With all the fuss about legal downloads — paid or ad-supported — here’s a reminder that far more downloads of TV content aren’t legal and that the people doing the downloading may not feel like they’re doing anything wrong. The YouTube clip that CBS News asked to have removed was replaced almost immediately by an upload from another user. A Brit who keeps up with “Lost” on the U.S. schedule via file sharing tells the LA Times: “It’s TV, isn’t it? It would probably be different if it was a movie. If it is free on everybody’s TV, why worry about it?” The story continues: “The $60-billion TV industry has a simple answer to Palmer’s question: because the future of free TV may depend on it.”
Pirated TV downloads still lag other kinds, like music, but broadband access and better file compression is changing that. Studio execs hope to stem the tide by providing shows legally across platforms. That eventually may help domestically but won’t make a dent with consumers barred from the kosher downloads by geography.
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