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Archive for the ‘TV Piracy’ Category

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

Illicit File-Sharing and Streaming of TV Shows Increases: “

Following the introduction of Sweden’s IPRED anti-piracy legislation on April 1st last year, the country saw a huge 30% drop in Internet traffic. Many attributed this fall to Internet users become scared that they would be caught downloading and sharing copyright material.

Several months later in November 2009, TorrentFreak looked at some Netnod data which seemed to indicate that not only had Swedish traffic levels returned to pre-IPRED levels, but actually surpassed them.

Traffic levels naturally increase year-on-year anyway, so it was difficult to be certain that that this boost was related to recovering levels of online piracy. However, new research just published by a consultancy firm seems to suggest that accessing illicit material online is indeed on the increase.

Mediavision bills itself an independent consultancy firm specializing in analyzing consumer behavior within the sphere of digital media. Its clients include media groups, TV channels, advertisers and production companies.

In its just published 2009 fourth quarter report, the company reveals that it detected an increase in the downloading of TV shows during the autumn of that year. In the 15 to 74 year-old bracket, 1.4 million Internet users engaged in that activity.

In the 15 to 24 year old group, 0.5 million used illicit streaming services to access both movies and TV shows, a method which Mediavision believes is becoming more sought after. 20% of the respondents in this age group admitted using them.

The company further says that 60% of 15 to 24 year-olds are estimated to have consumed illicit media online via various means in the fourth quarter of 2009, versus 40% of the 15 to 74 year-olds. This figure is the same as that reported by Mediavision before IPRED was introduced.

Overall, the company says it believes that the accessing of illicit movies and TV shows via the web has recovered at least to pre-IPRED levels, maybe slightly higher.

Jens Heron at Mediavision says that the piracy situation with TV shows would improve if foreign TV shows and other international became more readily available, at a time and place of the consumers’ choosing.

‘Our analysis shows that consumers increasingly want to decide for themselves when to watch and from which screen. Unfortunately, many have become adept at circumventing the IPRED legislation. The way to remedy this, in addition to legislation, is, of course, by offering great legal alternatives,’ he added.

Indeed, as earlier reported, around 10% of Swedes aged between 15 and 25 are taking measures to neutralize IPRED, with as many as 500,000 others in the country following suit. Måns Svensson, PhD in Sociology of Law in Lund, estimated that 6 to 7 percent of all Swedes could now be hiding themselves online.

(Via TorrentFreak.)

BBC NEWS | Technology | File-sharers’ TV tastes revealed

Page last updated at 00:16 GMT, Friday, 28 August 2009 01:16 UK
By Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent, BBC News

Millions of television viewers are now using illegal file-sharing services to access free and unauthorised copies of programmes, research has revealed.

US drama Heroes was the most popular illegal download this year, according to research firm Big Champagne.

Around 55 million people downloaded the show, whilst 51 million chose to access Lost, the second most popular show.

Visits to leading “torrent” sites, which index video and music files, have also nearly doubled in the last year.

The proportion of file-sharing involving films and television rather than music is continuing to rise, the research shows.

“Millions of television viewers now access free, unauthorised versions of favourite shows at least some of the time,” says Eric Garland the chief executive of Big Champagne.

“This is a socially acceptable form of casual piracy – and it is replacing viewing hours.”

All of the programmes in the top 10 were American, but the survey also examined unauthorised downloads of popular BBC show Top Gear.

Most Popular Film Torrents
Watchmen; 16,906,452
The Curious case of Benjamin Button; 13, 133, 137
Yes Man; 13,038,364
Twilight; 11,632,645
Fast and Furious; 10,613,668
Gran Tourino; 9,880,700
Marley and Me; 9,099,219
Slumdog Millionaire; 8,840,884
Bolt; 8,690,633
Australia; 8,628,012

During the most recent series, the figures show around 300,000 downloads of each episode in the days immediately following their broadcast in the UK.

But the UK accounted for just 4% of the download activity, with 47% coming from the United States.

Big Champagne says Top Gear has been among the most pirated television programmes internationally.

The series appears on BBC America some time after it is shown in the UK, and it appears that some American fans are eager to download it before it is available legally.

The research also looks at unauthorised film downloads and shows they are getting lower audiences than those for TV programmes.

Most Popular TV Torrents
Heroes; 54,562,012
Lost; 51,151,396
24; 34,119,093
Prison Break; 29,283,591
House; 26,277,954
Fringe; 21,434,755
Desperate Housewives; 21,378,412
Grey’s Anatomy; 19,916,775
Gossip Girl; 19,706,870
Smallville; 19,598,999

Top of the chart was Watchmen, downloaded nearly 17 million times, followed by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with 13 million.

The Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, a relatively low budget film compared with the two Hollywood blockbusters, was viewed by nearly 9 million unauthorised downloaders.

The research will be presented on Saturday at the Edinburgh Television Festival in a session on what television can learn from the music industry’s experience with online piracy.

Mr Garland says there are major differences between the two industries and the impact on television may not be as severe as some TV executives fear: “We may see a lot of disruption but it is premature to say ‘we’re next’.”

“The effect on the business is going to be very different.”

Big Champagne’s research also shows that the rate of piracy for live events, such as sport or talent shows, is much lower than that for popular drama series.

Post from: TorrentFreak

‘Lost’ Most Pirated TV-Show on BitTorrent

Every week we take a look at the most downloaded TV-Shows on BitTorrent. Lost is traditionally one of the most downloaded TV shows. Last year, it got the honor of being the most pirated show of 2008, and we expect the show to end up high in the 2009 list as well.

The fifth season of Lost just started with two new episodes. Both episodes were downloaded close to two million time in the first week. As always, the vast majority of the people who download the show are located outside the U.S, where it may take up to a year before season 5 will actually air on TV.

The rise of unauthorized downloading of TV-shows is a signal that customers want something that is not available through other channels. It’s more about availability than the fact that it’s free and should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat. The more restrictions, the more piracy – it’s as simple as that.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

(Via TorrentFreak.)

Top 10 Most Pirated TV-Shows of 2008

TV-shows are getting increasingly more popular on BitTorrent. Most TV-broadcasters won’t be happy to hear this, but one could argue that BitTorrent has actually helped TV-shows to build a stronger, broader, and more involved fanbase.

Perhaps even more importantly, the rise of unauthorized downloading of TV-shows is a signal that customers want something that is not available through other channels. Availability seems to be the key issue why people turn to BitTorrent.

This also becomes clear when we look at the geographical location of the downloaders. The vast majority of the downloads come from overseas, over 90% on average. Outside the US, fans sometimes have to wait for weeks or even months before the show airs on TV in their country. Many of them are simply not that patient or willing to torture themselves, and turn to BitTorrent in desperation.

Legal online streaming services are only available in the US, and change very little in the overall download figures. Until the availability problem is addressed, we’re not likely to see a decrease in TV-show downloads from BitTorrent. Indeed, compared to last year, the download figures have grown a little, especially for the top three TV-shows in the list.

Below we have compiled a list of the most downloaded TV-shows, together with the viewer average for TV in the US, based on data from Nielsen. Note that the download count for each show is per episode, the most downloaded in this case. The Olympics Opening Ceremony was one of the most wanted broadcasts of the year with 4,620,000 downloads, but we decided only to include TV-series.

The data for the top 10 is collected by TorrentFreak from several sources, including reports from all the large BitTorrent trackers. The download number is the sum of all torrent downloads for the most popular episode. Based on previous experience a correction is made for smaller .torrent releases that we might have missed.

Thanks Ray for letting me know about this story!

Police bust major film and TV piracy operation – BizTech – Technology

Christine Kellett, December 4, 2008 – 3:03PM

Two Brisbane men who allegedly facilitated the illegal download of the equivalent of more than 14 million movies and television programs via a video sharing website overseas have been charged with piracy.

The 21-year-old and 27-year-old, who are related and live together, were arrested at a house in the suburb of Parkinson yesterday.

About $50,000, alleged to be the proceeds of crime, has been frozen, while three computers and more than 1200 DVDs were seized in the raid by Australian Federal Police.

Investigators allege the pair made $10,000 a month by managing an illegal offshore video sharing website with 400,000 international members, including thousands of “VIPs” who paid up to $10 a month for access to direct downloadable media.

Police were tipped off about the BitTorrent tracker site by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) group earlier this year.

Search warrants were issued yesterday and the men arrested and charged with copyright and proceeds of crime offences.

It is alleged the men facilitated the transfer of more than 10,000 terabytes of information, equivalent to 14.3 million copies of videos and television programs.

“BitTorrent is a legitimate and efficient software for sharing files but, like any tool, it can be misused,” AFACT’s director of operations, Neil Gane, said.

“This case clearly demonstrates how damaging P2P piracy can be – sucking money from the legitimate production and distribution of movies thereby discouraging creativity and destroying Australian businesses and jobs.”

The pair have been released on bail until December 18, when they will front Brisbane Magistrates Court.

If found guilty, they each face a maximum 10 years’ jail or $66,000 in fines.

The Australian director and producer of the film Black Water, which was allegedly downloaded from the site in breach of copyright, applauded the bust.

“Being a low budget film I didn’t get paid much and hoped to make some money for all my effort from the films’ sales,” Andrew Traucki said.

“The fact that Black Water had been pirated and was online within days of being finished is upsetting. How are Australian film producers like me meant to make a living from our films if people pirate the film and watch it for free?”