Legal way to Watch Downton Abbey Season 3 in the USA?

[TruCelt]

I’m seeing a lot of links out on the chat sites for ways to watch Downtown Abbey on-line. Some of them look decidedly sketchy (xcrack - really?) but I don’t know how to differentiate.

Is it legal to wacth it on-line, and if so, from what site(s)?

Thanks for any knowledge you can share!

[Toucanna]

Reported for forum change.

I would love to know as well, but I’m sure the answer will not please me.

[Duckster]

At the preview of the second series at Highclere Castle[18] on 29 July 2011, it was announced that Fellowes was working on a third series, set during the Roaring Twenties. The series will open in 1920 and cover eighteen months.[18][26] ITV confirmed the commissioning of a third series on 3 November 2011. The series entered production in early 2012, began filming in February 2012,[27] Downton Abbey returned to ITV1 on Sunday, 16 September and it will air in the United States beginning 6 January 2013.[28] Fellowes has stated that it will include a storyline involving Catholicism.[29]

(Bolding mine.) Downton Abbey - Wikipedia

Why not just wait until January?

[Ravenman]

Since ITV does not allow streaming video for North America, and the PBS premiere isn’t until January, I think there’s pretty strong evidence that the producers do not want North American audiences to have legal access to the show for the next three months.

[Toucanna]

I had a feeling that would be the answer. ( ^ o ^ ) waaaah!

[Simplicio]

@Ravenman

Since ITV does not allow streaming video for North America, and the PBS premiere isn’t until January, I think there’s pretty strong evidence that the producers do not want North American audiences to have legal access to the show for the next three months.

Is it illegal to view streaming content from a region the source has tried to block? (Obviously they don’t want you to do so, but that’s not the same as it being illegal.)

[Kimstu]

@Ravenman

Since ITV does not allow streaming video for North America, and the PBS premiere isn’t until January, I think there’s pretty strong evidence that the producers do not want North American audiences to have legal access to the show for the next three months.

I imagine PBS has an opinion on the subject too. Since presumably PBS (or one of its subsidiary broadcasters) shelled out a sizeable chunk of taxpayer and donor money for the rights to broadcast Season 3 in the US, they probably would prefer that US viewers tune in when they show it rather than obtaining the content illegally beforehand.

[TruCelt]

PBS is not like other stations. On a commercial station, revenue is dependent upon the number of viewers, therefore outside sources are a drain on profits.

PBS knows they’ll get my donation this year, even if I see DA before they show it. Of course, they could probably guess that I’ll watch it in January as well. . .

And again, noone here is talking about downloading illegally. I am specifically asking if there is a legal source. And that’s why I picked GQ, as I’m looking for an authoritative answer on the subject.

[Ravenman]

@Simplicio

Is it illegal to view streaming content from a region the source has tried to block? (Obviously they don’t want you to do so, but that’s not the same as it being illegal.)

I believe US law prohibits the circumvention of technical protection measures that limit the distribution of copyrighted material. So I would say you’d be on pretty thin ice.

Statute.

[Kimstu]

@TruCelt

PBS is not like other stations. On a commercial station, revenue is dependent upon the number of viewers, therefore outside sources are a drain on profits.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting allocates funds to PBS based partly on ratings. So yes, viewership numbers are important to PBS even if they aren’t directly impacting any broadcast advertising revenue.

@TruCelt

PBS knows they’ll get my donation this year, even if I see DA before they show it. Of course, they could probably guess that I’ll watch it in January as well.

Great, but obviously not all Downton Abbey fans would bother with Season 3 on PBS in January if they could see it whenever they liked right now.

@TruCelt

And again, noone here is talking about downloading illegally. I am specifically asking if there is a legal source.

Yes, I know. I was responding specifically to Ravenman’s point about “the producers” not wanting Season 3 available in the US before January. I was just pointing out that not only the Downton Abbey producers (one of which, in fact, is the PBS station WGBH-Boston) but PBS as a whole has a stake in maximizing its viewership for its broadcast of the series.

[put_down_the_sabre]

It’s standard practice for British expats in the US to use a VPN for such things.