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In late July of this year, the Fox Network made a statement announcing that it would no longer be making episodes of its popular shows available for online viewing the next day, instead delaying the posting of shows for eight days. This delay in web access has raised the ire of a number of high speed broadband subscribers, some of whom have vowed never to return to the Fox web site to watch their favourite programs.

Fox’s aim for delaying web access was to give cable and satellite television companies greater exclusivity with their line ups. As well, Fox stated that users have the ability to view their programs on a next-day basis, but only if they are currently subscribed to a specific video distributor.

Pay television providers appear to be having a rough time as of late, largely due to the fact that virtually all television shows and movies are available for very little or no cost online. As such, Fox hopes their efforts will help pay TV providers increase the value of their offerings to clients.

As predicted by many, the illegal downloads of popular television programs has become more frequent since Fox began its eight-day delay. TorrentFreak, a news web site, tracked a number of popular shows including Glee and Master Chef over a wone-week period, and discovered a 114% jump in downloads for one show’s new episode.

Scott Grogin, senior vice president of communications for Fox defends the delay and the requirement for user authentication that allows for next-day viewing of shows, as he is of the opinion that it meets the goals of the provider to add a ‘television everywhere’ feature to its subscribers.

This facet of the service would allow subscriber access of programming using a number of methods which include VOD, tablet apps and via DVR. Negotiations are currently in session with other major companies that would require authentication, and a number of agreements are predicted to be complete by the time the new television season begins in September.

Media mogul ABC has also recently decided to follow suit, also announcing an 8-day online delay of its new episodes to the public. Partner cable subscribers, however, will not be affected and able to enjoy next-day access.

No matter the outcome, major media providers are setting a precedent that promises to change online television access as we know it. And it’s yet unclear as to whether these actions will result in a gain or loss of revenue.