"On Monday (Aug. 15), Fox stopped providing new episodes at Fox.com and Hulu.com for free to everyone the day after they air, making them available only to subscribers of participating ‘TV Everywhere’ distributors (as well as Hulu Plus) for eight days following their TV premiere. So far, only Dish Network has an agreement with Fox for the authentication service."

So writes Todd Spangler in an article on Multichannel News’ website.

The article adds, "Fox is approaching the authenticated service as an extension of its retrans agreements. In some cases, Fox may be open to other arrangements, according to a source familiar with the company’s strategy."

If you click here, you can watch a video on the Fox site, which is animated and features characters from Seth MacFarlane’s shows to explain to consumers Fox’s change in policy.

The Multichannel article also says, " ‘Frustrated?’ the Fox notice reads. ‘Join your fellow subscribers and let your TV provider know that you want access to all full episodes on FOX.com. We will send an email when your provider’s status changes.’ Visitors are invited to fill out their ZIP code, select their provider and enter their name and e-mail address to be notified when their provider has joined the Fox program."

The story adds, "A form letter — which Fox purportedly will send to the provider selected — reads: ‘Dear [Provider], I want to continue watching full episodes on FOX.com but you are not one of the participating providers. As a customer of [Provider] I want you to know that I expect to have access to these episodes included in my subscription.’ "

In the FAQ section of the page on the website Fox writes:

"Why do I need a cable or satellite subscription to watch online episodes I used to watch for free?
You can still watch these episodes online for free after the 8-day period expires."

and:

"How often do I need to log in?
Once activated, your session is valid for 30 days. This is determined by each individual TV provider, so the term may vary."