WwiTV.com

2006 was a good year for Internet broadcasting, mostly thanks to YouTube — which was acquired by Google for an astounding $1.65 billion, made an old guy famous and prompted one of Time Magazine's least conventional People of the Year (not counting Adolf Hitler): You.

All this because YouTube has pioneered an entirely new paradigm for video distribution — one which provides infinitely more choice, within a far less rigid framework, than traditional television. Between these two worlds, however, something else floats largely unnoticed: WwiTV.com.

What is WwiTV.com? Well, it's four separate Azerbaijani stations, daily news feeds from Pyongyang, Christian TV from Bolivia — and 2,214 other free live TV webcasts, all available at the click of a mouse; in other words, "World Wide Internet TeleVision."

WwiTV.com is a treasure trove of bizarre entertainment; an experience somewhat akin to flicking through foreign TV on holiday, but entirely suited to the Internet age. The website may lack the on-demand element of YouTube, as it relies on traditional TV stations for its source material, but it makes up for this lack because everything it airs retains the quality of professional television — something conspicuously absent from the majority of hastily thrown-together online video.

2,220 is, however, a daunting number — one that even the most bloated of cable or satellite packages would be hard-pressed to match. WwiTV.com plays host to some very interesting content, no doubt about that, but it's embedded within a mass of syndicated crap. Where the English content is concerned, here's a quick click around:

Russian Today

There are few things as strange as a half-Russian, half-English accent. However, given the recent prominence of Anglo-Russian news, Russian Today provides Russian and international news in English, read largely by presenters with this weirdly compelling accent.

Yeah, it's basically a news channel, somewhat akin to CNN or BBC News — and the stories it covers probably could be found elsewhere online. But folks, there's just something nice about watching TV news. And the accent — it's so cosmopolitan, so intellectual. So strangely compelling.

BBC Parliament

On November 13, 2006, after receiving "thousands of angry and perplexed e-mails and letters," BBC Parliament — essentially the British equivalent of C-SPAN — switched its Freeview broadcast from quarter-screen to full-screen. Somehow, this volume of complaints is heartening; it shows that the aging, overweight, and oft-drunk members of the British Parliament (the House of Commons has five bars!) can still hold their own against the frolicking youngsters of Hollyoaks and The O.C.

Broadcasting 24 hours a day, BBC Parliament airs live coverage from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as weekend highlights from Wales and Scotland (there are such things), and smaller Select Committees in the evenings. Especially recommended is the regular catfight that is the Prime Minister's Question Time. In addition, for those actually interested in British politics (anyone?), daily comment and analysis show The Record is regularly insightful and often perceptive. The revolution may, after all, be televised.

SmasHits

"Hi, I'm ______, and you're watching SmasHits!"

Find a pop star, ask them to read this out to the camera, repeat it about ten times, and you have the core of India's SmasHits — possibly the most self-referential TV channel in history.

For those of us who've never been to India, however, wading through these repeated station calls may be strangely worth it. A show named Bangalore Diary, purporting to offer an interesting look into the heart of this bustling Indian city may actually be funded by the Bangalore tourist board — but reckless enthusiasm for shopping malls and (as if to create a further level of international intrigue) footage of French jazz has never been so surreal.

And stick around — after a short Bollywood-esque music video and about ten-thousand more "...you're watching SmasHits!" clips later, it'll be time for another informative and objective programme: Mumbai Diary!

MAC Remix

On the all-time chart of Awesome TV Show Titles, Death of a Ninja undoubtedly ranks pretty high. And from the opening parental advisory warning, through the delightfully dated title sequence and all the way to the ridiculous dialogue and comically-skillful sword-slashes, the MAC Remix program certainly lives up to the name. Thowing-knives? Hanging bodies? Aphrodisiacs? Yes, yes and yes. And all in just under twenty minutes.

And mid-'80s kung-fu madness isn't all MAC Remix has to offer. The channel, devoted to all forms of martial arts, airs coverage from major competitions as well as yoga classes, behind-the-scenes footage and demonstrations of absolutely phenomenal skill — including those of children as young as 12. Just be forewarned: little in Internet television (and perhaps in life) lives up to the high bar set by Death of a Ninja.

EMS Police Channel

Watching EMS Police Channel is a similar experience to listening to a police-frequency radio. It might allow you to see what's going on in the local police force, to hear a running commentary on where they are going, what they are doing and, occasionally, who they were arresting. But it doesn't really. (Which is fine. We get enough of that with shows like COPS.)

It's clearly aimed to fulfill the off duty American police officer — at least the ones that watch a lot of cable and/or Internet TV. For anyone else, it's actually quite dull.

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And, in all honesty, if you haven't seen a ninja slice clean through a wooden door to reveal his nemesis sitting on the toilet, you haven't lived.

— Louis Goddard (louisgoddard at gmail dot com)