Comments on: How Democracy changed everything, and what the CBC needs to do to compete with the pirates

By: Dan Misener dot com - CBC TV + Bittorrent

Dan Misener dot com - CBC TV + Bittorrent — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:25:00 +0000

[...] has already been practically everywhere, but since it’s something I’ve been wishing for for a long time, I’ll mention that CBC TV is planning to release television programs via [...]

By: Tristan

Tristan — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:26:48 +0000

Phil has spoken.

By: The Thrill

The Thrill — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:06:05 +0000

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!!

Yes, Brian, you ARE stealing. Are you gonna stop now?

Like it or not, broadcasters and the owners of copyright of a show have the right to determine how that show gets distributed. While, as a consumer, you may think it makes total sense for you to copy the digital version to other platforms and have it whenever you want, (that'd be sweet) the fact of the matter is that the broadcasters are under no obligation to cater to you – if they want to make your life difficult, they can. THAT'S THEIR RIGHT. (even if it means going out of business) If you want to stick it to them and get them to change their business models, DON'T WATCH. Make the sacrifice. But don't circumvent their shitty system with an illegal one and claim innocence. If you're getting something for free that you're theoretically supposed to be paying for YOU'RE STEALING.

ABC/NBC/FOX/whomever need to keep up…with whom? The pirates? There does not exist a business model that allows broadcasters to "sell" their product in digital format for cheaper than f***ing free!!! That's what torrents offer. So unless someone somewhere can come up with one, it's time for downloaders to STFU, admit that what they're doing is theft (NOT protest – protest would be to boycott the product – do you REALLY need to watch The Office?) and face the illegally downloaded music.

I would love a Porsche. I want a Porsche. I have two choices: save up and buy or do without. I can't go out and hotwire one from the showroom and claim I'm sticking it to the man and just doing with it what I want as a consumer – 'cause after all, they should make an affordable Porsche that doesn't require a stupid key. Either buy the cable service or do without.

Seriously: even if you could download the show from the broadcaster's website for a mere $1-$2 a pop, would you? And for the few people who would, does that make it worth it to the broadcaster? I doubt it.

Yes, the system sucks, yes there's DRM, yes there are RIAA goons – but downloading is just another form of the five finger discount. Period.

(BTW – Democracy may be making inroads, but it's only because they can rip quality tv. If the apocalypse comes and broadcasters fall, and Democracy "wins", what exactly do you think the content is going to be like? Lost? House? ER? CSI? F**k all that sh*t, Silent Bob, it's gonna be like YouTube. Countless morons looking for their fifteen minutes by posting a flood of videos that cost nothing to produce – 'cause there's no money to be made. Do YOU want to have your tv replaced by YouTube videos? I certainly don't. In order to access House, Lost and my UFC fix, I'm willing to shell out for cable and to buy a VCR – yes, Dan, a VCR does the job! …Until I can afford a PVR.)

By: Tristan

Tristan — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:14:06 +0000

There may be problems with the CBC legally distributing a show like Little Mosque in this way. For example, Mosque is expected to be a big player (as far as Canadian dramatic programming goes, anyway) at MIPTV in Cannes next week. If the CBC was already distributing the entire season, commercial free, over the Internet, I'd imagine that would make it a much harder sale in the International market, no? Sure, you can already get it FOR FREE illegally, but somehow this doesn't phase these sorts of deals. However, I'd imagine that a legally distributed digital version of this show would have a negative impact on traditional broadcast sales.

But then again, I can buy Huff on DVD over at HMV right now, even though Showcase hasn't even finished airing it yet, so what do I know?

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:43:34 +0000

I'm not sure I agree with what you are saying. I'm not sure downloading TV shows is technically stealing. I pay for television service (DirecTV), but yet I choose to download TV shows at the same time. Does this make me a criminal? I do this for any number of reasons. To name a few: 1. High definition DVRs are expensive, buggy and otherwise cumbersome to operate (see Comcast's HD DVR and all the problems it has) 2. I have unlimited freedom to do with what I want with the shows once downloaded; specifically, I like to copy them to my laptop and watch them on the plane, on the train, on the bus to work, etc. If ABC/NBC/FOX/whomever wants to keep up, then they need to give people the freedom they deserve. After all, its not like you pay for "The Office" anyway. Where I live, its broadcast to me whether I want it or not. And what about the people in Australia who simply don't get shows like Lost or 24. Or rather they get them, but they are just years behind. There is actually some good intent behind downloading — not just sticking it to the TV show companies and producers. I for one value their work and if I honestly thought it was stealing I wouldn't do it.