Remember ICraveTV, the site streaming U.S. television out of Canada until it was shut down through legal action? A new contender is trying a variation on the theme: CraftyTV offers free streams of popular shows like “Desperate Housewives,” “Sponge Bob” and “The Office;” the site boasts a library of thousands of hours. Viewing is no charge but users can pay $8 a month or $50 a year for “private bandwidth” that provides a stutter-free stream. As more people stream, the limited bandwidth streaming gets rockier and private bandwidth becomes more appealing. The domain registration is private.
For justification, the site refers to a section of U.S. copyright law that allows an exclusion for non-profit transmission and charges that defray costs. Sounds good but not likely to stave off legal challenges by the providers or content owners.
If you’re going to try it out for research purposes, stick to IE; Firefox is being banned.
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