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Aussie TV Networks Fight BitTorrent
An anonymous reader writes "It seems impatient TV viewers have discovered BitTorrent in Australia mainly because the networks there are so slow; programs are at times behind by up to 8 months! According to an independent study, it takes an average of four months to watch the latest episodes of top-rated shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives. There are now calls for TV networks to consider offering episodes for download at a small cost."
If you were as much a farscape fan as I am, you would understand the frustration in not being able to get the peacekeeper wars by any legal means in Australia.
The dissapointing thing is that there is no reason why this shouldn't be available in Oz right now. Its not even like film, where the latest releases only have a certain number of reels to go around the world.
If I can get a high quality copy easily over the internet, why can't the networks figure out how to do it for a profit?
Michael
There is no cryptographic solution to the problem where the intended receiver and the attacker are the same entity.
I got StarGate Atlantis because I didn't think they were going to show it at all. However, now they have (gah!). That's not the only reason I'd use it though: the networks are notorious for rescheduling shows at inconvinient times - or they drop them altogether! So hence we need to use BitTorrent.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
I don't understand how media companies can be so far behind on figuring out digital distribution over the internet...
We are one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Back to you with the weather, Bob!
riveting stuff... of course american networks should just make their tv shows available for a fee, and allow international customers with a valid credit card or paypal to purchase the content too. I'm sure however, that the networks make far more money hawking the tv shows abroad to other networks after they've had their run in the states.
Yay me! ^^
My limited knowledge of Australian TV has shown me that Aussies prefer BBC programmes over what's showing in the US.
Not since Marie-Antoinette played milkmaid has looking simple and honest been so fake and complicated.
Typical Corporate response: Fight the technology, instead of the real issue. Lets say they can defeat the torrent, then what? You have to fight every other method of downloading the episode, and then just for fun lets say they succeed at that, you'd have to fight someone in another country sending someone a tape of the episode.
The correct answer is: If this is truly affecting your business, then you need to provide the customer with what they want, in a way that will allow you to realize a profit. Get the episodes on in a timely fashion, and they will watch.
Don't Tread on Me
Hopefully there is some entrepreneuring Aussie television network that understands this market and can use their leverage as a broadcaster to quickly get this media to those that demand it. Or they could be non-capitalists and just complain about this and ask for legislation, but I wouldn't expect a business to do this... C'mon boy's, go get 'em! There's gold in them hills!
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
I never understood the concept behind either paying for TV show downloads, or for the broadcast networks rejecting the medium. Last I checked, broadcast television access was free. It's free because they show several segments of advertising in the middle of the show. Why would the medium matter to these companies? Why stick with television sets?
The advantage of downloading stuff is that you can watch it whenever you want. My schedule may not permit me to watch the shows I want. If you give me the same exact show with the same exact ads over the internet, I will gladly watch it! With the ads! I don't give a damn about the show not being ad-free, and I don't give a damn about them even developing a technology preventing you from fast-forwarding past the advertising. I'll watch the damn advertising, just like I watch it on TV. Just let me watch the damn show at the computer if the need strikes me! You lose NOTHING. Even if someone does fast-forward through the commercials, someone else will watch the same file TWICE, thus increasing their exposure to the advertising. Is this not an acceptable trade-off?
UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
Well exactly - if the networks insist on treating their customers badly, eventually their customers will look for alternatives. And then the networks will turn around and scream at the government to help them stop their customers exercising freedom of choice.
The title is a bit misleading in its current form , after reading the artical i find that it should be "Aussie TV Networks sit around doing little ". ,German TV dubs programs and i hate dubbing(that and i dont own a TV anymore though i do have access to one if needed).
. ,People hate adverts (20 minute shows that last 45 minutes due to 25 minutes of intersperced Crap for things that i do'nt need or want and am less likely to buy after being forced to view the tripe that they purvay) and finaly its just so dammed cool at the moment ( i ran out of good reasons).
This is a world wide phenominon and i personaly download some TV shows , One simple fact why i do it here
Its more than just the fact the TV shows are not broadcast in a region in a timely fashion or that they want an origional show when they want it
DVD-/+R/rw and CD-r/rw are far cheaper than comparitive vhs tapes , Having the show exactly when you want it without having to worry about setting the recorder (etc) is relaxing
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
that other English speaking countries are unable to make their own TV shows and must therefore import everything from the US (especially stuff like the West Wing).
Not that the US would run their shows (except rarely on PBS) , but maybe they could make something successful at home.
The beacon of Western civilization.
Farmix
There are at least three things certain in life:
When cable TV was beginning to offer premium channels in the U.S. the expectation was that since you were paying for the channels, you wouldn't have to watch commercials.
That didn't last.
Now, commercials are even being shown in many movie theaters in the U.S. The commercials are shown during the time advertised as the start of the movie, so it's not like you only see them if you're early to a show.
I'm not surprised one bit that people are retaliating against the sensory overload of obnoxious product propaganda, both in TV and in the cinema.
I'm one of those Aussies. I watch several shows a week via torrent. Here's why:
- Lost is 11 episodes behind;
- Alias Season 4 hasn't begun;
- 24 Season 4 hasn't begun;
- The West Wing has been cancelled partway through Season 5 (which was begun after Season 6 started in the US!) and has always been shown after 10:30PM here.
Same goes for many other shows, most of which I don't watch, or don't care enough about to download. The HDTV rips I can watch on my computer, and the quality is excellent. Sometimes I cut to SVCD if my wife wants to watch them as well (she will sit in front of the PC, but isn't a fan of it).I watch them, and then delete them. I'll be buying then on DVD as soon as they are available to me.
Frankly, Australian free-to-air networks haven't the faintest. Then again, nor does our (essentially one only) pay-tv provider, which I subscribe to onlyfor the 24x7 news and Super 12 Rugby.
Well, there's this program you can download... ;-)
Seriously, why do you think the UK leads the world in TV thef^H^H^H^Hdownloading? Because we don't get the decent US programs until long after the US either - but we have a huge proportion of BB connections compared to the world at large. If it weren't for the delay, nobody'd bother to download (except for using the net as a post-hoc VCR, which is where it comes in really handy for me!).
J.
You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
<sarcasm>
Perhaps Telecom NZ have found a natural defense against video piracy - price gouging
</sarcasm>
From the story:
There are now calls for TV networks to consider offering episodes for download at a small cost
I am now confused... Don't these people run TV channels? Wouldn't that be their preferred way to distribute TV shows?
Write boring code, not shiny code!
With respect, bullshit. if it wasn't a "dialogue focused" movie, why would they bother to redub at all? I've seen and heard it with the original soundtrack, there's nothng "wrong" with it except the accents. And Mad Max didn't get a big US release, Mel Gibson was unknown in the US, I think it went out on the drive-in circuit. They just thought the rednecks couldn't cope with the ocker accents.
You aren't their customers though - you are their product. The advertisers are their customers and they are selling your 'eyeballs'.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
that the TV studios who make the shows sell them around the world. The stations that buy the rights don't automatically buy the rights to a show as soon as it airs in the USA. They need to know that it's successful and popular. They need to judge whether there is a profitable market for it in their home country. Then also the makers of the shows don't always offer the shows out for sale right away. Then there is the matter of TV schedules that are planned months in advance sometimes. Networks like to air certain shows at certain times of the year when the audience will be larger like the autumn or spring. It's no wonder that the rest of the world doesn't get to see everything at the same time.
In the US there are dozens of channels airing all these shows. In other countries there are a smaller number of channels for all the programmes to be shown on so not everything makes it through right away, or indeed at all.
Here we pay for Video On Demand and there is a cool "series" section where I can choose to see Star Gate Atlantis episodes 1-20. It plays them without commercials. It's great and none of the standard stations play them.
(Cogeco in Canada)
All TV should be VOD.
You hit on one of the main issues here: spoilers. I just started watching BSG - downloaded via P2P because I'm in Germany. Now that I've finished watching the first series I can actually talk about the show with American friends and read American blogs. Previously I ran the risk of having the thing ruined because someone accidentally gave away a plot element. The Broadcasters need to realise that the "global village" is causing their products to depreciate if they keep them on the shelves. It's not so much that they're losing customers because of episode downloads, they're losing cusomters because of modern communications!
I've been posting on the net since 1994 and I still haven't come up with a good sig!