The days of watching an episode of your favorite TV show online the day after the episode is shown on television may be coming to an end. The Fox TV network has announced this week that starting on August 15, most people will have to wait eight days before watching a previously broadcast TV episode online like Glee, Fringe, House, Family Guy and others on outlets such as Hulu Plus. The one exception, at least at the moment, are people who subscribe to the Dish Network satellite TV service. They will be able to use their Dish Network username and password to watch Fox episodes the day after they are shown as usual. Fox says that more cable and satellite outlets will also provide the same service that Dish Network will have on August 15.
So why is Fox changing the rules for watching its episodes online all of a sudden? According to the Wall Street Journal, Fox is worried that more and more people are choosing to watch episodes online first rather than watching them in front of their television sets. Fox TV executive Mike Hopkins admits, "We understand that there may be consumers that are unhappy." However he adds that putting up an 8 day viewing barrier might allow Fox to add even more content from its TV network online in the future. The article says that other TV networks such as ABC and CBS are thinking about delaying the official online release of new TV episodes of its shows as well.