4 reasons to finally start watching TV shows legally

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Contrary to stereotypes, video hosting sites, social networks and other platforms with terabytes of illegal content are not so convenient for watching TV shows. Let's talk about why it is better to use subscription services (spoiler alert: not only because it's good for karma).

Piracy sites are a bad idea

Computer pirates often portray themselves as fighters against the system and take pride in the fact that large corporations cannot cash in on them. In reality, distributors of unlicensed content simply support copyright infringement. In addition, using sites with illegally hosted series is below average pleasure, and here's why.

1. It's inconvenient

Try to go to such a site for the sake of interest. Chances are, you'll see a lot of banner ads and annoying pop-ups. The set will probably include a low speed of work and a search that is not organized in the best way.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

Previously, if I wanted to watch a movie or TV series, I had three main sources of such content: TV, cinema, and pirate sites. Cinemas are not the cheapest pleasure now, and often there is no time to go somewhere. On TV, everything is on air, and your free time schedule does not coincide with the broadcast schedule. With content from the Internet, everything is very clear: you can catch viruses or download a movie in terrible quality.

Once I quit watching a series on a pirate site because of the constant advertising. Advertising inserts appeared in it regularly (every 10 minutes). It was interesting for me to watch the plot, but the constant posts about casinos and other questionable sites were very annoying. For example, in one of them a man repeated one word for a whole minute: "Discount, discount, discount." After that, you forget the whole plot and start thinking that you are going crazy.

2. It's illegal

Today in our country there is no criminal prosecution for the consumption of pirated content, unlike other countries. Russian anti-piracy legislation protects content owners by blocking torrent trackers and does not punish their users. But this is only for now. In any case, watching TV shows on social networks is wrong, because in essence it is theft.

3. It is resource intensive

Yes, these sites usually don't ask you to pay them. But then you will lose time and nerves. In one case, to view, you definitely need to register on the resource and indicate your mail. In another, you will need to write 10 messages on the forum. And only after that you will be given access to the video archive.

And all this comes with non-skippable commercials inside a movie or TV series, missing episodes that you have to look for on other services, or even viruses on the page.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

Every viewing of the series on pirate sites was a real pain for me. And one of the main reasons for this was the voice acting. If this is a new TV project, then most likely it will be amateur and terrible. Another pain is missing or confused episodes. For example, there are nine episodes in the season, and eight on the website. Where the latter went is not clear.

4. It hinders the development of the industry

Studios and indie directors need money to make quality TV shows and films. But pirate sites rob them of some of their profits. Because of this, few people want to risk money and spend a lot of money on expensive and large-scale projects.

Existing alternatives

If you've finally decided to switch to the bright side of the Force, then you have three options.

1. Complete refusal to watch TV series

And watch movies only in the cinema. Not the best solution. Because of it, you will miss many interesting projects. In addition, today TV shows and films are also an element of socialization. When you come to a new company or work team, you can more easily start a conversation with a colleague if you both are madly in love with True Detective or Good Omens.

2. Use of free sites where the content was posted by the copyright holder himself

3. Subscription to online service

This is the best option for today. For a small monthly fee, you will receive all films from the service library at once. Including new items.

For example, you can subscribe to Wink, a platform for legally watching hundreds of TV shows, movies and TV channels. To use it, you do not need to be constantly on the Internet: if you download a series or a whole movie to your smartphone or tablet in advance, you can watch it on the go.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

I found out about Wink by accident. I was invited to give a master class, and in my bag of merchandise there was a card of this service with a monthly subscription.

One of the main advantages of Wink is the subscription price and its variability. If you do not watch movies and TV shows avidly, but spend the weekend on this business, as in my case, you can get by with the package "For Amateurs" for 300 rubles. If you need constant access to the maximum number of not only TV series and films, but also TV channels, then the cost will already be 749 rubles.

Benefits of legal subscription services

They are better than pirates not only because they are legal. There are also a number of compelling, but non-obvious reasons to start watching TV shows exclusively by subscription.

1. Premieres simultaneously with the whole world

The base of films and TV series is regularly updated, and you will not miss a single world premiere.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

In October, I started watching Watchmen on Wink - the same time it came out in the US. I didn't know about this universe and the original comic before, but the series managed to drag me out.

2. Exclusive content

Service owners strive to attract large audiences. And so they want to get as many exclusive TV series and other content as possible for their site. For example, on the Wink service, you can watch the fights of the UFC organization and films translated by Dmitry Puchkov (Goblin). This service also offers access to more than 200 TV channels.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

Mostly I watch TV shows - it happens that I can spend all weekend on it. I am also interested in educational programs, travel shows and festival Russian cinema - only on Wink I found it in excellent quality.

3. Connecting multiple devices to one account

You can open a movie on your TV and continue on your smartphone from the same place. Or while the child is watching cartoons from the tablet, parents will enjoy a movie in the living room.

Irina Rogava host of podcasts and YouTube channel of Lifehacker

I don't have a TV, so I usually watch TV shows through Wink on my laptop. This is convenient because you don't need to install any software: everything is available in the browser. If something needs to be done in the kitchen, I can switch to view from my phone.

4. Taking care of children and parents

Modern children, despite all their technological advancement, often cannot independently distinguish between useful and age-appropriate content from inappropriate. On legal online resources, you can restrict your child's access to certain series, films and programs.

Wink has a number of features that will make the service safe for children and convenient for adults. For example, you can set up parental controls: channels and other content for older people will be password protected, and your child will definitely not see anything extra. And if an adult is a passionate sports fan, they'll appreciate the View Control feature. It allows you to access any sports broadcast within two days after its end. Gone are the days when you had to rush after work in order to be in time for the start of a football match.

New customers can enjoy the benefits of the service with the “For the Holidays” subscription, which can be used for free for a whole month on all Wink platforms. It includes 30 days of access to the hottest and freshest content from renowned studios, including Amediateki TV series, world masterpieces and the Disney collection.

You can subscribe any day until January 31, 2020. And if you do it back in December, you can arrange a movie marathon for yourself on New Year's holidays. After the promotional period, the subscription price will be 349 rubles per month. It's easy to connect: just visit the website or download the app.