Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

South Park To Be Available Online Free and Legal

Posted by Zonk on from the i-like-the-crazy-future dept.

garnetlion writes "South Park is coming online, free and legal. My brief research has not indicated if it will use DRM, require some silly Windows-only software or be otherwise substandard. According to a Wired blog article, 'Parker and Stone said they were inspired to start the site when they got 'really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time. So we gave ourselves a legal alternative.'" In this regard South Park joins fellow Comedy Central notable The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, whose archive was made freely available online late last year.

13 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. More free, legal TV online by DogDude · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just discovered last week... NBC has the entire season 4 of The Office online, watchable in full screen, with traditional TV-like ads interrupting the shows. Of course, nobody likes ads, but it's worth it to me, at least, and I'm glad to see some of the old-school media companies like NBC FINALLY starting to "get it".

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:More free, legal TV online by Mex · · Score: 4, Informative

      " I am sure that Comedy Central will do a worse job than the pirates did. It will be just like when they got Colbert off of YouTube and replaced it with something worse."

      Did you even bother to check the South Park site? It's really good, actually.

      Full episodes, 3 segments per episode and usually one ad per segment. You can fast forward or back if you want and you don't get another advert.

      All seasons from the beginning at pretty good quality (not DVD but very good for online), except for the most recent season which apparently needs 1 month to be shown.

  2. Re:Illegally? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not sure how their particular deal works, but I think if Comedy Central actually owns the show they make, then they could have actually been criminally breaking the copyright of their own employers and in theory could be sued for it. IANAL, etc.

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  3. Re:Illegally? by boguslinks · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dont' assume they have the copyright to the show just because they're the creative guys behind it. When Arthur C. Clarke reprinted a chapter from 2001: A Space Odyssey in the sequel novel, he had to get permission from the publisher of 2001.

  4. Re:Illegally? by snowraver1 · · Score: 5, Informative

    They don't own it, Viacom owns it.

    --
    Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
  5. Wrong tense. by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Informative

    The episodes are already online. Not "coming soon", not "to be"... you can see them right now.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    1. Re:Wrong tense. by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whether or not you should commit suicide.

      That's the soliloquy of "kill myself or not".

      --
    2. Re:Wrong tense. by Azarael · · Score: 4, Informative

      They aren't available in Canada (and elsewhere?) yet.

    3. Re:Wrong tense. by Suddenly_Dead · · Score: 4, Informative

      Alas, non-Americans get this screen, or a variation thereof.

  6. no drm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    it's a flash based web player. there's no drm. same deal with all the new video from mtv networks. flash players, no windows stuff, etc.

    * i work for mtv networks doing video syndication, so i'm posting anonymously.

  7. Informative? Huh? by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Informative
    I know many of you don't rtfa, but sheesh, you had to have at least seen the summary, you know, the first story thingy at the top of this page...

    The very first thing after "garnetlion writes" is that very same "informative" link.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  8. Re:Obligatory by spun · · Score: 4, Informative

    I worked with Matt & Trey's web production team on an online video game store back in 2000. I met them and hung out a few times. They were dosed to the gills that year at the Oscars.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  9. Re:Illegally? by Artuir · · Score: 4, Informative

    I hate to burst your bubble but south park's creators have had this stuff up on their site for weeks. The summary makes it seem like it will happen soon but in reality all of the episodes have been viewable before now.