File-sharers' TV tastes revealed

i personally think the whole entertainment industry is going to fall into the crapper if something
doesn't stop it soon. but then again, they're still making the movies and tv, for now. who knows?

that movie list looks a bit off. yes man wasn't that popular. to me it seems like a snap shot of the
scene 6 months(ish) ago, ie when there wasn't really anything worth downloading. it's certainly not
the result of taking data from a significant time frame and made into an averaged/weighted list as
it should be. the tv list also seems like a snap shot. where's battlestar galactica? that finished
only 2 months before lost did last season.

well, who defines the condition of illegality? the legislatures and governments of the world. in a
good portion of the world, where the majority of the visitors of this site reside in, it is
considered 'illegal' to watch tv shows through unauthorized channels. however, arguing about it is
going into the domain of ethics and morality, something that isn't as clear-cut as law. (though the
laws are derived from ethics) back on topic, tv shows and movies do cost money; there is no way to
deny it, and the producers need to find the money somehow, which is where the publishers come in.
they publish the works, which again costs money. the publishers try to recoup their loss, in the
case of television, from sponsorships, ads, and product placements. the torrents that eztv publishes
are stripped of their ads, which removes the ads, leaving only product placements and whatever they
can throw on the bottom 1/8th / 1/4th / 1/3rd of the screen. the result is that the torrent
viewership is largely inconsequential, as ad prices are derived from (ad) viewership figures, and
torrents have no ads. as i said before, this is a very complex ethical and moral issue, which is
impossible to 'win'. there are always more arguments arising either for, against, or somewhere in
between. but it is the people in power who make the rules, and the best we can do is try and toe the
line as close as we can.

personally i don't see why this can be classed illegal. i'm from the uk. also it's a tv show, which
every episode i watch of every series of every show i later buy the dvd. the only reason i do this
is i don't think the release date between usa and uk is justified (and visa versa). i get them for
my own enjoyment as america makes the best tv shows without a doubt.

well ... i can't see why downloading tv shows that have already aired publicly can be considered
illegal ... it is just a modern form of distribution.

i can use my dvd recorder and cut out the ads anytime without being in danger of a lawsuit which is
no different from using torrents.

i can also legally archive any recording up to a point when a season is complete so i do not have to
buy the dvd box to get the content (personally, i still do because box sets look really nice).

maybe these are the reasons why i do not know of any tv-only filesharer who has been sued over
downloading free-tv shows. if content is being made available to the public on a broad basis (like
tv networks do with their shows), there simply is no point in going to court over that.

paytv is a different thing, though ... downloading dvd or bd rips (whose torrents i do not touch)
surely is, too.