For-Profit, Illegal Movie Download Sites Threaten MPAA

vossman77 writes that BitTorrent is no longer the MPAA's enemy number one. They are now more concerned about illicit, for-profit movie download sites. This reader adds, "Just a thought, but maybe if the studios offered a low-cost, for-profit, legitimate download site without DRM, they could receive the profits at the expense of the cyberlockers." "Movie fans downloading free pirated films are no longer Hollywood's worst nightmare, but that's only because of a newer menace: cheap, and equally illegal, subscription services. Foreign, often mob-run, businesses aggregate illegally obtained movies into 'cyberlockers.' Cyberlocker-based businesses operate from Russia, Ukraine, Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, and elsewhere. ... Hollywood movies are made available via illegal for-profit sites within days of theatrical release, while the advent of global releasing now allows the proliferation of individual titles into an array of language dubs within the first month of a theatrical debut. ... When movies are released on DVD and Blu-ray disc, the sites upgrade the quality of video offered from camcorded images to pristine digital copies. 'Sometimes these sites look better than the legitimate sites,' Huntsberry said. 'That's the irony.'"

Comments

Re:from the good-luck-shutting-those-down dept.

[Anonymous Coward]

Good. Now it's MAFIAA vs. Mafia.

Pay attention to the site names

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are a subscriber to:

Sorny.com
UniblersalStudios.com
Fox.com

You are probably getting ripped off by the mob.

Re:No different from the "legit" studios

[tepples]

"legit" studios MAKE FUCKING MOVIES.

No, the porno studios make fucking movies.

Re:Just a thought

[kevinNCSU]

Cheap and DRM free is not going to happen if that small city is going to eat and dress their children

I'm not sure I want to be paying them if they plan on using it to eat their children!! ;)

Re:Crime Pays

[dangitman]

Actually, with hookers you often end up paying every time you pee.