The following entertainment article was written for Spreety TV Online by professional journalist Carolyn Giardina.

Sony’s Crackle Makes Noise with Online Network

By Carolyn Giardina

Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Crackle online video network recently aired the finale of its latest comedy web series “Held Up.” And as the site continues to extend its content–a combination of movies (currently 250 and counting), TV series and original content–Spreety talked with Eric Berger, Senior Vice President, Digital Networks for Sony Pictures Television.

“Crackle is like a digital version of a cable network, for people who are looking at unplugging or looking for content when TV is not available,” Berger explained as the heart of the Crackle strategy. “We believe we have the best free movie service available online, and we are creating a brand and a programming experience so people can find the movies that they love –but also to provide an editorial context. So it is not just another aggregation service. It is editorialized and has context.”

Crackle primarily targets young males, and currently produces about four original series annually, aimed at this demographic and ranging from action to comedy.

An example is the upcoming original series, “Back Wash,” a buddy comedy set during a road trip, starring Joshua Malina, Michael Ian Black and Michael Panes. Viewers of the series–set to debut on Nov. 15–can expect guest appearances from actors such as Jon Hamm and Sarah Silverman.

“We believe brands will still matter in this space–that people like to be programmed to. They like connections among programming,” Berger said of Crackle’s direction. “Over time it is safe to say that you could see other brands. We have several brands in the TV space that we use to target different demographics (in the international market). Crackle is our first digital network.

“We think there is a very strong role for advertising in the marketplace. If look at services like Netflix and the deals that they have done, we look at that as validation that streaming rights have value.”

As the audience for this content expands, Berger noted that a remaining challenge is to help consumers to reach these destinations. Speaking of services such as Spreety, he said: “We are thrilled that there are companies out that are making it easier for consumers to sift through content on the web and find what they are looking for. There is a real need for that.”

Toy Story 3 premieres this weekend, so in celebration, here’s some tips about Disney online:

• Free full episodes of Disney Channel and Disney XD shows are online in multiple languages.
• Several Disney movies are available online via Netflix Watch Instantly.
• The Disney Movie Club has 4 DVDs for $1.
• The Disney Store has the most exclusive collection of Disney products online.

For additional Disney online information, check out our prior post, titled Disney TV Online.

Spreety TV Online is pleased to announce the latest in the video series of how to watch TV online. The new video focuses on how to watch TNT TV shows, live sports, and movies online.

The TNT Full Episode TV show player supports full screen, scene selection, and volume control. As a criticism, after ads, the player resets to a small screen and requires a re-click on the full screen button. In addition to full episodes, TNT offers clips, highlights, best-of, and video blogs to enhance the experience. Possibly the most interesting feature from the TNT player is the “Boss Coming? Dramatic Pause” button, which immediately pauses the full episode player and displays a sophisticated looking, humorous spreadsheet. A second click resumes the full episode player right where you left off.

TNT full episodes are currently online for free for the following shows: Charmed, The Closer, Dark Blue, HawthoRNe, Judging Amy, Leverage, Men of a Certain Age, Raising the Bar, Saving Grace, and Southland. Other TNT shows will rotate into being online when they are in season.

TNT has sports online for golf, NASCAR, and the NBA. With the NBA games, individual camera angles can be selected, including star player cams, creating a whole new experience for the game.

TNT full movies are sometimes online, sometime not. Information about upcoming movies is plentiful. Also, TNT offers show related games and a sweepstakes for a $100 Macy’s gift card.

“If people just knew how much TV is online, there would be mass abandonment of the old TV”, according to Spreety co-founder Ron Laughton. “We created Spreety to educate people about the legal places to watch free TV online.”

The Spreety video is on YouTube titled “TNT TV Online”. Spreety TV Online : Watch TV Shows Online Free is a free television guide for the Internet, located at http://Spreety.com .

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Written by Spreety co-founder, Ron Laughton. Spreety TV Online is a fun and free television guide for the Internet.

Spreety TV Online is pleased to announce the latest in the video series of how to watch TV online. The latest video focuses on how to watch Lifetime TV shows and movies online.

Starting with movies, Lifetime made for TV movies are typically online for several weeks after air date. The current Lifetime movies online include Secret Lives of Second Wives, Patricia Cornwell’s At Risk, Still Small Voices, Amish Grace, Love Sick: Secrets of a Sex Addict, Plain Truth, The Stranger I Married, and Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story. The Lifetime movie player includes chapter selection and special features. In addition to the movie itself, Lifetime has additional pages that provide background information and the true stories behind the movies.

The Lifetime TV shows online include America’s Psychic Challenge, Army Wives, Blood Ties, Blush, Cook Yourself Thin, DietTribe, Drop Dead Diva, Gay, Straight or Taken, Get Married, Lifetime Movies, Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead, Lovespring International, Matched in Manhatten, Models of the Runway, Mom’s Cooking, Project Runway, Rita Rocks, Sherri, and Top this Party.

Certain shows, like Army Wives, will only place partial seasons for free online, otherwise, most shows will have the complete season for free. To watch the full seasons of Army Wives online, they are available on iTunes for a nominal fee.

In addition to the full episodes, extended cuts, additional clips, and show blogs are exclusively available on the Lifetime web site.

The Spreety video is on YouTube titled “Lifetime TV and Movies Online”.

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What do you think when you hear the phrase “free movies online“? Is it suspicion of copyright infringement, shadowy looking download sites, or excitement over the tremendous viewing possibilities?

While the checkered past of free movies online has some people cautious, Spreety TV Online at http://Spreety.com has created a video to set the record straight about the right places to watch free movies online.

Some of the new players are Crackle, EPIX, Fancast, and SlashControl. Crackle is backed by Sony Pictures and has hundreds of free movies such as Ghostbusters, Godzilla, and St. Elmo’s Fire. EPIX is the new movie site from Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate, and is the perfect place to watch Ironman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many more popular movies. Fancast is backed by the cable giant Comcast and has hundreds more movies, such as Chaplin, Captain America, and Naked Gun 2.5. SlashControl was started by AOL TimeWarner, and has many more movies such as Sparticus, Ronin, and the classic western Hang ‘em High.

Those sites join the other mainstays of free movies, including Hulu, Veoh, and Joost. Even YouTube has jumped on the bandwagon and legally hosts free movies online, such as classic Shirley Temple films like The Little Princess and Heidi.

Several TV sites also have films online, including American Movie Classics (AMC), Syfy, ABC Family, and TNT.

If you have a Netflix subscription, the Watch Instantly feature comes free for the Owner account. Top films to watch online include Wall-E, Bolt, The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as the extensive list of STARZ play.

So, if you are going to watch a movie on a computer, here are a few quick tips:

1. Turn the screen saver and power save features to longer than the length of the movie.

2. If watching via an inexpensive wireless router, like the ones AT&T U-Verse hands out for free, make certain the router is well ventilated, as extended viewing could cause some minor over-heating, causing the router to reset, thus causing the movie to take an unexpected intermission.

3. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy.

All of the links to the above are available on the “Movies Online” tab of Spreety TV Online at http://Spreety.com .

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Written by Spreety co-founder, Ron Laughton. Spreety TV Online is a fun and free television guide for the Internet.

Netflix recently added several movies to their watch instantly, including:

• Bolt
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua
• Snow Dogs

For a free Netflix trail to watch the above movies, click here.

There are other dog lover TV shows online, including Dog Whisperer, It’s Me or the Dog, and Dogs 101 from Animal Planet. Click here to search online TV for “dog”.

• Ghost
• Dirty Dancing

Additionally, here are some clips to enjoy.

• Saturday Night Live Clip
• Today Show Clip 1
• Today Show Clip 2
• Today Show Clip 3