A third of us are TV pirates: survey

tom sanders:

One hopes that the TV stations wake up to this earlier than the music industry did to the Napster/Kazaa phenomenon.

Stuart Sneddon:

I find it disgusting when tv station moves shows around all the time, you end up missing episodes because of their so called specials( ie big brother rubbish instead of the simpsons). They have the nerve to wonder why people download episode which are six months out of date anyway. Fix up your act and then you can complain.

Computer Repair guy - Paul:

Interesting article, the place im living in at the moment doesnt have a TV so the best option for me is to download a few episodes via torrents and watch them on my pc. Please also note that the people that goto the whirlpool website are quite tech-heavy users - the average australian online wouldnt be registered with whirlpool - thus the results are skewed towards broadband enthusiasts.

James Squires:

The TV industry in Australia only has itself to blame, but it is encouraging to hear that some steps are being taken. However, what i dont understand is that instead of charging $1.95 per episode, why dont they sell extra advertising which they can leave embedded in the show? This way it would be free for the users (enoucouraging more use), and they would have created another, more reliable revenue stream...

Dirk:

This is FUD! TV was "pirated" all the time.... by VCR's!

Recording and sharing TV isn't even piracy when you have had the commercials removed, dammit!

Don't you people let you talk into such BS!

Ray:

I agree, the tv stations in Australia are to blame for us all downloading tv shows, i download Stargate, Dr Who, Andromeda, and Star trek, simply because tv stations are so useless when it comes to programming, this reality crap is just that 'crap'.

Until tv stations learn, more and more people will download episodes from the net.

Ahmert:

It's illegal to download TV shows off of the internet? Even if it is broadcast tv (free) or there is no other way to get the show?

oldmate:

bah!! nine are NOT leading the way for integration into media center!! they are doing the opposite, they are currently sueing iceTV for alleged copyright breaches. They are doing their best to ruin EPG services for Australia.

Peter Newpiper:

The unreliable reporting on the uninformed. Of *course* whirlpool kiddies pirate TV, that's what whirlpool is about (that and whinging about perceived sub-par broadband providors).

Nothing to see here, APC writers and editors need to learn that the Internet is *not* a reliable source, and a web forum run by kids for kids is no more reliable or credible.

Bob:

o.k. so you commend nine for having catchup tv shows, but what can you do with the episodes? Watch them on your computer that runs windows? I would much prefer to download episodes that are in an open standard, not wmv, that I can freely play on any computer I choose or transfer to my IPOD video.

DRM = bad.

James:

The customer is always right.

Daniel:

#8, I agree. This sample is hopelessly skewed towards power users and IT tech/student types.

Less than 5% of the survey group class themselves as "Beginner" or "just learning".

Oh well, I suppose this article works well as a scare tactic to get legislation moving against illegal downloading.

Daniel:

"but before you claim “Bias!”, I’m not spruiking for 9 just because they’re in the same group."

It definately sounds like it, especially when you give incorrect information like this:

"They’re also one of the only TV stations in Australia to make a free electronic program guide available online…"

This is definately not true, they have a web site with there guide up and running, just like every single network that broadcasts in Australia. You should also point out that what they have made available online is off absolutely no use to Media Center users.

I guess to sum it up you should probably change the next line to read:

"if ALL TV stations would stop being obstinate, Windows Media Center wouldn’t have been such a dismal failure in Australia"

Dan Warne:

Hi Dan, that's a good point. My understanding was that 9 and ABC had agreed to let their EPG data be used for MCE type appliances -- but evidently it's not available in a public feed yet. I'm going to contact 9 and get an answer on what their latest policy is.

Ian N:

> The customer is always right.

In this case of TV though, the customers are the advertisers, not the public. TV programs are just the method of getting eyeballs to the advertisements. That's why they value ratings so highly; they can charge more for advertising during those shows.

They little realise their constant cuts and shuffling of programs (for better ratings) has, through the effect of annoying viewers, made PVRs, DVDs and piracy more popular.

Bruce Bromley:

The other thing that annoys me is the fact TV stations namely 7, 9 & 10 can not run on time and purposely stagger their shows meaning you have to miss the start of one or the end of another.

With this utter contempt towards viewers its no wonder TV shows are downloaded.

Eddie get 9 fixed up and maybe the rest will follow suit, the other option is you will lose views REMEMBER its a consumers market.

Simon Shaw:

Please note that Whirlpool users are NOT your average internet user. They are power users typically who are technically proficient.

I suspect the actual percentage is a LOT lower.

And yes the Great EPG Ripoff is shamefull!

Users have to resort to being criminals just to get a TV guide even though I can legally read the data with my own eyes off the web but I can't download it without breaking the law. Pahhh!

Richard:

I dont care if the TV networks wake up or not - if they do, the product will be sold at a low-quality, with DRM, at a ridiculous price (are we really worth $1.95 per viewer for advertisers?) Until then, bittorent TV shows are as good as it gets until IPTV.

William Moisis:

"I just think it’s encouraging to see an Australian TV station doing what it can â€" making locally produced drama available for download at a reasonable price of $1.95 per episode."

Ha! for $1.95 I can get an over DRM'd file that I can't burn to DVD or put on a PVP, or even another computer.

In fact, I can only watch it for 5 DAYS, then it's gone.

APC, it is not 'downloading at a reasonable price' when the show expires in 5 days. It is an overpriced farce for the media (ie. you) to say that a crappy DRM rental service is a good deal.

Max:

Last I checked, there is no video on demand services offered by anyone in Australia so I guess anyone wanting to watch something they missed are left with no alternative.

Dislexsick:

That is a load of BS. If something is free to watch on your TV why is it illegal to watch on your PC. Downloading is just an alternate means to dubbing it using a few fancy cables...

mehere:

Ssshh everybody,
I'm doing just fine with my twin tuner PVR.
Haven't watched an ad in two years.
Don't rock the boat. Let the commercials
fool themselves thinking everyone is watching their ads.
Eventually the dumb ad agencies will realise it and then it will be too late for them to do anything about it.

Jimbo:

So why don't the Australian stations open up the shows they own the rights to for Australian Downloading as soon as they are aired in the originating country?

If they embed avertisments into the show.... so what if 10% of a commercial station's audience d/l a show 6 to 8 months before it is aired? They'll just get the other 90% of their audience a bit later on.

Surely advertisers would love the concrete viewer stats of download numbers rather than the airy-fairy 'ratings' system.

What is wrong with this business model?

Shi:

I'm curious, up until the recently announced changes to law, simply taping a show on a VCR was technically illegal.

I have a tuner card in my PC and use it as a PVR, and although I have downloaded a few movies, once I watched them they were deleted, and if I liked it enough I buy the DVD.

If my PC is confiscated because of those instances of "previewing" movies, and the police see my hard drive is filled with TV episodes, can they claim I downloaded them and arrest me, simply because I recorded it digitally off free-to-air TV rather than use a VCR?

Rodger:

Firstly. Whirlpool users are not all power users. If you actually read some of the posts you might learn that a lot of the members are seeking advice and are in the forum because they are interested in internet related issues such as what modem suck, like mine - Netcomm NB5580W. I would classify the members as average to power users. Im intermediate but at times a beginner. Also Broadband is extremely poor in Australia in comparison to the world. Its all Telstra's problem. Telstra Sucks. So I am all for the complaining. You will be amazed at the number of dumb people sucked into Bigponds rip off deals.

Secondly. I think the stats are about a right. The internet is a big network of free information. You can practically get anything online and for free, thanks to search engines.

thirdly. I download tv shows online. Like many have said I hate being behind with tv shows series and episodes. You miss all the hype and news that comes out about the shows. You dont feel part of it a year or two later. Its like with the movies. The US gets the movies first and Aussies a couple months later. This stuffs us up with the Oscars. We might not have seen a movie that has one best picture because it hasnt been release yet. So very annoying.
This is one of the reasons I prefer the net. Another is the ads. I hate the ads. I like to be in the story for the whole duration. Embedded ads should replace the current system as soon as possible. I have heard that either Xbox or Playstation games with soon have embedded ads in them. This is just wrong if you have paid for the game, but atleast they know how to market and reach an audience.

Fourthly, Video on demand is avaliable, I think - on trial in adelaide (somewhere in Whirlpool Forum). I dont recall the name. I was interested until I read the prices. You may per show. Its should be a lump sum for the month. Anyway the range would be limited and the success of the company will depend on the number of users with fast broadband - 1500Mb plus, ADSL 2+ speeds. But ADSL 2+ is only just starting to emerge. Telstra is slowing the nation down and limiting the speed.

Lastly, I favor the net for shows because I dont get any poor picture quality with shadows and snow. You may get poor resolution but atleast you can see the screen clearly. Anyways If I like the series I would buy the DVDs, but again they take for ever to release. Thats why a number of people buy dvds overseas, amoung many other products, thanks to the the great tool called the "Internet".

eyepeeteevee » A third of Australian television viewers ar:

[...] As reported by apcstart.com, this article discusses the rise in ‘piracy’ in Australia citing the ease of downloading content from the net and the lack of up to date programming from overseas on the Australian networks. [...]

Ben:

I dont have a problem with downloading personally and my 10Mbit connection and 40GB/m means I can download most shows faster than they can be taped anyway. The quality is every bit as good as standard definition TV, often better and the ads are removed for me. I have a young family and it is not convenient to watch anything when it is on TV. Also with the poor performance of local stations bringing out new stuff, they only have themselves to blame. I have watched all of season 5 of 24 and it hasnt even been announced over here yet. I also watch a lot of shows that are not on local TV and never will be which is a pity when you look at the utter garbage they shove down our throat over here.

neilmc:

I think Nine's persuit of ICETV over guide data is a disgrace.

Breach of copyright?

Does anyone pay any station to use guide data in print media? eg TV Week, Newspapers etc?

You would think the networks would want to increase access to information on what they are showing.

From SMH:

Mr Ross also said Nine had been invited to come in and review the way IceTV created its guide but the network refused, opting to sue instead.


There's a progressive network for you ;)

steve:

I totally agree with, Rodger on May 31st, 2006 at 3:57 am.
I like Sci Fi, where can I watch Science Fiction shows, that are up to date and in a reasonable time slot, on free to air TV in Australia.

Damian:

Channel nine is one of the biggest offenders in the "piss off the viewer" category. They helped Fox produce the Farscape series in Sydney, but we were always a season behind in the broadcasts and it was never on the same time each week or they would throw a repeat in the mix instead of the next episode, or skip a week. Same thing has happened on 10 with Supernatural. Move it around, put a double episode on with a repeat instead of 2 new episodes (why repeat in the middle of season 1). It has a story line for sake! You can't follow the story when it is chopped around so much.

I don't watch TV anymore except saturday morning stuff with my kids. Only DVD's and the few epidodes downloaded. Also in response to someone saying downloads were poor resolution.. Supernatural was all from HDTV resolution in widescreen so brilliant clarity at full screen. I guess you have to pick your shows.

Drew Higgins:

So, if you're a TV pirate why not chuck out your video recorder? Throw out your media centre! Throw out your ADSL broadband modem because you're a broadband TV pirate!

Seriously though, if I see something I like on TV I set my media centre to record it or pause it if I'm only going out for an hour or so. If you want to download materials that's your choice.......

Ryan:

Something that this article did not touch upon; what about all of the people that don't download episodes but get copies from their friends? The stats are possibly lower than what they should be because redistribution of downloaded media is very common.

Tony Brown:

I really don't know what all the fuss is about :)
Why anybody would waste band-width time downloading Aussie TV shows and stuff like that really astounds me :P
Still to each his own :) Catch ya all later:):)
Tony Brown esq.pot and escape artist ex

Garry Cross:

EPGs are all well and good but only if they reflect reality. The EPG sent along with the free to air Digital television seem to run about a 60% accurate listing of the programme currently on air. Programme overruns count for a lot but if they cant get a simple display of what is on air at the moment what hope is there for full intergration with a PC.

Gavin:

The reason why i download shows via torrent networks is becasue aussie tv programming is absolute BS! Not only are the aussie tv networks so far behind the american and uk tv networks, the times that these stations put on good programs are absolute ridiculous hours, for example, when stargate was on ausdsie tv, it was put on at 1130pm, later for us here in South Australia, and what is with the tv networks showing repeats of everything possible. I'd like to see a change in program directors for every major tv station (7, 9 and 10). Comgrats to SBS for showing both the Ashes and the World Cup when the major networks turn the offer down. At least one australian network can be reliant... for a while at least.

Stephen:

I have given up on Australian commercial TV stations, I’m sick of the repeats. With “House” and “NCIS” and a host of others shows, they give you a new episode one week and a repeat the next, its insulting.
I get a lot of the SF shows that I like off the net, there is no point in waiting 6 months or years for the local stations to broadcast the shows I like, when it’s unlikely that they will play them at a reasonable time, show them in order or even run the full series.
I have had enough of being disrespected as a viewer by our channels thanks.

Brian Harbuckle:

Gee... Everyones panning the commercial stations. What a shame this forum isn't the official ratings. It seems to me it reflects accurately the beyond pathetic job the commercial stations are doing.

One thing though, they should feel safe in the knowledge that virtually no one is going to bother to pirate the rubbish they broadcast. Although......... there is an occasional funny commercial that manages to slip through. Almost engaging enough to warrant checking out the product that's being advertised. Almost.... but nah! If the advertiser insists on interupting our already 2nd rate lousy show, why should we reward them by buying their product?

Damien:

I collect many tv shows off the internet. I simply don't have the patience to wait for one of the free to air stations here to show it. Take Veronica Mars for instance. They just showed Season 1 Episode 16? Season 2 finished in the USA over a month ago. I had to download season 1 to find out what happened, as they stopped in halfway through. They really have no idea what the people watching TV want.

The most likeley bit of tv to be pirated from australian TV is the Chopper Sketch from the Ronnie Johns show.

I know why i watch SBS now

paul:

crap, it just means that a survey of whirlpool users, a site that attracts people with a deeper than usual interest in broadband are pirates. It is not a survey of 'typical' broadband users, so don't make wide ranging assumptions.

John Bartels:

Loved Battlestar....dropped after first season. Just another show they can't be bothered letting us watch. I hate watermarks, so they all have to have this obtrustive graffiti on the screen and so large that there is no way to mentally blank it out. Solution....download the BBC transmission of Planet Earth.

And reality TV is such rubbish that I'd rather do the dishes.

The stations have successfully driven me away. I watch virtually no broadcast now. I either download it, or I wait for the DVD.

S-Daddy:

My favorite show's new season finished in the USA two months ago.
Channel Nine won't say when they'll show it here.
Why should I be restricted by their decisions when I can make my own?
BitTorrent took care of it - I usually watched new episodes within 12 hours of them airing in the USA

Bryn:

Two other shows to be pirated is Home & Away and Neighbours.

H&A takes 10 months to cross into The UK, So as we are watching the Return Of Momma Rose, The Brits have Just Finished The Returners Saga.

George:

It is quite obvious that most people are sick and tired of putting up with the games the television networks like to play. Instead of the theory of competition, that is they will compete with quality shows and the consumer is the winner they have resorted to tricks.

Tricks like running over time slots, not publishing accurate information, trying not to compete against each other.

Unless we have all forgotten these networks have licences. It protects their market and not anyone can open a station and compete with them. Time we stopped putting up with this rubbish and demanded that regulations were put in place. You want to run a tv network in our community there are a few rules you have to play by. Don't like em then piss off!

Always someone else out there willing to give it a go. Until then piracy is a form of protest from the people. No one owes the networks a living. If they want it they must earn it.

erkel:

i agree , if the free to air channels treated their viewers better & actually showed whole seasons of shows at normal times , there would be alot less piracy.
stuff like american dad etc
as for aussie shows the only one id download is the chasers war , funny show

Michael:

I totally agree, Nine is as boring as hell, so is channel 7 with the exception of Prison Break, which has finished. Channel 10 has a few good shows like house and ncis, medium but they keep repeating it. Australia had just finished watching the second episode if the o.c here whilst id had already downloaded the fina episode of the season. Veronica Mars has now aired at 11:30 which is absolutely ridiculous. I reckon we should pirate shows and movies coz its way easier than just waiting for it to come ou here.

andrew:

If it wasn't for the ignorant public, we would all be downloading our favourite shows and all the networks would fold or even better, resort to their own kind of reality tv 'commercial network suicide'. That would be the only program I would watch. Seriously though, anybody who watched NCIS for example will know too well the frustration of watching a new series episode one week, only to be subjected to watching an older series episode the next week, where as if by magic, dead characters make a remarkable return to the screen!!!
I would gladly stand in front of the public, and shout as load as I can that I download pirated tv shows because australian networks really do suck!!!

Sandra:

I tried the free trial episode of MacCleods Daughters that Channel 9 put up for download. I did everything right and it would not play. Glad I didn't waste $1.95 on it! And I'm reasonably tech savvy. What about the average user who pays $1.95 for an episode they can't use? Is there a refund if you can't get it to play? Probably not.

At least if I haven't paid for an episode I don't feel cheated if it doesn't work.

Bring on iTunes tv shows like they have in the US! I would soooooo pay for legitimate tv!! Offer decent tv like Stargate and Battlestar Galactica and watch the geeks (like me and my husband) come running!

Mistral:

"I’m not spruiking for 9 just because they’re in the same group … They’re also one of the only TV stations in Australia to make a free electronic program guide available online… if other TV stations would stop being obstinate …"

Dan, that's a bald-faced lie, and you know it. The ABC has long had an RSS feed of their daily EPG, and up to 6 weeks of guide on their website. Likewise, SBS has up to ~8 weeks of guide on their website. Both are unencumbered by any restrictive "encryption" code designed to stop people using it as a, you know, ELECTRONIC program guide!

Unlike the NineMSN guide. You know the one - the one designed by your Whirlpool cohort, "Simon Wright @ HWW". The one that uses embedded code to make it hard for people to use as an ELECTRONIC program guide. The same HWW who have threatened to sue people who write - or even just use - programs to look at that program guide, and are currently suing IceTV for daring to actually create a useful ELECTRONIC program guide.

Y'know, that very same HWW who is owned by PBL / Nine?

Stefan:

I agree with 90% of the comments I am trying to watch McLeods Daughters but things keep changing around & I miss loads of episodes the only way to see the whole series is to download. Then I still miss some you just can`nt win

Tom:

I agree with everyone here. until Battlestar Galactica started airing on channel 10, i had promised myself not to watch teh damn station. So far the ads are very few during the show, but Ive got a feeling that 10 will screw me (and the other SCIFI fans) over at some stage soon. Aside from Stargate, Family Guy, Chasers, Battlestar, and the usual war documentary, everything that these channels feed to us is utter crap. All these reality shows give me headaches and all these bloody crime shows are annoying the hell out of me! But the most annoying thing, is Channel 10's advertising for a really lame TV show. Like The Wedge. What a dud that turned out to be...