Ok, I have to admit that I am not much of a blogger. It has never really interested me, or at least that’s what I like to say. So this will be my first attempt at, I’ll do my best, and we’ll see how it goes.
For the past few years, especially when at school and barring the occasional soccer match, I have lived without television. I had grown sick of the constant commercials and media b.s. that accompanies it, and as soon television became another bill to pay there really was no going back.
Now I am human, that is to say every once in a while I do feel the sudden urge to space out to one of the select shows I deem worthwhile (entourage, dexter, californication to name a few). Fortunately, up until a few months ago this was never a problem. I had always been able to go online (a resource clearly more necessary than cable) to one of my favorite sites watchtvsitcoms.com and stream a decent quality version of almost any show imaginable. There was no fee, very little hassle and ultimately I was able to satisfy my tele-urge.
This all changed one fateful summer evening, as I attempted to resume Season 3 of Dexter. I clicked my bookmark bar on safari, but all I arrived at was a page informing me that the site had been taken down. Though not surprised I was both dismayed and curious as to what had finally broken the camel’s back. WatchTVsitcoms had been a staple of my college career (spanning the better part of 3 years) and suddenly it was gone, for what I can only suppose were glaring copyright infringements.
I knew there would be other sites similar to watchtvsitcoms.com, but to this day I have been unable to find a website as efficient and well produced as it. Maybe I am just being sentimental, but damn it was good and always there in the clutch. Did it really have to go? I know it was “illegal” but it was not as if other websites won’t pop up and do the same damn thing; except they just do it worse. Shouldn’t we at least realize this and stand up for the quality of the work involved in the stealing?
Media companies need to open their eyes to this obvious trend throughout digital piracy and meet them head on by beating them at their own game. People will constantly steal television programs and post them for all to see. Once these episodes are out there, they are damned near impossible to fully erase. With this daunting proposition, media companies need to counter this by releasing free streaming television in extremely high quality on their own websites (particularly HBO, Showtime, etc). This will certainly reduce ad revenues, but at least it will steal all the revenues from sites like watchtvsitcoms. People will naturally choose the better quality, and as long as lower revenues are anticipated then they can build a business model around those streams. Look to Hulu and sites similar that offer high quality streaming. They are clearly stepping in the right direction, shouldn’t the rest follow? I mean, we are not exactly giving up our computers, hard drives or routers any time soon, are we?
I enjoyed this post, as I think it deals with issues of copyright AND media culture and commerce which will soon, if they haven’t already, directly affect each other and future business models.
I tend to empathize with the content producers on this issue. While I would love to go to a website and watch television shows uninterrupted by ads rolling across the screen, the ability to watch shows on demand (whether through DVR and Tivo or through the internet) is much more accessible. Networks like NBC and the CW (I list these b/c they are where most of my shows come from) stream episodes the day after they originally air…though they do come down a month later. These networks have a right to profit from their shows, and I think they’ve tried to make the best shift they can from a standard television business model to an internet one. Of course they still need to make money from advertising, as this is their entire business model, and they’ve effectively (from a consumer’s POV) done so by allowing ad-driven streams of their shows online, though for a limited time.
HBO and Showtime are different, though, because it is pay-TV. Access to these shows is limited to begin with. To be put freely online by their networks or other internet websites is a blatant copyright infringement, and could definitely not be defendable as “fair use”. In fact, putting these pay-TV shows online could definitely be revoked under section 4 of the Fair Use clause as having a detrimental effect “on the [current] and potential markets.” I know you are not arguing for fair use here, but this is just something to think about.
I am less inclined to defend “pirates” of these TV shows (who put the shows illegally online) as I am inclined to suggest cable networks find a better way to make revenue while allowing their viewers to watch shows at their leisure. Perhaps by incorporating internet views in their overall ratings (which would require a complete overhaul of the entire television ratings system), networks will have a greater incentive to put their stuff online.
You bring up a good point. I was curious about the issue involving ratings and streaming internet television. I’m sure ratings would be higher if networks were to include their online content. Higher ratings mean higher ad revenue…better business model? Anyone know how networks are responding to this?
It’s true: the [Nielsen] TV Rating doesn’t include online full-episode viewings in their rating count, which completely skews the numbers that decide the popularity and success of the shows. I think they need to reconsider counting the computer screen just the same at a TV screen because not everyone has time to watch a show at the original airing time, and it’s a viewing all the same. Besides, if people can’t watch it online at their own convenience just because they weren’t available at the designated 30 min time slot, then the TV show will lose viewers/fans. I was going to say that having episodes of every season of every show online will decrease the sales of DVDs, but those are dying too anyway..
Sure, they don’t get the same amount for advertising, esp since the videos streamed have shorter and less commercials, but I agree that at least they can take the revenue from watchtvsitcoms or surfthechannel because “illegal” streaming sites won’t go away forever.
Really, no one wants to pay for media when it’s online for free. and if someone has it, that person can “share” and everyone gets it for free.
Thanks for posting this! I, too, was dismayed to see that WatchTVSitcoms was taken down and that I had to resort to watching Weeds on Megavideo. Speaking of Megavideo, I don’t understand why that site is still running. Isn’t it a blatant copyright infringement?
I have also never understood why certain Megavideo television episodes are reported and taken down immediately after the episode airs, and then are put back up again once the episode is available via the TV network website.
By the way, I really enjoyed this comment of yours: “I know it was “illegal” but it was not as if other websites won’t pop up and do the same damn thing; except they just do it worse. Shouldn’t we a least realize this and stand up for the quality of the work involved in the stealing?”
If you’re gonna steal, might as well steal well, I guess! Haha.
As someone who watches all of her favorite TV shows online (Hulu, surfthechannel, sidereel, etc.), I can say with some level of certainty that an individual could find almost any show they wanted to watch, in video form, on the Internet.
Though the experience of watching TV on a laptop is not ideal – smaller screen, further strain on the eyes, choppy video, time limits and delays, and so on – it is above all convenient. The popularity of pirated shows online has a lot to do with people’s lack of access. Not everyone can afford a television set, digital cable with premium channels, a DVD player, and TiVo (eh-hem, college students). The computer provides an alternate medium in which to enjoy shows, though it still pales in comparison to the quality of a huge HDTV television screen. These flaws in quality and atmosphere are inherent to streaming TV and are knowingly exchanged for convenience, portability, and flexibility.
By failing to incorporate online viewership into a show’s overall audience/ratings, TV networks are overlooking a large portion of the fan base. I mean, I myself have devotedly watched soon-to-be cancelled shows on the web in the hopes of single-handedly boosting the ratings and saving the series (uh, Pushing Daisies on ABC.com). Shouldn’t that count for something?
http://en-us.nielsen.com/tab/product_families/nielsen_netratings
that might clear some things up. It sounds like while Nielsen does not directly incorporate online content into their traditional ratings (ratings points/share), there is some sort of seperate rating system for online media. I am sure that networks are looking at these numbers more and more as we continue to watch shows online…if not then they’re stupid.