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How to Download Tv Shows Legally for Free

how to download tv shows legally for free 10 great ways to stream TV and movies for free (legally) When lockdown first kicked in, we all thought we'd be watching a lot more TV and movies. But if you rely on free-to-air broadcast channels, you may have been disappointed. With many regular shows cancelled or scaled-down due to the pandemic, and most new programming stalled, we’re getting an increasing diet of repeats, and so many are turning to streaming services to plug the gap. But what if you’re strapped for cash and every penny counts right ? Well the good news is, there are ways to stream TV and movies that are safe, legal and free. In this post, we bring you 10 great options for adding some colour and variety to your televisual diet. Note that whether or not these are free and the content available does vary from country to country (you might also want to consider getting one of the best VPNs). Totally free services. We'll start with five places you might not know about, where you can find lots of TV shows and films to watch for free, securely and within the law. From ad-funded television to classic movies that are now out of copyright, there’s plenty of great content to discover on these lesser-known platforms. 01. Rakuten. Based in Japan, Rakuten is a streaming service offering movies and TV series for subscription, rental and purchase, but it also features a good selection of ad-supported free content, including movies, kids TV shows and documentaries. Just click the ‘Free’ tab at the top to see what’s on offer. You just need to provide an email address and password, and then you can start watching on a PC or Mac (not Chromebook), smartphone (iOS or Android) or . You can also cast to your TV using . Watch first: Control. 02. Pluto TV. Based in the US and owned by Viacom, Pluto TV is a free, advertiser-supported streaming website that primarily offers a selection of content via ‘channels’ that are designed to replicate the experience of traditional live TV. This means that you can't stop and start a show when you want to; you have to 'tune in' at the right time. However, there’s also a selection of on-demand movies, boxsets and documentaries to enjoy. You can’t watch Pluto TV on a desktop computer, but there’s a free app for your iOS, Android and Amazon devices, and you can cast to your TV via the Amazon Fire Stick. Watch first: 21 Jump Street. 03. . Launched last December by the software company of the same name, Plex is a US-based, ad-supported streaming service, which distinguishes itself from most of its rivals by operating outside of North America; in over 200 countries worldwide, in fact. It features a wide range of movies, TV shows, podcasts and news shows, which you can watch via the web browser or cast to your TV via Chromecast or Fire Stick. It doesn't always have the best-known TV or movies, to be frank; you'll need to subscribe to the premium version to get that. But have a look around and you'll probably find a few things that pique your interest. Watch first: We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists. 04. BFI Player. The BFI Player, the website of the British Film Institute, contains a wide range of shorts and features that are free to watch, including short films, classic TV dramas, documentaries, musicals, home movies, and even some classic British adverts from times past. Most of the content is vintage, black-and-white fare, but there are also some short films from modern BFI film festivals. Just click the 'Free' tab at the top to see what's available. There’s no signup required, you can watch in the browser, and there’s a Chromecast option to cast to your TV. Watch first: Self-Conscious Over You. 05. Popcorn Flix. Popcorn Flix is a website offering free ad-supported streaming of feature-length, mainly independent, movies and webisodes. There’s no need to sign up, and you can just watch in your browser, your Xbox or Playstation, or cast to your TV via the Amazon Fire Stick. However, note that the service is currently unavailable outside of North America. Watch first: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Free trials. While the first five services on our list are all very easy to access for free, you probably won’t find the latest movies and TV on these platforms. For that, you’ll need to sign up to a paid service… but here’s the good news. Many of them are currently offer free trials, ranging for one week to 90 days. Think about what that means. If you try them out one-by-one, taking great care to cancel before you get charged, you’ll end up enjoying around six months of the very latest, blockbuster entertainment, without paying a penny! To help you out, here are the best free trials on offer right now, and what you can get from them, in return for just a little administrative effort. 06. Disney Plus. Disney Plus brings together classic animated movies, from Snow White to Frozen, all in one place, not to mention all the Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar movies, content from National Geographic and the Disney Channel, and every season of The Simpsons. So if you’ve got little ones around, you won’t certainly won’t be short of things to watch, while adults will want to check out new Star Wars drama The Mandalorian. You can watch in your web browser, or stream to your TV using Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick. The free trial only lasts seven days, though, so make the most of it! Watch first: Coco. 07. . Quibi is a new service launched on 6 April, which provides seven- to 10-minute slices of American drama, reality and news entertainment to your mobile device, to fill in short gaps in your day. All the content has been specially filmed so you can watch it in vertical or horizontal mode, whichever way suits you best. Annoyingly, you can't cast to your TV; a tablet is the biggest screen you'll be able to view it on. There’s still lot of loud and colourful shows to be enjoyed, though, and the best thing is that the trial period is a whopping 90 days. Watch first: Last Night’s Late Night by EW. 08. Britbox. Ever feel nostalgic for vintage British shows like Fawlty Towers, The Office or 1960s-1980s Doctor Who? Or fancy catching up with more recent hits such as Downton Abbey, Life on Mars, or Gavin and Stacey? Well, Britbox has all of these boxset classics in one place, and many more, from crime dramas to sitcoms, BBC to ITV. For those outside the UK, it's also a great place to catch up on the latest episodes of British shows like EastEnders. You can watch all this content on the web, or via the free iOS and Android apps, and you can cast to your TV via Chromecast or Amazon Fire. And the generous 30-day free trial will let you enjoy plenty of your favourites. Watch first: Broadchurch. 09. . Amazon Prime Video has one of the most confusing interfaces of all the streaming platforms, but on the plus side there’s a generous 30-day free trial. There’s also a ton of great content, which is mainly geared towards slickly produced, adult-oriented TV and movies. If you don’t have an Amazon Prime TV app on your television already, you can stream this content via the Amazon Fire Stick, and since last July, you've been able to Chromecast using the Amazon Prime apps for iOS and Android. Watch first: The Man in the High Castle. 10. Hayu. Hayu is a niche streaming service focused on reality TV shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Real Housewives of New Jersey, as well as home and design, cookery and true crime content. It’s currently offering a one-month free trial. There are free iOS and Android apps to let you watch on your mobile or tablet, or you can cast to your TV via Chromecast or Airplay. Watch first: Kim Kardashian-West: The Justice Project. Read more: Creative Bloq created this content as part of a paid partnership with Adobe Stock. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of Creative Bloq. How to Download Free Movies and TV Shows Safely. If you want to download free movies and TV shows safely, you’ve come to the right place. Downloading movies as well as the latest released shows can be a tricky process, but I’ve outlined it below in a few simple steps. If you follow this guide, you can find the best movies, TV shows, and other content and be downloading them completely undetected. Is Downloading Movies and TV Shows for Free Legal? So is downloading the latest movies for free legal? Well, no. Depending on your country, downloading the latest movies can be illegal. If you want to follow a more legal methodology of watching content online, you can use something like which has tons of movies and TV shows for an affordable monthly price. Check out my Netflix Proxy Error guide to find out how to get full access to the US content library. How to Download Movies and TV Shows Safely (WHAT YOU NEED): Step #1 Torrent Website! The first thing you’ll need is a website to download movies or shows. You can use my favorite site, ThePirateBay.org since it’s very reliable and resilient to shutdowns and it also has a HUGE content library. This is what is called a “torrent” site, and it’s how you “torrent”–or download, movies. Make sure to use an ad-blocker on this site, however, to get rid of pesky popups and ads! My recommended ad-blocker is uBlock Origin. Or maybe you want some good alternatives to The Pirate Bay ? Step #2 VPN or Proxy! Once you find your website to download, you’ll need a VPN or proxy to use. If you don’t use a VPN or proxy, you will be downloading files publicly without any sort of anonymity, which means ISPs, copyright holders, and literally anyone else can see what you’re doing, and how you’re doing it. There are a lot of VPN options out there, but I prefer VPNs that offer anonymos proxies bundled in with VPNs. These VPNs include TorGuard, Private Internet Access, and IPVanish VPN. All of these VPNs are great for torrenting with high speeds and torrenting allowed. Step #3 Torrent App! I’ve already written guides and on the best torrent apps for you to use. My favorite, however, is qBittorrent due to the simplicity, lack of ads, and powerful features. Once you pick your app, you can start it up and that way, when you click the magnet link on the torrent site, it’ll load it up into the app for the download to start. Before you do this however, start your VPN or put the proxy in the torrent app to stay hidden while torrenting the file. The torrent file will process and download, and you can find the actual file you downloaded wherever you set it to in the app’s preferences. The default should be downloads, but you can change the location to where you want! Step #4 Put it all Together! Launch your website, turn on your VPN, download a magnet link and it’ll open in your torrent app! Now you can watch free movies, TV shows, and content the way you want! Best Legal Method for TV Shows and Movies? I mentioned it before at the beginning of this article, but if you missed it, the best way to watch the most amount of content completely LEGALLY is to use a VPN like TorGuard (with dedicated IP purchased on checkout) to watch the US content library of Netflix. Netflix has more and more shows coming out in every category (Sci-Fi, Anime, Drama, Horror etc) every year! The Best (Free & Legal) Sites for Streaming TV in 2021. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many of us don’t want to pay through the nose for cable TV or streaming services like Netflix, , YouTube TV and the list goes on. Thankfully, there are a few legal sites that will still let people watch TV for free . The frustrating thing for many people is that many of the sites are geo restricted to the US . This means that while the shows are free you will need to pay a few dollars a month for a good VPN to be able to enjoy them (Not sure what a VPN is? Read this VPN beginners guide). We certainly understand the draw of getting a free VPN , especially when looking for free sites to stream TV, but sometimes even “free” isn’t worth the cost . We highly recommend you steer clear of unofficial websites and only use those that are credible and known to be trustworthy. If you don’t know what those trustworthy sites are, no need to panic. We have put together a list of the best trustworthy sites to watch free TV shows online for you . The Top 5 Best Free Sites to Watch Movies and TV Shows Online. Whether you like to watch at home or on the go, these websites will give you access to streaming content for almost any device . Below, we listed the main features offered by each of our recommended sites: 1. . This free to use streaming site is available on most devices. Sony Crackle is available in 21 different countries and offers ad-supported access to TV, movies, and originals with no limit to how much you can watch . It has a wide variety of content and regularly updates its catalog, so you never run out of things to watch. Unfortunately, if you’re not located in one of the 21 Sony Crackle approved countries , instead of landing on a page like the one pictured above, you’ll instead see this site . Don’t be annoyed that you can’t watch the great shows here just because you don’t live in the US. Instead , get a VPN and connect to a US server, this will make it appear as if you are in the US and you can enjoy all the Sony Crackle that you want. Sony Crackle offers apps on all major operating systems and streaming devices such as Android, iOS, Apple TV, Android TV, most smart TVs and, it is also compatible with Google Chromecast. This free streaming site also includes parental controls and alerts that notify you of premieres and new episodes. 2. . Popcornflix offers free ad-supported access to many shows and over 1500 movies . This streaming site provides an easy-to-use user interface and simple navigation that allows you to select between TV shows and movies by genre, newest arrivals, most popular, and more. Not all the videos on Popcornflix are available all over the world. We understand how frustrating this can be when all you want to do is kick back and watch some TV. Getting a VPN is an inexpensive solution to your problems . For less than the monthly price of Netflix you can get VPN that will allow you to watch all the Popcornflix shows you can handle. Supported devices include Apple TV, Apple IOS, , Afmazon, Xbox, and . As a free and completely legal streaming site, Popcornflix is an excellent choice to find your favorite TV shows and Movies. 3. NBC. If you enjoy watching TV shows on NBC like The Voice, America’s Got Talent, and Saturday Night Live, you will love the fact that you will never miss another show. NBC has made all the recent episodes available to anyone without needing an account or a cable subscription. If you want to catch up on an older episode, you will have three credits that can be used to watch any content. Just connect your or Gmail account to NBC and you’ll receive three free credits. Each show that you watch will use up one credit. While you don’t need a cable subscription you do need to be located in the US in order to watch. This is an easy enough hurdle to overcome, just a get a VPN that can bypass the geo block and you’re all set. Supported devices for NBC include iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. 4. Yahoo! View. This free streaming service is highly recognized for its partnership with Hulu to grant access to certain content from ABC, NBC, and Fox. Yahoo! View has both a free and a paid level of service that offers different content depending on your tier. The free service allows you to view an extensive collection of content. Movies are also available on Yahoo! View with TV options from popular shows such as 24, MasterChef, Modern Family, just to name a few. If you’re located outside of the US, you will get the following error message. Don’t worry, you can still enjoy all the shows and movie on Yahoo! View if you get a fast VPN that can bypass the Hulu geo blocks. Like most free sites, Yahoo! View is supported by advertisements meaning you will need to ensure the occasional ad from time to time, but if this is something that you would like to pass on, its paid level subscription is the way to go! 5. Yidio. Different from the other streaming sites on this list, Yidio’s service aggregates movies and TV shows for its viewers. It displays content that is only available for free by directing you to the website which offers your desired movie or TV show at no cost. Think of Yidio as a TV show comparison site where you can choose the best place to watch your favorite shows . Yidio’s content range covers a wide variety of genres and all the latest and popular shows. It works by simply choosing the show you want to watch and selecting the source you would like to view from, it is that simple! However, some of Yidio’s search results may request you to pay a fee before you can access the content. Nonetheless, Yidio is a site worth using. Disclaimer: Stream Online Safely. It is important to note that although these sites are completely legal, there are dangers to streaming shows online. Using a VPN will not only help you bypass the geo blocks but will also protect you from dangerous content and cybercriminals who intend to steal your personal information. Using a VPN will give you peace of mind knowing that your personal information is being kept protected and confidential while streaming online. Are there any websites to download TV Shows for free without giving bank informations? https://willtv.net/ use this but you have to log in. no bank card requred. and for anime/cartoon things use https://www.thewatchcartoononline.tv/ aso free but no login. still free downloads. How do I download using willtv.net? I've been downloading tv shows and films for 5 years and idk how I never came across this site. no ads, free, hd and easy downloads. bro thank you. don't know why they didn't give any websites. You mean like Pirate Bay? Not torrent. I have tried it and its too difficult to find episodes from torrent. Can u use a streaming app. coz i can give u a great recommendation. Don't want great recommendations as I have tried so many in the last few days and found nothing interesting and now that my house have been lock down today I am not trying to find anything new as I go to a nearby store to get my episodes. Now I am trying to find a free download website so I can download an old TV show that I have already watched and Enjoyed. It seems I have already watched all the TV shows I would have liked. I have watched like 40+ TV shows and tried and stopped another 50+ TV shows. So finally gave up on finding anything I haven't watched as it only makes me frustrated when I tried. Last few days alone I have tried 10+ shows and gave up on them. All good shows but not on my taste it seems. There is one new show that I will try once this lock down is over but for the time being trying to find a website so I can download an old one and watch it. Don't think I will enjoy something I have already watched but it will be better than nothing with these lock down. How To (Legally) Download Or Stream Movies For Free. It’s easy to find movies to download or stream ” even for law-abiding popcorn munchers. If you’re flying straight and narrow or want to support and watch films that are free, public domain, or whose creators want them free and openly shared, here are some great sites to bookmark ” and visit when you want something new to watch. Illustration by Nick Criscuolo. #11 . Kanopy is a wonderful streaming service that lets you watch many of the world’s critically acclaimed indie and foreign films, like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Neruda , as well as a few major ones chucked in for good measure, like Lion and Carol . In the name of knowledge, it’s available for free at certain unis or if you have a library card at selected places around Australia. Check for yourself and enjoy great content for no cost. #10 SBS / ABC iView. Australia’s publicly funded free-to-air TV channels provide on demand access to thousands of free movies and documentaries. Handily, the apps are available on a range of smart TVs and video consoles which makes it easy to watch on your big screen television. The user interfaces aren’t nearly as polished as Netflix and the like, but they do get the job done (and you don’t have a to pay a cent for the privilege.) You can also catch free online movies via tenplay, nine now and . #9 . Vimeo is most certainly second seat to YouTube when it comes to size and popularity, but it’s still a great video upload service for short film and independent filmmakers and for people who want the freedom and flexibility of a mobile-friendly, HD-capable upload service with great privacy and video management controls and an upbeat community of users. For those folks just looking for something great to watch, Vimeo’s Staff Picks is full of gems that run the gamut from drama to documentary to science fiction and back again. Best of all, you can either grab the Vimeo mobile apps to take your movies with you, or stream Vimeo films directly to your TV through your Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, or Apple TV. #8 Public Domain Torrents. If you’d rather download than stream, Public Domain Torrents is the place to go. As you’d expect, a number of the films available for download there are pretty old, or classic cinema, but that doesn’t mean they’re not completely free to download and watch whenever you want, as often as you choose. Best of all, many of the films here are available in versions that are optimised or encoded for specific mobile devices, or you can just grab the highest quality download and do the encoding yourself, it’s up to you. #7 TopDocumentaryFilms. TopDocumentaryFilms, or TDF, is another great documentary site – and probably one that’s a little more up to date with more recent films. Like WatchDocumentary.org, the site has loads of documentaries broken up by category, from war and global conflict and crime to health and environment. It’s a little easier to navigate and the site has a community of users who provide ratings for each film and can comment on them so you have an idea of what you’re in for before you watch. If you’d like a starting point, check out their top 100 documentary list to see what people are watching, or check the front page for their featured films. Like other documentary sites, they’re a bit more of an aggregator, and their content is pulled from YouTube, Vimeo, and other sources – but that also makes it a convenient one-stop shop for what you want to see. #6 Classic Cinema Online. If the name doesn’t give it away immediately, Classic Cinema Online is ideal for those old, classic movie buffs who love the era of black and white films and artistically painted movie posters. Classics like Gregory Peck’s Moby Dick and the original Lone Ranger film are among some of the site’s highlights, but if you dive deeper you can find treasures like the 1952 Mutiny and the 1932 Secret of Dr. Kildare , among others. If you’re looking for something specific, you can sort by category using the menu in the upper right, check out the serials available, or just check out the old, super classic silent films from the menu up there too. If you love old movies the Golden Age of Hollywood (or just look back on it with rose coloured glasses from time to time,) this site is for you. #5 PopcornFlix. With thousands of free TV shows and movies, and names and titles you’ll probably recognise, PopcornFlix is owned and operated by Screen Media Ventures, an independent distributor of TV shows and media to the television market – which means they have the rights for a great deal of shows. The service prides itself on the fact that none of its programs or movies are more than two clicks away and they’re all completely free to watch on your computer, or through their mobile apps or other supported devices. Their distribution rights mean you’ll find full National Geographic series catalogues, so you can catch up on episodes of Wild Justice or Alaska State Troopers , or sit back and watch Inspector Gadget or Rugrats Gone Wild . #4 MoviesFoundOnline. MoviesFoundOnline collects free films, independent films, stand-up comedy, TV shows and other media freely available around the web. From full films to indie TV series to classic film, you can browse the site’s categories across the top – like short films, documentaries, viral videos, or comedy to name a few – to find something you’re interested in specifically. It’s worth pointing out that since MoviesFoundOnline doesn’t upload or host the media themselves, some of it may wind up vanishing if there’s a copyright claim, but they do host a lot of great, freely available and difficult to find movies and TV recordings that would otherwise fall by the wayside of time. #3 Crackle. Owned by Sony (which is why there’s so much to watch), Crackle is often overlooked when people discuss free on the web, but it’s present on a number of mobile devices and set-top boxes. You do have to sign up for an account, but once you do you can create a watchlist, get recommendations on what to watch based on the things you like, and browse the full library of TV shows and movies, including Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Sports Jeopardy! , or TV series’ like Firefly and Seinfeld. That’s part of the beauty of Crackle – you’ll absolutely find movies you’ve heard of, shows you actually want to watch, and more, and it’s all free – as long as you’re willing to watch commercials and ads occasionally. #2 YouTube. No list of freely available TV shows and movies would be complete without YouTube and not because of the sheer volume of ripped and pirated media available there – in fact, YouTube is home to many free movies and TV shows, many of which are YouTube originals and others that are available via Creative Commons or shared in the public domain. Many YouTube originals are vanishing behind the paid curtain of YouTube Red, but there are still plenty to be found and lots of entertaining shows and movies – and channels to subscribe to. For example, the Paramount Vault channel is packed with free movies and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. #1 The Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is a repository for all sorts of things, and while you probably know it for the ever-useful Wayback Machine, it’s also great for public domain films, independent media, TV broadcasts and newsreels and other media that you’re free to use and remix on your own as well as sit back and enjoy for yourself. There are plenty of movies, organised by category like sci-fi, horror, or film noir, but also art films, educational videos and films, special collections that were made available to the Internet Archive for posterity, documentaries and even stock footage. It’s not the most easily browse-able, or organised for non-computer screens and good luck getting that video on a bigger screen unless you download it first, but it’s certainly a treasure trove.