Technology for watching television programs has come a long way since the days of analog rabbit ears. And now it has gotten even better, especially for British TV fans.
FilmOn, the world’s largest streaming TV service, launched its “Teleport Technology” website yesterday — a site that allows viewers to watch, amongst other content, live over-the-air broadcasts from hundreds of stations across the US, regardless of the viewers’ locations and for free.
This is good news for fans of British television shows, because several of those stations are local PBS affiliates and independent public television stations that carry mysteries, comedies, and other programs from the UK, beyond the ones served nationally by PBS.
With FilmOn, viewers across the US (and around the world) can now stream programs via their desktop, laptop, or handheld computers as they are being broadcast on PBS member stations (as well as other stations) in select cities, in addition to watching shows airing on the stations that serve their local areas via traditional broadcast (i.e. on the telly).
This gives Brit TV fans more access to more hit Brit shows that air exclusively on certain public television stations, including the gritty detective drama DCI Banks, the dramedy mystery Death in Paradise, and the new adaptation of the mystery series Father Brown, to name a few.
The following PBS and independent public TV stations are currently available with FilmOn:
| State | City | Station |
|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA | Los Angeles |  |
| CALIFORNIA | Los Angeles |  |
| CALIFORNIA | San Diego |  |
| CALIFORNIA | San Francisco |  |
| COLORADO | Denver |  |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | Washington, DC |  |
| FLORIDA | Miami |  |
| FLORIDA | Tampa |  |
| GEORGIA | Atlanta |  |
| ILLINOIS | Chicago |  |
| MASSACHUSETTS | Boston |  |
| NEW YORK | New York City |  |
| TEXAS | Dallas |  |
| WASHINGTON | Seattle |  |
(By the way, for viewers outside of the Washington, DC broadcast area who cannot get enough Brit TV, get on FilmOn and check out WETA UK, which airs British programming 24/7/365.)
How the FilmOn service impacts local PBS stations vis-à-vis ratings and donations remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Each of these stations still needs funds from viewers in order to continue providing programming, whether it’s British, locally-produced, or syndicated from PBS, and regardless of whether the station’s shows are being watched on telly, on the station’s website, or with FilmOn.
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