By Ruth Vitale

It’s a frequently asked question when I am speaking at conferences, universities, and film festivals: Why is it so hard to find legal content?

I hear it from creative professionals who have come across websites they cannot be sure are legal, parents who want their kids to respect artists and creators, and even well-intentioned college students who want to do the right thing but are confused about which video sites are legal and which ones host pirated content.

In recent years, entertainment companies have made tremendous progress in expanding access to creative content when, where, and how audiences want it. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 100 legal online services that deliver films and television shows. And a recent KPMG study showed that the vast majority of the most popular and critically acclaimed film and TV content are available from those services.

Yet with so many new and emerging digital distribution platforms, it can sometimes be difficult for a viewer to find a specific title.

Adding to the confusion, many pirate sites appear legitimate because they have advertisements from well-known brands and accept subscription payments processed by major credit cards.

Today, with the launch of WhereToWatch 2.0, it just got a whole lot easier to find the films and television shows you love—and be confident you are doing so in ways that reward creativity and compensate creators for their work.

WhereToWatch offers a simple, streamlined, comprehensive search of digital download and streaming sites, stores, and kiosks. It searches Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu, as well as Fandor, Vudu, Target Ticket, Redbox, and many more. You can even set alerts and receive notifications when a film or show you want to see becomes available. It appears to be the most complete site out there for finding legal content, and only legal content.

Raising awareness about the available legal, convenient, and high-quality access to creative content—and how that supports a healthy creative economy—can help reduce piracy. Please check out WhereToWatch.com and help spread the word.