# Where to buy archived television programming? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621 "2008-01-07T19:09:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621/1 "2008-01-07T19:09:53Z")
Long ago, I was able to find a business that archived all TV shows, and they would sell\* you a video tape or DVD or provide you with a downloadable link so long as you provided them with the date and time and channel of the airing. But my Google-fu has clearly deteriorated since then because I haven’t had any luck finding them or a similar business so far. Is anyone familiar with such an outlet? If you’re curious, I’m trying to find this past weekend’s airing of “America’s Most Wanted.” \*Yes, I’m aware that there are sometimes “other” ways to get such things, but even if I were the type to use those methods, they likely would not have been successful in this case. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621/2 "2008-01-07T21:39:11Z")
I don’t understand how such a business could even be legal. How could one company own the rights to sell any show on TV? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621/3 "2008-01-08T16:23:48Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] I don’t understand how such a business could even be legal. How could one company own the rights to sell any show on TV? [/QUOTE] That’s a good question. I hadn’t really thought of that aspect of it before. Although the point seems to be moot since I can’t find any such thing anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621/4 "2008-01-08T19:35:12Z")
I wish I knew of a site like that. I would love to be able to we-watch the shows from my youth that are not on DVD. Like Mr. Bellvedier, seasons 2-5 of St. Elsewhere, old episodes of Conan, Leno, and Letterman. That would be so cool. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-archived-television-programming/432621/5 "2008-01-08T19:43:23Z")
Well, I found it originally about three or four years ago. I had gone to Opening Day of the baseball season and wound up being interviewed by a local TV station. I never got to see the broadcast of the interview, so I called the station about buying a tape of it. The station said they couldn’t do that for me, but here’s the name of a company who can. Perhaps it’s a company authorized by the major networks to capture, archive and distribute on their behalves. I don’t know. I never bought from them because it turned out that the cost of the news broadcast I wanted started about about $80 and went up from there, depending on the format I wanted. I didn’t want to see myself on TV that badly.