Adult Swim, a cable network known for being the late-night timeshare partner of Cartoon Network, have a wide range of experience in broadcasting non-live-action content in the manner of their host network, though one show that bucks the trend of while retaining the old ‘cartoon’ episode length is set to remain present for a while longer, as Rob Corddry’s Childrens Hospital was confirmed for a renewal by the network.

Corddry’s show-within-a-show-style creation (which he also stars in as ”Cutter/Rory Spindell’ as ‘Dr. Blake Downs” (pictured)) started life as a 10-episode web original on TheWB.com, before being picked up by Adult Swim in 2010, since spawning 5 seasons and 58 episodes of ‘spoof medical drama’.

Those episodes will be added to in 2015, though, with the renewal set to retain regular cast members including Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel and Henry Winkler, and a move of the overarching ‘story’ back to the USA after a number of recent 11-minute segments were based in Japan.

Announcing the news in an official press release, Corddry stated: “Fans can expect the kind of tomfoolery that endeared them to Childrens Hospital back when they were youngsters. Stuff like absurdity, flights of fancy, hard-hitting fake drama, soft-hitting fake drama, farcical door slamming, partial nudity, classical jazz, 70-yard field goals, moustache rides, backwards messages, grooming tips… the whole shebang.”

While it is unclear at present how much time this comedy has left after the next season of unspecified length, for the time being the bizarre comedy lives, with highlights of their previous exploits able to be seen below:

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The distribution partnerships continue for perennial video-streaming service Netflix. On Monday the company announced that it had scored a brand new deal to secure Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and additional Time Warner content for streaming over its service beginning this year. The deal, which appears to be a sweetened streaming distribution agreement with Time Warner–a network and studio that has been leery about selling its content to subscription services like Netflix.

The news comes shortly after Netflix announced that it would be partnering up with Time Warner to bring popular Warner Bros produces television shows to the streaming service. Those shows included the likes of “The West Wing” and “Fringe,” along with many more. Now Netflix will add the complete catalog of shows from Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros.

Beginning at the end of March, subscribers in the United States will have access to Cartoon Network shows like “Johnny Bravo” and “Adventure Time.” Both “Aqua Team Hunger Force” and “Robot Chicken” will be coming to the streaming network as well, as a part of the Adult Swim lineup. The Warner Bros. Animation series, “Green Lantern” will also be available for streaming. The new “Dallas,” which airs on TNT will be coming to the streaming network as well, albeit not until January of 2014–and the show will be exclusive to Netflix.

Monday’s news came as a surprise to some analysts, as Time Warner has been a staunch opponent of streaming services like Netflix–even going as far as partnering with Comcast in 2009 to create their own streaming service called TV Everywhere. Now the company feels that having additional avenues for access to their content is paramount to their new strategy.

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In its ongoing mission to move away from funny videos and become compete with young upstart Hulu, YouTube have agreed a deal with Time Warner allowing the video giant to stream Time Warner shows. The deal is the latest to bring professional content to YouTube. that’ll have it gaining some very popular, professionally produced content.

An official statement explained, “Consumers will have easier access to a wide selection of existing and future clips, ranging from CNN news coverage to Cartoon Network and Adult Swim animated shows to TNT’s hit dramas to Warners tv shows like ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.'”

However the bad news is that we are not talking full episodes here. The YouTube and Time Warner agreement mentions ‘shorts’ which means viewers will be unable to view full length shows as they can on catch up tv sites like Hulu.

Chad Hurley, CEO of YouTube, commented:- “This partnership with Time Warner will provide our community with some of the most popular video content produced. We hope to build on this deal and look forward to a long and productive relationship.”

Other agreements have already been made between the two media giants in the past. Clips for HBO shows like “True Blood,” “Hung” and “Entourage” have been available on YouTube since last year.

Back in March, YouTube reached a similar agreement with the ABC unit of Walt Disney. A month later, ABC reached a deal to display full-length television shows and movies with the YouTube rival Hulu, which was widely seen as more valuable than the YouTube agreement.

The deal with Time Warner will give YouTube access to short clips from CNN, the Cartoon Network and Adult Swim animated shows, dramas on TNT and Warner Brothers Television productions like “Gossip Girl” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

YouTube has been desperate to move away from funny videos and onto more professional streams, making them more attractive to advertisers, as it battles to make money. YouTube executives hailed the latest agreement, which will allow Time Warner to sell ads against its clips on YouTube, as another victory. They said the absence of full length episodes from the agreement was unimportant.

“Long form is a great business,” Jordan Hoffner, director of partnerships at YouTube, said in an interview. “We are very happy that they are starting, focused on our core business. If you look at Time Warner’s portfolio, it lends itself well to short form clips. The important thing is to get them on the platform.”

Unfortunately the Youtube plan seems to concentrate on short (up to 10 minute) content instead of full length which is being pursued by its rivals.

The trouble with watching television shows and movies on the web is trying to finding them. Although you can search the different providers and sources of official TV streams available such as iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu along with some lesser known providers. The problem is that the average viewer wants an easy life and not the prospect of searching umpteen sites or apps for the show/movie they want.

Lets be honest, doing it this way may take longer than the episode, show or movie lasts! So how do you find that streaming content easily? The answer is to use a site that aggregates or taps into the API of each provider and outputs the multiple sources on your screen ready for you to watch, rent or buy.

These sites are probably the easiest way to find who is streaming what and for what cost, if you can buy, rent or both. Although none are perfect (yet), and some only work for movies, they all make life easy which is what the average couch potato wants, right?

• Moreflicks – Even though it’s not the slickest, this site covers a good selection of streaming services (others don’t), both TV shows and movies (which some don’t), and you can select by Country, which is handy as many content providers have different media deals depending on location. So on to the website, you type in a title and the website retrieves information and a selection of streaming links for you to view, buy or rent. You can also filter by Oscar Winners, Most Popular, Arriving Soon and Expiring Soon amongst others.[More information..]
  Moreflicks searches: Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, Crackle, Vudu, Fox and iPlayer.
  App available? No

• Watchily – A good site because you can filter the cost of your entertainment. Search results clearly label the costs, from free upwards. Viewers can also filter searches by content rating, and by genre to find that perfect title.[More information..]
  Watchily searches: Netflix, Redbox Instant, Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, HBO Go, Showtime Anytime, Cinemax Go, Comcast XFINITY and Vudu.
  App available? No

• Can I Stream It This handy website launched this year features a simple search bar. By typing in the name of a movie or show users are presented options from streaming, rental, purchase and even physical services (remember DVD rental?). Results are fed from a number of popular streaming services, you can also create an account and save searches. A mobile app of Can i stream it is also available.[More information..]
  Can I Stream It searches: Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, Youtube, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Crackle, Streampix, HitBliss, Epix, Redbox Instant and Snagfilms.
  App available? Yes, available for iPhone, iPod, android and Windows Phone.

• Go Watch It lets you search for any content but is more geared toward movies than shows. Plus, apart from streaming options  it also takes into account cable and theater availability, as well as DVD releases.[More information..]
  Go Watch It searches: Netflix, Redbox Instant, Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Movies On Demand, Snagfilms, Youtube, SundanceNow, Google Play, Xbox Live, WolfeOnDemand and Fandango.
  App available? Yes, available for iPhone, iPad and iPod

• Watch It Stream is another simple search service that also includes users curated lists for a little variety. Also comes with a special Chrome extension to search for media. If you sgn up you can add your own lists for others to enjoy.[More information..]
  Watch It Stream searches: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant, Vudu,and  iTunes.
  App available? No

• Jinni – Describes itself as a  taste engine and concentrates on marathon film viewing by suggesting lists of movies that all have a connection to your tastes. Recommendations are made based on your taste profile. It also lists online availability of your chosen selections for both streaming and physical rental.[More information..]
  Jinni searches: Netflix,  Amazon, iTunes, Blockbuster, LoveFilm,
  App available? No

• Instant Watcher – A popular website for Netflix users that grabs the all the streaming titles from the instant library. Best used whilst you are logged into your Netflix account and offering many ways to search and filter the content, and all results have a play or queue link along with additional information.[More information..]
  Instant Watcher searches: Netflix.
  App available? Yes available for Android

• Fan TV – Also known as fanhattan, this website and iOS app works as a title aggregator. You search for a title, get lots of information and artwork, then the service searches for the title from 29 providers.[More information..]
  Fan TV searches: Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, HBO, Hulu, Cinemax, Fandango, Xfinity, Crackle, YouTube, NBC, The CW, ABC, ABC Family, PBS, Lifetime, truTV, CBS, Comedy Central, Syfy, Nickelodeon, USA, MTV, Fox, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Vudu, Blockbuster Video, Playstation Network.
  App available? Yes available for iPhone,iPad

• AllMovie – Good movie recommendation website that offers online and offline providers as well as  information about the films. Search by genre, actor etc. The website also offers reviews and showtimes as well.[More information..]
  AllMovie searches: Netflix, iTunes, Blockbuster, Best Buy.
  App available? No

• Flickathon – Calls itself a social movie recommendation engine. The inspiration came from a task that movie lovers regulalry do. Watch marathon sessions of films. When you choose a film, many more will get recommended and you can create your own marathon lists.[More information..]
  Flickathon searches: Netflix, Amazon, iTunes.
  App available? No

• Foundd – A recommendation engine that finds movies for you based on your individual taste. Users can sign up with Facebook, Twitter, or email; intelligently learns your taste and from others with similar tastes to continually improve suggestions; not limited to just movies; easy to maintain watchlist for you or a group; can save filters or searches; very easy ratings interface; iTunes app available.[More information..]
  Foundd searches: Netflix, iTunes.
  App available? Yes available for iPhone, iPad.

• GetGlue – A social engine of TV and moovies. Think of Facebook just for TV where you can create a personalized feed based on your interests, chat with friends and let people know what you are watching right now.[More information..]
  GetGlue searches: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, HBO GO, CBS, FOX, FX, AMC.
  App available? Yes available on iPad, iPhone.

• WhichFlicks – A website that helps you find which movie to watch. You can use a set of complex filters such as Ratings, Date, Genre, Appropriate Audience, and Cast to narrow down the search. Then you can see various sources for availability.[More information..]
  WhichFlicks searches: Netflix, Metacritic, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Redbox.
  App available? No

• Findseri.es – This website finds your chosen TV series (they also have a movies section) and deliver results of where you can watch it instantly. Options to choose your Country are also included.[More information..]
  Findseri.es  searches: Netflix, iTunes, Hulu
  App available? No

• Zinc.TV Another site that makes it easier to watch TV online. Zinc.TV claims to have cataloged and have links to over 825,000 online videos. The service has a play button that links out to sources such as Netflix and Amazon Video, where you can rent or purchase the video and also links to free sources.[More information..]
  Zinc.TV searches: Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Go, CBS, Vudu, Crackle, ABC, Fox, ABC Family, TBS, TNT, A&E, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, CNET, Comedy Central, CW, Discovery, Food Network,  SyFy, Spike, VH1
  App available? No

As you can see, compiling media information and suppliers in one place is big business even though no one site has quite perfected it yet, you can see the potential is there when someone gets it right. Having the ability to quickly search a range of online streaming websites from Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, HBO, Crackle amongst others for digital or physical deliveryat the best price is very useful.

But with the streaming companies playing hardball and not giving third party developers full access to their API’s (Netflix are even shutting there API down), and with content deals starting and finishing all the time, the information is never thoroughly up to date. But these websites and apps do make life easier. Check out our streaming aggregators directory so you can always keep up to date with any new providers.

In a potential move which would be a surprising first in the show’s extensive history, Fox’s leading animated comedy The Simpsons is preparing to announce their intention to find cable networks to syndicate past episodes of the show.

The Simpsons had held back on allowing such a move to take place since signing broadcast syndication agreements in 1993, a term of which was that no cable stations could receive access for as long as new episodes are made, part of a deal made during a time when cable was a strongly-feared competitor of the regular networks.

While the wariness of cable edging in on the rights will still remain, it appears as though the show’s syndication managers Twentieth Television are aware that times have changed and that they could benefit from a huge financial incentive in exchange for any new syndication sold, as well as the small matter of no-one expecting the show to last over 2 decades longer than when the original agreements were made in 1993.

In an announcement made that some will picture a pinky to the lips with just by its words, the amount that Fox hope to claim in such a sale is as much as… one billion dollars.

The sale, if it does go forward, is expected to occur at some point in 2014, and it is widely acknowledged that the $1b target price would be met if demand from cable networks is anything to go by, as one source for the matter noted: “There’s a pent-up demand for it.”

Early favourites for the rights include Fox-owned station FX (or its own potential new sister network FXX), as well as continuing rumours of a Simpsons-exclusive archive network, with Fox reluctant to allow one of their most well-known names to benefit a competitor (although Turner (who operate the Adult Swim block that host reruns of other popular animated shows) could be a strong and well-connected candidate), but for the possible financial gain it would be likely that all that is thrown out the window if previous statistics by analysts (headlined by the one that the comedy’s 530 episodes could be valued at up to $1.5m each in syndication purchase value) are to be believed.

Part of that analysis, though, is that that valuation would be after The Simpsons stops producing no episodes, but show executives have insisted that talk of the deal does not mean the show is ending after the upcoming 25th season, despite a lack of renewal so far. It would seem unlikely too, with there obviously being more value in a programme which is current, so will The Simpsons be able to work around an old contract to get the best of both past and present?