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Fox Will Boost U.S. TV-Show Piracy

Starting in two weeks, Fox will no longer offer free access to its TV-shows the day after they air on television. For TV-fans the decision to limit the availability of these show is a step backward, and all the signs indicate that TV-show piracy will once again surge in the United States. But whether Fox will care much about this piracy increase remains to be seen.

foxWhen Hulu first launched in 2008 there was an immediate effect on the piracy rates in the United States.

Having a free, legal and on-demand option to catch up with missed TV-shows suddenly made BitTorrent a less urgent need.

But in the years that followed Hulu and other TV-streaming sites didn’t turn out to be the holy grail for everyone. Although many consumers were delighted with the services, the TV bosses noticed that online ad revenue couldn’t compete with that of traditional TV.

This is one of the main reasons why Fox will stop broadcasting its shows on Hulu and Fox.com the day after they air on TV. Starting August 15, the public will have to wait at least 8 days before Fox content will be streamed online, a delay that may motivate many people to once again turn to BitTorrent.

When Hulu first launched, TorrentFreak researched whether it had any effect on the number of people from the U.S. who were downloading TV-shows. Our findings suggested that this could be indeed the case. Between October 2007 and October 2008 nearly all the shows we tracked saw a decrease in U.S. downloaders.

One of the most pronounced decreases came from the Fox show Prison Break, where the percentage of U.S. downloaders went down 36%. The decrease was the sharpest in the first week, where the number of U.S. downloads of a single episode dropped by tens of thousands.

Based on the above, it’s a safe guess to say that Fox’s decision to add a delay to the online broadcast will now cause a healthy bump in the number of U.S. downloads. But this is not a big surprise for Fox, it is a calculated business decision where piracy is merely seen as collateral damage.

Although some people may turn to BitTorrent, Fox hopes that there will also be more TV-viewers because of this new delay. And since TV-advertising is much more lucrative than online ads, they may end up making more money because of it, at least in the short run.

In the end, making money is much more important than pleasing consumers or decreasing piracy.

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  • Ben

    Fox is foolish for this, no question. They need to allow streaming sooner. Although I still download my shows from bit torrent for the 720p value.

    • no surprise

      Another company owned by Jews.

    • http://tinyurl.com/ANoiXioNA-personal-info ANoiXioNA

      Agree Fox is foolish…. And as you said …even with streaming available…. torrenting is better….

      Streaming tv shows is not as good of an experience as downloading them first.

      It’s good that new torrenters will emerge…… see the better distribution method and usability superiority……

      Media player … you choose.
      Playlist (no need to search for a show…when the last show ends )
      Stretch to full screen
      Bandwidth restrictions (if any) can be worked around
      Versatility on multiple playback devices (not net connected )
      You can plan a nights TV viewing in advance

      There are lots more benefits to the end user also…..

      If fox really wanted to enter the NOW as far as tv distribution is concerned……..

      Fox would have it’s own torrent tracker……

      • Josh C

        Joshie agrees :D

      • LaticiaBowman

        well I don’t download tv shows unless from youtube so far, or porn streams (one click download file), people will pirate regardless and this can be sure to increase piracy rates as shown above

      • LaticiaBowman

        well I don’t download tv shows unless from youtube so far, or porn streams (one click download file), people will pirate regardless and this can be sure to increase piracy rates as shown above

    • Aosika12

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    • Anonymous

      The Pirate Manifesto: “Give us what we want for free or we’ll steal it.”

      Bla bla bla as usual…

      • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

        Actually you’ll find a FREE d/l of the Pirate Manifesto for Scotland and for the UK here -
        http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/policies/

        Other Countries have their own manifesto, and none contain the words you’ve quoted.

        Care to post a source for your quote, or are you living in fantasy-land and spouting the usual lies, deception and propaganda we’ve all come to expect from the so-called “content industry”?

      • Anonymous

        I think a more appropriate manifesto would be, “Give us what we want in a timely fashion, DRM free, in a variety of formats, and at reasonable prices as opposed to your current version of when you want, DRM laden, lossy formats and at exorbitant prices or we’ll just go with something else. You can meet us halfway and we’ll gladly hand over our hard earned cash, or you can keep on as is and we’ll just hang onto our money.”

        Blah blah blah as usual would be your comments. Along with a handful of others like you. Get some new material or get lost.

      • got teeth?

        i would also steal your car, your pc, your house, your shoes and underpants, and given 15 mins alone with the sweet morsel your wife, i would have her too…….is what we torrenters do………keep your eyes peeled, protect your valuables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        • Guest

          Sorry but you can’t copy a car, pc, house, shoes, underpants and wife.

      • got teeth?

        i would also steal your car, your pc, your house, your shoes and underpants, and given 15 mins alone with the sweet morsel your wife, i would have her too…….is what we torrenters do………keep your eyes peeled, protect your valuables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Jiankang12

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    • The pirate

      ——————-> Pirates for life <—————

  • Anonymous

    The TV advertising would easily be beated by my PVR.. (i just record it 30 minutes in advance)… and else, I’m not American anyway :D I just use ezrss.it to get all recent shows. (including Fox ones, and Murdoch can’t do shit.)

  • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

    lol the lunatics have taken over the asylum that is Fox.
    It must be same lunatics that run the US government too.

    • Anonymous

      You may recall that it was Fox who cancelled Firefly. An artistic crime that is beyond forgiveness or redemption.

      Yes it is all about ratings and money. One can say they acted prematurely then when sci-fi just needs longer to win an audience.

      • IDIOCRACY

        I can’t agree more, Sci-Fi is the most prematurely cancelled kind of show (relatively) ever , new V, Stargate Universe, Stargate Atlantis, Startrek (with the guy from quantum leap as captain… ok sucke a bit but still), Battlestar Galactica, Capricia, Babylon 5, last crusade, Farescape, etc..

      • PROS

        Fox did allso cancelled the show “My Name Is Earl” 5:e season. The show did good, steel they cancelled. damn u fox….

        • Me

          What about futurama!

          (I know its back, but they still canceled it after they constantly blocked it with sporting events.)

  • The Acce

    Since I started using BT in 2003, I never watched live TV-show again. I’d rather wait a few hours or one day in order to watch the show in great quality and without ads. I never rented a movie in my life and I don’t plan to start. BT made me save a ton of money and I was able to buy a House last year! Thanks Bittorrent!

    • StevO

      this behavior is why they hate piracy. The better advice for FOx and any TV show is product placement within the show itself. IE: Show the actors USING products rather than generic soda/beer cans, driving cars with the names on them, carrying Zest soap home from work, stuff like that. Casual mention of their car insurance. How hard is it for an actess to say “I cant belive how well this Dawn dish soaps works!”
      I do realize that they play these shows in other countrys, but they can retake a scene or two with a different brand. For christ sake they KNOW this already!! They just need to implement it. Then all is solved, we can start watching TV again and piracy will drop ALOT!

    • Anonymous

      Your 100% on point with me…I hate watching the ads, id rather wait 45min and then go on rlslog.net and download the show without any ads in 720p.
      HBO and Showtime are a exception for me as there shows are amazing and they don’t have ads.

      • The Net Testament

        I visited the USA recently and the amount of ads they have is horrific to me. It took about 3 hours to show the blues brothers on VH1, it was utterly baffling to me. It seemed as though there was a 5 min ad break every 5 minutes. Its like their actively pushing you towards alternative ways to view. I wouldn’t bother getting a TV if I lived there, just wait for the DVDs to come out after trying stuff online.

        They need to learn that less is more.

        • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

          Amen to that ^ (and what a terrific nick too :) “The Net Testament”. Love it. WIN!)

        • http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja

          That. I even stopped buying magazines because of the huge amount of ads.. Anyway, Fox is fail and Mr Murdoch is a lame excuse of a human being. I hope he loses tons with this.

  • Guest

    So fox movies blocks newzbin2 to push people to legal sources meanwhile Fox tv removes content from one of the most used and well known legal online sources there is

    does anyone else spot the stupidity of fox’s business decisions?

    • Anonymous

      That the content isn’t available in the EU? (unless you wait 5 years)

  • Anonymous

    That’s Faux Noise for ya. Guess the Republicans need more money to lie to people with.

    • http://www.facebook.com/michael.branchfield Michael Branchfield

      Fox News and the Republicans have nothing to do with it. They are each their own company albeit owned by an umbrella corporation (Newscorp). That would be like blaming Pepsi for how bad Taco Bell’s food sucks (look it up they’re owned by the same company, as is KFC).

      • http://tinyurl.com/ANoiXioNA-personal-info ANoiXioNA

        “”Fox News and the Republicans have nothing to do with it.
        They are each their own company albeit owned by an umbrella corporation (Newscorp)        “”

        I knew it…. it’s obvious….. now that you said it………

        “”Fox News and the Republicans are owned by Newscorp……”" paraphrase

      • http://tinyurl.com/ANoiXioNA-personal-info ANoiXioNA

        “”Fox News and the Republicans have nothing to do with it.
        They are each their own company albeit owned by an umbrella corporation (Newscorp)        “”

        I knew it…. it’s obvious….. now that you said it………

        “”Fox News and the Republicans are owned by Newscorp……”" paraphrase

  • Ab0m1nat10n

    What a great idea!

    The new system didn’t bring in as much cash, so instead of moving forward and finding a better way of making money, let’s go backwards!

    Congrats, Fox for another wise decision….

    • Guest123

      Would you have any advice on what system they should use?

      • Guest

        Airing of episodes at same time all over the whole without DRM.

        • Guest

          *world* (I guess I watched too many porn)

        • Anonymous

          “Airing of episodes at same time all over the [world] without DRM.”

          Great idea. If you can’t monetise an audience pool of billions, get off.

      • Fin

        The system they use is fine, the problem is tv advertising is a rip off, they have massively over inflated its price so no one can afford online as well.

        The future is online but they are only willing to take it on if it improves there bottom line. There not interested in customer wants or being innovative.

        What they miss is that there is only so much money out there, they need to cheapen tv advertising, offer tv and online packages, and future proof themselves.

        Sticking to their old business model will see them screwed down the line, in the mean time “piracy”site owners will pocket revenue from those business who are keen to advertise on line.

        Its kinda funny

        • Ab0m1nat10n

          “The future is online but they are only willing to take it on if it improves there bottom line. There not interested in customer wants or being innovative.

          What they miss is that there is only so much money out there, they need to cheapen tv advertising, offer tv and online packages, and future proof themselves.”

          True.
          I don’t think relying on TV ad revenue is sustainable. Not good for viewers, not good for Fox in the long run. What will the advertisers do when more and more people choose to download the shows instead of watching them when they’re on. Will they still be willing to pay the over-inflated costs of ads? Or will they follow the consumers to the internet?

        • Ab0m1nat10n

          “The future is online but they are only willing to take it on if it improves there bottom line. There not interested in customer wants or being innovative.

          What they miss is that there is only so much money out there, they need to cheapen tv advertising, offer tv and online packages, and future proof themselves.”

          True.
          I don’t think relying on TV ad revenue is sustainable. Not good for viewers, not good for Fox in the long run. What will the advertisers do when more and more people choose to download the shows instead of watching them when they’re on. Will they still be willing to pay the over-inflated costs of ads? Or will they follow the consumers to the internet?

        • The Net Testament

          Can’t they look into a small ad banner at the bottom of the screen, akin to what you have in a football stadium by the pitch?

          That’d probably not get cropped off when it became a torrented naughty file and millions would see it.

      • StevO

        The better advice for FOx and any TV show is product placement within the show itself. IE: Show the actors USING products rather than generic soda/beer cans, driving cars with the names on them, carrying Zest soap home from work, stuff like that. Casual mention of their car insurance. How hard is it for an actess to say “I cant belive how well this Dawn dish soaps works!”
        I do realize that they play these shows in other countrys, but they can retake a scene or two with a different brand. For christ sake they KNOW this already!! They just need to implement it. Then all is solved, we can start watching TV again and piracy will drop ALOT! show more show less

        • Ab0m1nat10n

          A lot of people really hate product placement. I don’t have any information on how successful it is as a marketing strategy, I just know a lot of people tend to get really annoyed at it.

          Personally, I’d rather have products stuck in the show (if done well) than stop every five minutes for commercials. That sucks.

      • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

        In comparison to shooting themselves in the foot with their most recent decision to remove availability on-site, the best advice is to simply change their aim and shoot themselves in the head instead.

        Put us all out their misery!

  • Brandon

    I wait and dl a tv show as I cannot stand watching 20 minutes of commercials. Most of Fox’s shows suck anyway…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=875415416 Vincent T. Hunter

    Creating entertainment media (or any media really) is a art and it is a passion. Is is done for the love and for the need to express thoughts, emotions and ideas. It is not done to generate a profit. Broadcasting, supplying and distributing media is a business and needs to generate revenue in order to continue and to succeed. Creation and Broadcast are a symbiotic relationship. One cannot exist without the other.

    To make media have purpose, it must be shown to others. To do this, an artist needs a venue. Without money, an artist cannot find a very large venue. In order for broadcasters to make money, they need quality media. To get this media, they need to pay the artist. To pay the artist, the Broadcaster needs to generate more revenue than what they are paying out. Hence, advertising.

    Broadcasters use media as a delivery method of advertising, which generates for them revenue. So, they want to protect their particular delivery methods in which they have invested large sums of money. They also have shareholders to answer when the revenue stream is challenged. This means that Broadcasters cannot take risks. Hence, they are less likely to try anything new and unproven.

    Fox simply wants to make money from their investment. And they are not willing to wander into the murky world of risk by trying alternative methods of delivering advertising. This decision did not work when VHS tapes started in the late 70s. It did not work when DVDs entered the marketplace. It will not work now for streaming media.

    Staying in one comfortable place does not make you safe…it makes you easier to hit.

    • Josh C

      Rule #1 of economics – the bigger the profit, the bigger the risk!! (Gotta love anime, it teaches you tons :D) The point being, if they don’t take risks, they aren’t gonna make much money. This move is retarded, because people are just gonna download shit if they can’t catch it on tv (which is something some people can’t help; we can’t all stay glued to our tvs for shows)

  • Mr.Afghanistan

    Torrent and Newbin and FTP and cyberlocker sites are there. why we need a site to watch low quality TVs ? We can get HD quality from free sites ;)

    Now a days no one like low quality Videos, HD Quality baby, HD ;)

    Fox, Shut your site down, no one cares :P

  • Elisa ? Knockout™

    Fox(news corp) just needs to die just like Rupert Murdoch and his ugly ass son.The only stuff i watch on fox is American idol, Family guy, Simpson’s and Cleveland show. Too bad those shows are under contract with fox. Everything else sucks.

    • StevO

      TV in general sucks. Its all about reality shows now. And the more they have the better for them. Cheap to make thats the reason. SO MOST tv channels suck. Fox is not alone in that arena.

      • Elisa ? Knockout™

        I generally don’t watch t.v. at all. I actually stopped. I feel the more I watch the more ratings a show gets on t.v. Well reality t.v. is o.k., Mtv is all reality and no music.

        So they should change it to mtv reality!!
        That’s why i think the industry hates pirates because we don’t give them ratings.:P

        Besides that anything on tv is free with the exception of premium and porn.

        So if it’s free on tv and obviously a distribution pays for it. Why would they hate on pirates if we torrent and give them more exposure?

    • Anonymous

      Everything else that’s reality tv sucks for sure. Anyone who cancels Family Guy, Futurama, Titus and (last but not least and most unforgivable) Firefly is an idiot. (No, I don’t care if 2 out of the 4 did come back eventually. It’s the principle of the matter.) Fox. Psh.

      • Elisa ? Knockout™

        Agreed!! I like Futurama ;)

        • Anonymous

          Futurama’s the best. Futurama and Arrested Development (which Fox also essentially cut down in it’s prime, b@stards) are shows that deserve multiple viewings. You’ll always catch more in-jokes and stuff you missed the first time that way. Speaking of, think Futurama’s new tonight.

        • Elisa ? Knockout™

          ha yeah!! new? they brought it back?

        • Anonymous

          You hadn’t heard? Comedy Central resurrected it. They made 4 Futurama movies as a test run, to see if the appetite for the show was there. It was. Unbelievably so. From there they greenlit bringing back the show, it got a 6th season. Airs on Comedy Central on Thursdays. It’s on right now or will be in a bit or will be reairing shortly, depending on where you live.

        • Elisa ? Knockout™

          No i think it’s a bit to late for me though.Hopefully they will replay it.

        • Elisa ? Knockout™

          No i think it’s a bit to late for me though.Hopefully they will replay it.

      • Josh C

        I never really got what was so good about Family Guy, but I’m just not a parody guy (and I don’t watch tv anymore either)

        • Anonymous

          Eh. I just listed a few shows off the top of my head. It’s okay randomly, but I think South Park pretty much nailed Family Guy. The show just has random jokes that add nothing to the story inserted randomly in each episode. They’re all interchangeable. Family Guy is sort of IMO for people with no real sense of humor and who want to majorly turn off their brains for 30 minutes.

          I don’t mind a good parody, but Family Guy and all those derivatives of Scary Movie and the likes do not fall into the category of good parodies. Mel Brooks. That’s a man who knows how to do a good parody.

      • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

        Fox has made some astoundingly stupid decisions in its recent past – and their cancelling of Firefly MUST indeed qualify as TV history’s biggest ever

        FAIL

        • Anonymous

          I bet when Firefly and Serenity ended up being the biggest dvd and blu-ray releases (as far as sales went when they were released) someone over at Fox started banging their head against a wall or several someones as is more than likely the case. FAIL indeed.

          I’m glad Futurama also ended up doing so well elsewhere. Just another kick in the groin to whoever made the decision to give it the axe. Oh man, but the “quality” shows they do keep on the air. [shakes head in wonderment] Don’t even get me started.

        • Guest

          I bet when Firefly and Serenity ended up being the biggest dvd and blu-ray releases (as far as sales went when they were released) someone over at Fox started banging their head against a wall or several someones as is more than likely the case. FAIL indeed.

          I’m glad Futurama also ended up doing so well elsewhere. Just another kick in the groin to whoever made the decision to give it the axe. Oh man, but the “quality” shows they do keep on the air. [shakes head in wonderment] Don’t even get me started.

    • Guest

      LOL you watch shit for sheeple /slap in your face bitch

      • Elisa ? Knockout™

        Guest replied to you
        LOL you watch shit for sheeple /slap in your face bitch

        The fact is I can watch whatever the fuck i want without the likes of you. Hmm sheeple? o’rly?
        Definition of sheeple.

        1.People unable to think for themselves. Followers. Lemmings. Those with no cognitive ablilities of their own.

        2.An individual that forfits their right to choose in favor of inclusion in group think and what is viewed as popular or elite group. Allowing the influences of different forms of media and group members to hold great sway in the formation of attitudes, behavoir and opinion.
        To accept the group mentaility and opinion as fact without examination.
        Not only to be told what to do, but accepting the paradigm of thought as absolute thereby removing the weight of personal responsibility in the making of decisions.

        I’m none of the above!! I think for myself and what i believe in and sure as hell don’t need others telling me what to do… I’M A FUCKING REBEL!!!!

        Come smack me and see how fast your ass will come out you mouth.Don’t confuse me for your mother.

        In your face with a double snap to the hand!!

  • Slutmiko

    Why is everyone so angry? This basically means that they don’t care as much about piracy.

    • Ab0m1nat10n

      Well, a lot of people if given the choice between watching it legally (when they want) and watching it illegally would choose to do so legally for their own protection. Now that option isn’t available (at least not when people want it.)

      But it is interesting that they would choose to do this even knowing (as they must) that it will increase piracy. I wonder if it shows a shift in attitudes? Probably not, but one can hope…

      • Anonymous

        Protection from what? Lawsuits that have a 101% failure rate? Nah.

        People use torrents and streaming sites because it’s easier, quicker and doesn’t force them into a schedule built by some lousy corporation.

        If only Hulu didn’t have a billion ads per show. :(

      • StevO

        Theres NOTHING to protect. Once the show airs, the ONLY thing they can hope for is SELLING it to another network down the road, or lowsy season DVD sales at an outlet center. ALl they can do is make money from internet sites like Hulu. They just dont want that to be a more popular choice by the people. The decision is wise for it to wait a week.
        THe moneys made before the show is put on the air.

  • http://twitter.com/ctoon6 ctoon 6

    they need to learn from crunchyroll, stream the episode the same day the second it is done airing on tv. people who pay a monthly fee can watch right away with no ads, people who dont pay wait 7 days and watch ads. LEARN FROM THIS. i gladly pay because its easier than bittorrent and is slightly better quality and is on demand, and typically sooner than bittorrent unless there is a leak.

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  • StevO

    TV is screwed anyhow. REality TV has torn a big hole in the actors and actresses pay roles.
    Theres no need to pay a name star anymore when the population as a whole would rather watch a retard(snookie) get drunk and spew garbage. The quality of TV is totally totally garbage. I dont even want to get started, I could rant all night.

    • http://profiles.google.com/artfulldragon TL Dragon

      Please don’t call that felching oompa loompa she-beast from hell’s hemorrhoid’s a retard. It imply’s that she is human, and it’s cruel to allow the lesser species to think they have value.

      Otherwise, preach on brother.

    • Anonymous

      Calling Snooki a retard is an insult to retarded people everywhere.

  • http://twitter.com/nahtanod nahtanod

    lets see….i dont get fox anyways unless i pay for cable, cable cost about $80 to get anything decent and thats maybe 4-5 channels in the extended basic and everything else is crap. now if watch tv on cable that i pay for and im hit with 10-15 minutes of ads and 2 minutes of show in between each ad. and i have never once been compelled to ever buy anything ive seen on tv not even when i was a little kid. yeah BT + ezRSS + HTPC = great shows and no cable cost or ads for crap i will never buy, and i can watch what i want when i want and not that garbage from MTV or any other reality show.

  • Foff

    Mother f#cking tv cancelled five of my favorite shows last spring. Screw tv if they think I am going to waste my time on a new series just to watch it get cancelled with no decent ending after a year or two. Any show you want to see is usually on the net about 30 minutes or less after the show ends sans commercials. So fox can f#ck themselves. Who cares what they do, I download what I want to see. Why in God’s fing name should I pay $80 a month for cable that is full of commercials and idiot reality shows all which I refuse to watch. American idol is corporate bs I don’t even watch that. I may miss a few sporting events but they sure as hell are not worth $80 a month. I don’t really want to support millionaire jockstraps anyway. Why in this bad economy everyone hasn’t already dumped cable I don’t know no one needs it.

    • http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes

      Yup – you hit the cable-nail on the head Foff.

      Here in the UK I succumbed to the lure of expanding my tv-universe from 5 terrestrial channels to a plethora of so-called choice.

      It turned out to be mainly a BAD DECISION on my part because -
      1. I was paying to watch shows I’d already seen before, as there was very little new content of any interest;
      2. I was paying to watch shows I’d already seen, AND they were interrupted by ad-breaks 5 times an hour.

      So I was paying for a tv service of repeats that was already well-funded by ads that I couldn’t opt-out from. I found that arrangement highly objectionable, annoying and a rip-off.

      I threw them out and opted for torrents instead because
      To Share IS To Care

  • Guest

    why they dont just make their own bittorrent client and tracker then only allow that bittorrent client to connect and will display some ads everyone wins then. We get our videos and they get money and on plus side they dont have to pay so much on upload bandwith. ITs win win sidutions…

  • Anonymous
  • Shaizan0

    “In the end, making money is much more important than pleasing consumers or decreasing piracy.”

    I <3 <3 <3 this.

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  • Gg

    Im pretty sure syfy is doing this too

    I was keeping upto date on warehouse 13 episodes by watching them on the syfy website,
    but a couple days ago i went there to watch the latest episode but it now says their will be no new episodes online until october or something like that (dont rememer the exact date)

    so i just simply fired up my Usenet client, and downloaded the latest episode

    Hey if they dont want to make money from me using the ads on the website, thats no weight of my shoulders.

    Keep digging that hole deeper and deeper you fools

    • http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous

      exactly, most of us are willing to use legal avenues. but when they do not exist, then ahoy matey. pirates we be.

      if they stopped to think about it for a second, they would realize that money from customers via a good legal online opportunity is equal to a lot more than money from customers via a court room after they have paid their lawyers…

  • Home

    tv ad revenue is based on nielsen ratings, i would think that if you are a nielsen household you wouldnt be watching tv online anyways.
    cause then what would be the point of having the nielsen box?

  • Christopher

    “In the end, making money is much more important than pleasing consumers or decreasing piracy.” I would say that making money is the only imperative. Pleasing consumers and decreasing piracy both correlate strongly to making money, but are not necessarily directly attributable for it.

  • http://vpnandusenetreviews.com Anonymous

    remember boys and girls, if you’re going to pir8, raise your sails safely and smartly.

    first and foremost, disguise yourself. VPN.

    second, and just as important, find a reliable connection (i.e. P2P, BT, Usenet, FTP, IRC, etc)

    we are (for the most part) willing to pay for access. but we are denied that opportunity. there is no other option.

    VPN Services

    $11/mo buys you unlimited access to a VPN that will safeguard your privacy. you do the math on how many months you can pay them before it equals the cost of one lawsuit for downloading a tv show/movie you would have otherwise paid for. my guess is it’s near a life time.

  • Guest

    Wahahahahahahahahaha!

    Soon the will be no Riper Murder empire as everything will be stuck behind a Paywall!

    Yes! Murder! put a paywall on fuck noise too!!!

    Whahahahahahahahahahaha!

    • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

      I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I like the enthusiasm.

  • Anonymous

    In a perfect world, one might be able to show the reason they are doing this is to get 6 strikes off to a grand start.
    They refuse to compete with the internet, so instead we’ll make the situation worse.
    Then people will be forced to watch their television or cable and then we can charge more for commercials, then we can inject even more commercials and make even more money.

    They are stupid, but I have a feeling this is just a setup to try and kill the internet in the USA.

  • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

    More views because of the delay? Ha! That stuff is available online, with no commercials, mere hours or minutes after it airs.

    Funny how that works: waiting for the pirated version saves you 10 minutes of commercials for every half-hour. A pirated one-hour show magically grants you 20 minutes of your life back. That’s priceless.

    • The Net Testament

      Tho the mention of a paywall (above) made me wonder if I could put myself behind a paywall, after all I’m (just) still in the key age demographic for advertisers, so I figure that I’ll watch their adverts for a small fee (say £1 an ad) to see if I like the looks of whatever shit they’re trying to sell me. Which is doubtful.

      At least that would make them target their ads better online. I really wouldn’t mind adverts at all if they were things I might actually want. I own a house outright, I don’t drive, wear make up, drink beer, eat much processed food, no kids as yet, I can’t visit the cinema due to not wanting to be deafened (or given a headache with 3D). 1 in a hundred ads actually relates to me and yet I have to sit thru them all. To find anything I might be actually interested in buying I generally have to actively look online.

      I personally just resent the time wasted watching pointless ads. An online game I blame has in recent times advertised:
      a branded bleach (I buy supermarket own – its bleach ffs);
      the green hornet (which I think I was aware was out due to the utter saturation of this clearly shitty film’s ad campaign);
      and now Harry Potter and the Franchise of Cash (whatever) and I gave up on those films long ago due to the inability of the children’s acting abilities.

      Bah.

      Humbug.

  • Anon

    i’m guessing fox calculated that they dumbed down enough people that they wouldn’t know how to use bittorrent to get their favourite shows and force these people to buy it

  • http://twitter.com/ntheknoinfo nthekno

    Who pays these idiots? I mean SERIOUSLY!

  • The Net Testament

    ” wait at least 8 days ”

    Oh for goodness sakes. It’s 8 days. Can’t you really wait that long to watch yet another very low quality Simpsons. Wish we had the Hulu option in the UK. Would be happy to wait 8 days rather than months and then have to scout around for US shows on at obscure ever altering times. (BBC 3 I’m looking at you)

    • Payback

      lol what shows they got going i want to watch again ????

    • http://www.candicepayne.com Candice

      I wouldn’t mind waiting eight days as much if it wasn’t a fact that after eight minutes it’s either get offline or deal with spoilers.

  • Manimal

    Why should they waste money hosting content the old, inefficient way when we can do it better for free?

    If you want to share content for free you upload a torrent like normal people. Why would you want to use old technology that sucks and costs more?

  • Wrath of the Tyrant

    Fuck the tax-thief, extortionist and otherwise mafiaa syndicate aka News Corporation – which usurped $4,000,000,000+ tax dollars in the US LAST YEAR ALONE, while paying nothing back! Fuck them for all they’ve done to our culture and our people! Every last one of them, including anyone who has worked for them, should be strung upside down.

    And all you people who watch/dl/share Futurama and the Simpsons, Prison Break and American Idol, and all the fucking rest – you are complicit in the hegemonic domination of our people by Rupert Murdoch and his oh-so-hilarious investments. I for one don’t think it’s that funny at all.

    By sharing this tripe over BT or p2p, you are a solemn accomplice to the dumbing-down and enslavement of the human race. BT traffic + time = $$$. Please reconsider your masturbatory lifestyle – and move on, for the benefit of the greater good.

    • Payback

      man you hit it hard on a nail about those shows too….its all part of the make the people drones …going after good sci fi, documentaries and some good movies and like i mean not crap ( you get like a few decent ones a year now but ten+ years ago there were a lot more )

      OH know what i thought…how do they do it( as in make stuff) then i began a quest to get all the special affects tools and i’m a entertain my self FOCK THERE WORLD

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  • Payback

    didn’t read much above but i guess i should say…thank you?

  • Guest

    I dont honestly understand what the hell these big companies are doing. They are hanging on a thread of old and bad business model that doesnt meet todays peoples needs and interest. For example, if I want to watch some new show, I most likely have to wait for a year (in worst case several years) to see the show here in Europe. Or that I wait for the season to end and go and buy DVDs. But wait I have no interest owning DVD’s. Everytime I go and buy one of the box set’s I manually rip them and add them to my media server so that I can what what ever show, what ever episode I want at any given time.

    So why wouldn’t you biggots in HBO,FOX,CBS etc come up with a unified online store(yes where you all would be in), where I could pay for example 200euro/dollars a year (yes, two hundred. that number would actually already be bigger than what I would pay for local tv company per year. + the money would be coming directly to you) and access what ever show I want from any location I want? Today’s people arent going to want to wait for getting goods, the only thing you are doing right now is alienating your customers.

    Lets do a quick calculation since you white collar @#$@#!% dont understand anything else than numbers,

    if the service costs me 200euro/dollars a year, and you get 500,000 registered viewers on the first quarter (3-4months) you are already making profit of staggering amount: 100,000,000euro/dollars (minus the server and isp cost).

    So isnt that quite a good margin? To me it would seem like that…

    I am completely fine for paying what I use. But I just cannot agree on your delivery models.

  • Guest

    I dont honestly understand what the hell these big companies are doing. They are hanging on a thread of old and bad business model that doesnt meet todays peoples needs and interest. For example, if I want to watch some new show, I most likely have to wait for a year (in worst case several years) to see the show here in Europe. Or that I wait for the season to end and go and buy DVDs. But wait I have no interest owning DVD’s. Everytime I go and buy one of the box set’s I manually rip them and add them to my media server so that I can what what ever show, what ever episode I want at any given time.

    So why wouldn’t you biggots in HBO,FOX,CBS etc come up with a unified online store(yes where you all would be in), where I could pay for example 200euro/dollars a year (yes, two hundred. that number would actually already be bigger than what I would pay for local tv company per year. + the money would be coming directly to you) and access what ever show I want from any location I want? Today’s people arent going to want to wait for getting goods, the only thing you are doing right now is alienating your customers.

    Lets do a quick calculation since you white collar @#$@#!% dont understand anything else than numbers,

    if the service costs me 200euro/dollars a year, and you get 500,000 registered viewers on the first quarter (3-4months) you are already making profit of staggering amount: 100,000,000euro/dollars (minus the server and isp cost).

    So isnt that quite a good margin? To me it would seem like that…

    I am completely fine for paying what I use. But I just cannot agree on your delivery models.

  • Guest

    Oh yeah I forgot.

    I buy my games from Steam already. Why?

    Because I can access it from where I want, when I want. And I dont have to buy those stupid DVD box sets!

    • Donotreply

      Those stupid DVD boxes are worth more when I finish a game than those steam account related downloads.

      Why?

      2nd hand sales.

  • Torrentfreak1

    im going to indeed pirate my shows now since fox is doing this stupid shit. :D

    thanks Fox for boosting TV show piracy hehe :)

  • Interweb User3

    I read yesterday in the New York Times that Hulu+ subscribers (and I think it was Direct TV as well) will not have to wait 8 days.

  • http://www.barwhiz.com/ Bar Whiz

    Yeah, folks I know won’t want to wait.

  • No

    Lol tv?? I don’t have regular tv. I have bt and hulu and boxee. I also use ad munch to remove all ads from them. I simply hate commercials.

  • Dave

    Fox isn’t foolish. Streaming is comparatively expensive for them to distribute their content. If they aren’t recouping their investment or seeing high enough profits, they might as well rely on their fans to do it at no cost to them.

    They probably have a contract with Hulu that says they won’t offer downloadable or streaming versions elsewhere. Piracy opens up another option for them.

    From a technological standpoint, Hulu can’t compete with Bittorrent.

  • DownWithBloatWare

    No loss, When outside of USA you are unable to use such services.

    Still not a fan of paying for cable/sat access and still having american tv ads shown. for 10 mins outa the 30 that show is on for.

    Still waiting for a service thats globally allows me to pay for on demand videos of both tv n movies on a monthly base without the ads. Dam human greed

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  • StrykerX

    What I don’t understand is why traditional ads are more lucrative per viewer than online ones. Online ads have the option to be tailored to specific viewers based on which ads they’ve marked as relevant to them (as well as through surveys and the various marketing information that’s being tracked through cookies and such)… companies should be able to get several times more revenue per viewer for a minute of online ads than they would a minute of traditional ads, so even with far fewer ads the online show should be competitive. If it isn’t then it’s due to a failure to really take advantage of new technology.

    Not that I guess anyone should be surprised by traditional media companies failing to make the most of new technologies. But honestly, a minute (or even 30-40 seconds) of targeted, interactive ads should be pure gold compared to the traditional three minute block on ads you get on TV.

  • http://www.jerseymall.org jerseymall

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