Illegal downloads of television shows over peer-to-peer file sharing networks are "a serious problem," says Fox Digital Media President Peter Levinsohn. One of the biggest problems is that some
consumers don't even know this is illegal. As one unassuming consumer tells the
L.A. Times, "It's TV isn't it? It would probably be different if it was a movie. If it is free on everybody's TV,
why worry about it?" TV shows represent the fastest growing type of files downloaded online, and piracy, as anyone who downloads content illegally will attest, has never been easier. BitTorrent is the
software that makes this possible; the software, which is distributed between consumers and doesn't need to communicate with a central server, makes it just as easy for consumers to download a show
the day after it airs as it is to set one's DVR to record it. Piracy has big-time implications for the TV industry. If it can't be stopped, it could result in significant ad revenue, DVD sales and
overseas sales erosion. As one analyst says, the biggest problem for the TV industry could be convincing consumers that the act is indeed illegal: "Unlike downloading a Hollywood film, which I think
everyone intuitively knows is a clear violation of the copyright, people do not have that sharp line, that distinction, in their minds when they download free TV."
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