US shows: major UK P2P pirating

net1

Popular US shows like 24 are being pirated in vast numbers online where whole shows can be downloaded free of charge, without adverts, and within minutes of first screening. Apparently the UK leads the way, accounting for around one fifth of global television piracy, ahead of Australia in second and the USA in third, reports silicom.com.

Research released by web monitoring firm Envisional says the amount of TV show piracy increased 150 per cent over the past year. David Price, research consultant at Envisional, told silicon.com: "With popular shows such as 24 we're talking about 100,000 copies of the latest episode being pirated – with around 20,000 of those shows being downloaded in the UK. That is inevitably going to start hitting the likes of Sky, especially as the people typically doing this are the young, affluent demographic their advertisers want to reach." Price said after each episode of 24 screens at 21:00EST in the US, Envisional has seen copies circulating online by 22:20EST.

"That means users in California with a fast connection can actually watch that episode before it has even screened on the West Coast." The growing popularity of BitTorrent software is playing a large part with Envisional claiming that 70 per cent of television piracy takes place using its software. According to Envisional

"The top 10 pirated TV shows worldwide are":
1. 24
2. Stargate Atlantis
3. The Simpsons
4. Enterprise
5. Stargate SG-1
6. The O.C.
7. Smallville
8. Desperate Housewives
9. Battlestar Galactica
10. Lost