Free Satellite TV on PC?

Can I Really Get Free Satellite TV on my PC?

Everything I've read about this type of thing tells me it's a scam, or at least a waste of money. The software you get for your forty bucks is nothing more than a menu of free online television broadcasts. Most of the stations listed are foreign, and the list contains many entries that are obsolete or do not work.

If you're considering buying a software package named "PC Satellite TV", "Satellite TV Elite", "Satellite TV on PC", "Satellite TV for PC 2008 Elite Edition", "TV on PC Elite", "Digital TV 4 PC" or anything similar... they are ALL THE SAME type of scamware. You will pay $40 and in return you'll get a crappy software program that does NOT deliver what it promises. You WILL NOT get any premium or pay-per-view channels for free. The only thing these packages offer is links to online video sites that you could find for free with a quick search on Google or Yahoo.

Sorry, but there's no way to turn your PC into a satellite dish and get free HBO or MTV. But there is some good news... You CAN use your internet-connected computer to tune into a huge number of free television broadcasts. You can watch SOME programs from the BBC News, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and other broadcasts from around the world.

I suggest that you first go to the official website of the TV station or broadcast that you'd like to watch and look for a link to view live or recent broadcasts. Here are some links to popular TV network websites:

ABC CBS

NBC MTV

FOX CNN

If you don't see what you want there, try one of these sites that aggregate content from various video and TV sites across the Internet:

Joost Hulu Veoh

Exposing the "free satellite tv on pc" scam has not made me popular with some people. Many times I've received emails from people saying that I'm a liar, that I must be "really old fashioned" or "a Direct TV executive." Others post comments here with a glowing review of some Satellite TV software and a link to buy. But EVERY TIME, it's the exact same scamware, being sold through an affiliate link. My advice here is only meant to protect people who might otherwise be tempted to waste their money and fall for this scam.

As I said before, these programs will NOT give you access to anything that's not already freely available on the Web. What this software provides (when it actually works) is little more than a searchable list of websites that offer streaming video. You can find the same information yourself with a search engine query. It's ONLY dishonest people, who stand to profit from ignorance, that continue to push this scam. Don't fall for it.

Oh, and one last point... every few months someone posts a comment and asks "Why do you sometimes have ads on this page for the same type of products that you warn against?" That's a fair question, and I've answered it several times in the comments. But since those replies can get buried after a while, I'm going to address the issue here. The Google ads are not under my control, and are automatically selected for relevance to the content of the page. And in an ironic way, even those questionable ads are. My hope is that people will actually *READ* the article and understand why they should NOT believe the hype. Click if you want, just be forewarned.

Got comments or questions about free online TV? Post your thoughts below...