UK TV fans lead illegal downloads chart
18 February 2005
British TV fans illegally downloading US shows from the internet are leading a new trend in web piracy, a new report claims.
New episodes of 24, Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under, reportedly appear on the web hours after they are shown in the US. UK viewers usually have to wait weeks or months to see the most recent episodes of their favourite US shows.
Web tracking company Envisional said 18 per cent of downloaders were from within the UK and estimated that downloads of TV programmes had increased by 150 per cent in the last year.
Envisional found that around 70 per cent of British downloaders were using file-sharing program BitTorrent. About 100,000 people downloaded a typical episode of 24 globally, with an estimated 20,000 of those from within the UK.
"It's now as easy to download a pirate TV show as it is to programme a VCR," said Ben Coppin from Envisional. He called on the TV industry to develop legal ways for consumers to download shows.
Around 80,000 to 100,000 people in the UK are believed to download television programmes. Many Britons now use broadband or high-speed internet connections, which make downloading sound and image files easier.
According to Jupiter Research 40 per cent of homes with broadband say it helps them pick and choose the programmes they want to see or that friends recommend.
The TV industry is becoming increasingly concerned about the trend for illegal downloads, particularly as advertisements are usually cut from downloaded programmes.
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