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Cambridge (pte017/18.02.2005/12:00) - Britain is the world leader in illegally downloading television shows, according to a new report. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, advances in computer technologies, increasing broadband proliferation and a surge in demand for popular US programming has put the UK at the head of a "worldwide explosion in internet TV piracy". Nearly a fifth of all downloads originate in the UK, compared to just seven per cent in the US and two per cent in Spain, according to the report from the internet tracking specialists Envisional http://www.envisional.com .
Fox's Kiefer Sutherland epic 24 is the most popular show among downloaders, with over 95,000 copies of the fourth series copied last year - a 150 per cent increase on the 35,000 detected for series three. However, illegal downloads of Desperate Housewives have rocketed from 40,000 for the first episode to 60,000 for the latest ones. Other shows in the top 10 list include The OC, Smallville, The Simpsons, Battlestar Galactica and Lost. According to the company, high-quality versions of hit US TV shows were often available on the internet within minutes of their first runs on American TV networks. An August broadcast of Six Feet Under last year was available on the internet just 30 minutes after it had aired. Downloaders typically record or rip TV programmes onto a computer, often cutting out adverts and titles to make the file sizes as small as possible, before posting the file on the internet.
"Compared to the tasks involved in pirating a first-run movie, TV piracy is a relatively simple and safe operation with no immediate or obvious risk to those involved," said the survey. "The internet is revolutionising how people watch, obtain, and view television programmes. It's now as easy to download a pirate TV show as it is to programme a VCR," said Ben Coppin, Envisional's chief operating officer. "Indeed it is as easy to download a television programme through a website as it is to schedule your VCR to tape the episode," he added. Coppin urged broadcasters to counteract the threat from online piracy by launching their own visual download services.
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