but if its been on free to air already the creators have been paid for it and cant reasonably expect any further money after its been thrown out into the public domain
Well that's the point - they do expect further money. These shows are expensive to make.
I mean I could record it and give it to somebody who didnt watch it when it was broadcast, so would they be watching it illegally, seeing as theyre not paying for it ?
I'm no expert on copyright law, but my understanding is that would be illegal.
You home record - for home use. You can show your friend the recording in your house - that's OK - but you can't give him a copy to take away! There are also limits (I think) on how many people you could show the recording to at any one time in your house before the event would becoming legally defined as a "Public Performance" - at which point you'd be breaking the law again!
Always been a grey area this one. In the UK back in the 50's and 60's you were supposed to pay for a licence before you could home record anything off the radio. I can remember my dad - always conscientious - had one, for his large classical music library of reel-to-reel tapes he recorded off Radio 3. But when cassette recorders came along everyone could easily record everything and the UK government eventually gave up the licence as unenforceable and unworkable.
