Pilcher on Copyright

Another great article by Pat Pilcher on the copyright issue. It is 5 pages long, so worth reading in full. One part I want to quote:

While music hogs the limelight as the biggest victim of piracy, from popular torrent sites reveals otherwise as episodes lead all other downloads by a massive margin. Although figures tend to vary owing to the highly dynamic nature of the BitTorrent community, the figures are still compelling. Even though TV shows only make up only 10 per cent of the total downloads on major torrent sites, they represent anything up to 46 per cent of all downloads.

With music, fully functioning software and new release easily obtainable using BitTorrent, why are TV shows making up such a large amount of downloads? Not only does this show that the majority of internet users are not interested in committing piracy, but that many are simply sick of the out-of date drivel being dished up by New Zealand's second rate TV broadcasters. Simply put, the rise and rise of downloaded TV-shows is a clear signal that traditional TV networks are simply not meeting viewer demands.

Absolutely. I am watching half a dozen TV series not yet available in NZ, and may never be available. I don't download music or movies, as I can buy them easily enough. TV networks need to put shows on when vieweres want to see them, not when they decide it is convenient.

According to Torrent Freak http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-tv-shows-of-2008-081223/ over 90 per cent of TV show downloads come outside the US. New Zealanders often have to months for a show to get to air, if it airs at all (as for sci-fi shows broadcast in New Zealand…). BitTorrent however provides a zero-wait and add-free alternative to the stale dross featuring adverts every 6 minutes being delivered by the networks. I'd be willing to wager that most TV show downloaders would be more than happy to pay a few bucks per episode rather than being disconnected.

Many NZers pay $50 to $100 a month for Sky, so yes we would pay for being able to download legal TV episodes.

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