How to watch Full Episodes in Canada

CTV, The Comedy Network, and The Discovery Channel all use the exact same system – and it works.

Many distributors are beginning to see the boon of Online Video by offering Full Episodes on their Web sites. Unfortunately for anyone outside of the U.S., you’re most likely blocked from Hulu.com, ABC.com, NBC.com, ComedyCentral.com and a host of others.

Well, if you’re Canadian, there are a few different options that will allow you to watch some of your favorite shows online. Global, CTV, The Comedy Network, and The Discovery Channel have made many of their shows available online to the Great White North.

The Discovery Channel has a whopping 20 shows available on their full episode site, including favorites such as “Canada’s Worst Driver” and “Daily Planet.” The homepage, which is shared by CTV and The Comedy Network, offers the most recent videos, but if you want to access their archive shows, click on “Video Library.” The episodes can also be maximized to fill the screen.

CTV has 24 shows on their site, ones that you’re probably more familiar with, such as “Mad Men,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Fringe.” CTV also overlaps with The Comedy Network as they both offer “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

At 42 shows, The Comedy Network has the most Full Episodes available online; however, there is quite a bit of program overlap with The Discovery Channel and CTV. Also, TCN offers both “The Daily Show” and “Indecision 2008” as separate shows, which may confuse users.  “South Park,” “Reno 911!,” and “Corner Gas” are just a few that The Comedy Network makes available.

Global TV brings up the rear in the Canadian Online Video roundup as they only offer seven shows, and of that, only the most recent episode of “90210” and “The Guard” are available. They do have a few news programs that make up the seven, but when I checked, “Global National” hadn’t been updated for two days. Unlike the CTV/Comedy Network/Discovery system, Global TV doesn’t offer full screen video, previous episodes, or a way to link to the video on other sites.

Overall, I was impressed with the video quality and the ease of use of the CTV/Comedy Network/Discovery system. It’s a very simple way of allowing Canadians to watch their favorite shows online without having to resort to downloading or crappy YouTube recordings. While it isn’t perfect, this is an good step forward in offering legal alternatives for users. The Global TV system, while useful if you missed yesterday’s 90210, is  too limiting for most users and is frustrating after using their Canadian competitors’ sites.