there’s too much back door dealing, and too many companies owning everything.
I’ve been trying to find out more info, but I think we consumers need to stand up for ourselves and quit taking what we get. We can get better, and the change that’s forcasted to arrive in the next two years or so, consumers have the ability to affect greater change for themselves.
TBBT Show Lover 07.04.10 at 6:22 am
This show is just lovely. Sitting with my wife and kids to watch it is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. The 4th season will be aired on next September, and I heard there will be new guys joining the show.
Oh yea, any ideas about the 3rd season dvd release date? That’d be an awesome gift to my wife!
Jeff