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Fox Subpoenas YouTube Over Content
popo writes "FOX has subpoenaed YouTube for the identity of a user who posted entire episodes of '24' and 'The Simpson's'. It is not yet known whether YouTube has complied with the request. The '24' episodes in question actually appeared on YouTube prior to their primetime January 14 premiere on the Fox broadcast network, which spread four hourlong episodes of the hit drama over two consecutive nights. Fox became aware the episodes were on YouTube on January 8, according to the subpoena."
....when they have Jack Bauer? I mean, Chuck Norris prays to the guy before bed.
FOX has subpoenaed YouTube for the identity of a user who posted entire episodes of '24' and 'The Simpson's'.
Yeah, they're looking for him so he can star in an upcoming show on CourtTV.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
This isn't about your typical copyright infringement. This is about an inside job since that's the only way those files would have made it to YouTube. I have a feeling that if found, the person responsible will first be fired, then sued out the whazoo and sent to debtor's prison.
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
Kiefer Sutherland learned how to use the internet, and took the "post your own videos!" thing a bit overboard.
Great Intellect...
This is about an inside job since that's the only way those files would have made it to YouTube.
You don't have to be an insider to pull this stunt--you only need equipment that is no longer commonly available. TV programming is sent from network HQ to affiliate stations electronically via satellite, sometimes hours to several days before scheduled broadcast. You do not need to be an employee of either the station or the network to receive a satellite signal. I used to regularly watch episodes of Star Trek DS9 up to three days before they aired on "real" TV.
Wild feeds, or "occasional video transponders" are still commonly sent in unencrypted form so anyone can get them. However nobody knows when they are broadcasting or what the content is unless you are an employee. Sometimes if you watch the feeds you can pick out a pattern that seems like a regular schedule, but sometimes it shifts around. Also, episodes may be broadcast in wild feeds out of sequence. Furthermore, they are not broadcast in the same way as the most commonplace digital satellite systems--they are typically analogue and in a different frequency band--in the US they are on C band satellites. Most people who want satellite TV want the little dish hanging off the eaves, not a ten-foot C-band dish that obscures half of your yard (and you'd have to be in a rural setting for it to even be permitted). Wild feeds in Canada are commonly in Ku band as well, which permits a slightly smaller dish but still not appealing to anyone but enthusiasts.
Fox has a larger hunt on their hands and it IS a typical copyright violation case. Hence, the subpoena of Google/YouTube.
Stupid of broadcasters to still broadcast in the clear like that, but there is some technological inertia in every industry...
FYI, it has also been reported that this episode appeared on Bit Torrent prior to it's appearance on YouTube. Odds are this guy was just a moron / 3rd rate P2P pirate. Hassling him probably won't highlight the source of the leak.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Likely, yes they would. Commercial time is valued based on the audience size (and demographic). The commercials were already sold based on the (projected) television viewership. Just because more people will now watch online doesn't mean they can go back to the advertisers and ask them for more money.