• Ars Technica, Thursday, October 12, 2006 11:31 AM

Believe it or not, traditional media companies are moving forward, and bravely. Instead of trying to sue anyone and everyone, some content makers are actually starting to make nice. Universal Music Group, Warner Music, Sony BMG and EMI Group have forged deals with content providers like Google, YouTube and SpiralFrog in which the online video site and the consumer all benefit.

TV networks are starting to make nice, too. In a recent conference call, Anne Sweeney, president of Disney's ABC Television Group, implied that it might be more productive to try to understand companies that operate peer-to-peer networks or distribute file-sharing software rather than to sue them for copyright infringement. "So we understand piracy now as a business model," Sweeney said, calling it "a key competitor going forward."

In response, ABC last spring started offering free episodes of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" with ads viewers couldn't skip on its own media player. The trial was an instant hit, and the company decided to offer the service permanently. "We've created a strategy to address this threat with attractive, easy-to-use ways to for viewers to get the content they want from us legally," said Sweeney. It may be hard to compete with free, but ABC proves that it isn't impossible.

The majority of people don't want to break the law, but they also don't like paying for something they could get for free. Unless it's for their iPod: ABC has also managed to sell more than 8 million of its shows on iTunes at $2 a pop without damaging its TV ratings.

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