The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes listed below are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. The data for the second list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week is provided by ShowInsider.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. A list of the most pirated TV-shows of 2008 was published two weeks ago.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only. A list of the most pirated TV-shows of 2008 was published last week.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

While some producers, directors and actors actually believe that BitTorrent and other filesharing tools help to boost the fanbase of films and TV-shows, this group disagrees. Signed by a staggering 116 names including the likes of directors Sir Alan Parker, Mike Leigh and supported by several entertainment industry groups, the letter claims:

At a time when so many jobs are being lost in the wider economy, it is especially important that this issue be taken seriously by the Government and that it devotes the resources necessary to enforce the law.

Ignoring for a moment that notably they make no mention of job losses in their sector, one of the problems with their demands is that the law they seek to enforce is civil law, not criminal.

Beyond employing judges there is nothing more that the government can do to enforce it. That is the problem with copyright law, it’s hard to know what’s legitimate and what’s not, what can be copied and what can’t, without checking with the rights holders first. This was exemplified perfectly earlier this year, when the IFPI sent out takedown notices for Travis tracks, despite the actual copyright holders, Travis, having already given permission to distribute.

The bigger problem comes from their data, the 98 million illegal downloads and streams. While we know TV shows are popular, our own data shows that British TV rarely features in the top 10. Movie downloads are more fleeting, with a certain bias towards the newest films, with a few exceptions. Their figures are also questionable; while we count downloads, we can’t quantify them with a figure for the UK.

Yet, if their stats on downloads are of questionable accuracy, it’s nothing compared to the power they ascribe to the ‘almighty ISP’. They believe that ISPs have the power to stamp out file sharing, stopping people from downloading TV shows and movies; they just need a prod. In this belief they are sadly mistaken.

Again, recent news has shown how hard it is to control access to even one image in the UK, on a cut-and-dried subject like child pornography. Being able to determine if something is infringing copyright or not would require huge lists of content, and real-time examination of all Internet traffic. Not just deep packet inspection, but an all-invasive Big Brother monitoring system, beyond the dreams of even the most totalitarian dictator.

Of course, those that bother to check facts know that not only is such a thing illegal (criminally illegal, not just civil) but that the tools they’ll want to use just don’t work. The problem is highlighted by Michael Malone, CEO of ISP iiNet, currently under attack from various movie studios, “I think they genuinely believe that ISPs have a secret magic wand that we are hiding and if we bring it out we can make piracy disappear just by waving it.”

And, when just this year it was reported that UK commercial TV broadcasters “enjoyed a bumper April with the highest viewing figures in five years”, that total TV viewing was up 10% year-on-year, and “the valuable yet hard-to-reach 16 to 24-year-old demographic [i.e the typical file-sharer] watched 4.9% more commercial TV in April year-on-year and saw 12% more ads,” you have to wonder exactly what the problem is.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The Internet has changed the way we interact with media, and there is a whole new generation that no longer accepts that TV-broadcasters can decide when they have to watch TV, and where. The major broadcasters are slowly realizing this, with the emphasis on slowly. One thing we know first hand, is that they are interested in the statistics on these pirated downloads, and with ShowInsider, they have another tool to find out what the most recent download trends are.

ShowInsider lists the most downloaded TV-episodes for every week, along with upward and downward trend lists. This weeks list, for example, shows that ‘Heroes’ is downloaded the most. ‘Gossip Girl’ is leading the upward trend chart, while ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ has dropped the most. In addition to the weekly lists, ShowInsider also offers an alphabetical list of all the episodes they index, including those not featured in the weekly charts.

Every TV-show has its own details page, where more information is available, including graphical representation of the health of the downloads and the fanbase of the show. The data ShowInsider reports is based on all downloads of a particular show, in contrast to TorrentFreak’s TV-show data, which is limited to the most recent episode of each show. A combination of both methods provides additional insight, and from now on we will report both our own and ShowInsider’s ranking.

ShowInsider is a project of Mark Thompson, who also runs AnalogX. Mark told us that (for now) his data comes from users of the open BitTorrent-based protocol, since that’s where most people download TV-shows from nowadays. For ShowInsider, he uses an immense database, which grows by 1 GB a day. “I’m a big believer in the ‘Law of Large Numbers’, meaning that the more samples you’re able to take of something, hopefully the less margin for error that you have,” Mark told us. “The trick with tracking P2P is that there is so much data out there, that if you don’t have a large sampling set it’s really easy to get data that’s skewed.”

The database used to compile the rankings on ShowInsider is not limited to TV-shows. In the future, Mark hopes to expand his BitTorrent trending into other areas, games or movies for example. “When I began the design and architecture of the backend of ShowInsider, I wanted something that would be able to scale and evolve to whatever type of content I was interested in,” Mark told us. “What I was interested in at the very beginning was TV shows – I always checked out the top 10 list from TorrentFreak and thought it was cool, but what I really wanted was a way to find out what other shows were popular that I might like.”

ShowInsider is a great and accurate resource to find out what the popular TV-shows are on BitTorrent, and how this evolves over time. It is a great addition to our own data, and provides some additional insight into the ever changing TV-torrent landscape. We are delighted to work with Mark, and hope others, including TV-broadcasters, will find the site useful as well.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data presented here is collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

Since both shows are ‘released’ on Tuesday, BitTorrent sites see a significant traffic increase on that day.

The data presented here is collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data presented here is collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data is collected by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. Currently both DVDrips and R5 rips are counted.

RSS feed for the weekly DVDrip chart.

As of September 1st, 2008…

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

The data is collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

At the end of the year we will publish a list of most downloaded TV-shows for the entire year, like we did last December.

TV-shows such as “Lost” and “Heroes” can get up to 10 million downloads per episode, in only a week.

Top Downloads August 17 – August 24

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

At the end of the year we will publish a list of most downloaded TV-shows for the entire year, like we did last December.

TV-shows such as “Lost” and “Heroes” can get up to 10 million downloads per episode, in only a week.

Top Downloads June 29 – July 06

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

At the end of the year we will publish a list of most downloaded TV-shows for the entire year, like we did last December.

TV-shows such as “Lost” and “Heroes” can get up to 10 million downloads per episode, in only a week.

Top Downloads June 22 – June 29

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.