People enjoy watching TV. What they don’t enjoy is paying for it. Good news! Now you don’t have to (and you don’t have to risk jail time either.) So before you bribe the cable guy, or resort to BitTorrent (the modern equivalent of bribing the cable guy), have a look at these options for viewing TV for free… and within the confines of the law. All of them are better than hanging out creepily in front of your neighbor’s living room bay window.

Get an Antenna

Antenna television is The Peoples’ TV. Since the dawn of broadcasting, a certain portion of the airwaves has always been allocated to local network affiliates and public access. Provided you had a set and an antenna (or a really good coat hanger), you were good to go. Well, if you think antenna TV went RIP with the DTV transition, think again. Sure, today’s HDTV antennas may look a little goofy, but if they’re hooked up right, the picture quality can be better the satellite or cable (and the signal is totally free!)

Surf the Interwebs

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know you can watch 30 Rock (and a zillion other TV shows) for free on the Internet. All you have to do is sit through a few commercials. What? You HAVE BEEN living under a rock? Okay, here’s how you do it then. You can go to sites like Hulu and TV.com (both aggregate videos from different networks) or, you can go to the networks themselves (just about every television network has a certain amount of free video content on their website.) Enjoy ‘em now before they start charging.

Check your Phone Contract

Many mobile phones can access video on demand and/or mobile TV services. Sometimes these goodies are included with your data plan. Other times these goodies cost extra. Wait, how is that free? Well, technically, it’s not. (Sadly, all mobile plans cost money.) BUT, if you didn’t know you had it (and you didn’t know you were already paying for it), boy howdy does that feel like free! So take another look at that 2-year contract, because if you’re already buying the cow, you might as well drink the milk.

Hit the Library

Reading a script from your favorite TV show is often more rewarding than actually watching the episode. You know, in the same way that listening to a baseball game on the radio at the bottom of a well is better than sitting behind home base: It’s not. Still, most libraries offer free DVD rentals, which could include the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, curb your enthusiasm, because competition for newer titles is fierce. But you should have no problem getting your hands on I Love Lucy, season 3… this time next year.