The dollars and sense of online piracy « The Straits Times Blogs

By Chua Hian Hou
Technology Correspondent
hianhou@sph.com.sg

THE widespread availability - and popularity – of pirated copies of hit drama serials online might well benefit pay-TV consumers.

Many now expect providers SingTel and StarHub to price their upcoming video-on-services affordably, instead of turning it into a premium service only a few can afford to enjoy.

At the launches of their respective services, both of which will kick off next month, SingTel and StarHub executives noted that the main competitor to the service is - for once - not each other, but “free” versions of the programmes downloaded via file-sharing systems like BitTorrent.

Once the domain of geeks, the advent of user-friendly file-sharing services like BitTorrent has turned online piracy into a relentless competitor media and content players can no longer ignore.

Make no mistake: Piracy is wrong and an offence under the Singapore Copyright Act.

But while every industry claims it tries to do better, there is no doubt that piracy has forced media companies to do better by their customers.

Today, Singapore movie-goers enjoy same-day releases as their American counterparts. Music CDs and movie DVDs generally cost less, are available earlier, and offer more than when they were originally introduced.

SingTel and StarHub will offer popular shows like CSI, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost, within 24 hours of their American premiers. This is an unprecedented service, and would have had no competitor in the past, allowing pay-TV operators to charge fans what they wanted for it.

Even organised pirated syndicates in the region would wait until the season ends to create their bootleg “box sets”, giving pay-TV operators an exclusive window.

But online piracy has stripped this protection away.

Within hours after their US premier, copies of the shows are already circulating on the Internet.

While downloads are not immediate, entire episodes have to be downloaded before they are viewable, some users with good connections are reportedly been able to download an hour-long episode of popular shows like Prison Break within five hours - beating the pay-TV operator’s 24-hour window by a wide margin.

And Singapore fans of these shows are clearly doing this, if discussions on forums like HardwareZone and around the office water-cooler are any indication.

According to file-sharing site TorrentFreak,
Lost enjoys about 10 million downloads per episode.

Having acquired the rights for these shows – The Straits Times understands that they didn’t come cheap - it doesn’t makes sense for SingTel and StarHub to try and milk a few customers at the expense of larger numbers who are quite likely to pay – just not as much.

It bears repeating that the competition is free, easily available – and potentially more immediate. Pirated content also doesn’t impose any conditions to the consumer's use – pirated copies don’t limit when a consumer can watch it, how long he has to watch it for, or try and charge him again when he feels like watching it say, a year later.

There's no way to eradicate online piracy, and it is high time media and content players, including pay-TV operators, accept this social and business reality.

Sometime in the next two weeks, SingTel and StarHub are expected to announce pricing for their new service. Hopefully they will offer fans an easy and affordable way do the right thing.

Tags: entertainment, technology

http://appraisingly-beata-blarneyer.com/ actinometric ascending community

to found out if your content manager…

will be able to cope with such amount of work. if not, you will probably need a blogging service, rather than a freelance blogger.make your blogging cost-effectiveblog writing service providers are quite different. some of them have a set price and…
http://salespersoninfo.busythumbs.com management courses

google and type in the keywords that…

you will be using for your blog post. jot down the words that attract and grab you, that make you want to click the title. create a list and formulate your own title.2) opening line. your opening line needs to speak…
http://www.comtrol.com/ pci express serial card

are that people could benefit from it.conduct…

an interview with an expert in your niche. there is no better way to establish credibility than conducting interviews with experts. you see, when someone reads your blog post and finds that you communicate with a well known name, that person…
http://marbellaabogadosestepona431.blogspot.com/2013/04/tome-un-abogado-de-divorcio-dos-y-no.html discover more here

to improve vocabulary is simply to read…

a lot; look up any words you don’t know for their meanings; in time, as you come across certain words in your reading, they will become so familiar to you that you will find yourself using them without giving them thought….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAlO_Sycrtw dance school

thus, is motivated to create original, reader-friendly,…

seo content that showcases your business in the best light.tip #3 – be prepared to pay fair rates for professional seo content writing, since experienced seo writers working full-time deliver high quality, original web content that draws in visitors an…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VCZxqNVTrcc Spiritual Coaching in San Diego

in creating a blog that will stand…

out in the blog writing world, you’re in the right place!first and foremost, you want either your own domain for blog posting or one of the many free services available for the freelance blog writer. next, you will want to create…
http://www.firstsecuredloans.co.uk/ secured loan calculator

damage. if you are in the middle…

of an acne outbreak – and have pimples – they could get infected. also, any scars you already have stand a good chance of getting worse.however there are still folks who believe that sunshine is good for pimples and acne; however,…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBah5P3YXBM Plastic Surgery Celebrities

to package your product to make it…

attractive for website visitors that are most likely to buy from you.finally, remember that the best seo writer will want to exceed your expectations, so be sure to make these clear to your chosen professional. writing articles with relevant and update…
http://www.garcinia-cambogia-weight-loss.com garcinia cambogia weight loss

the internet, article writing for audience has…

become a profession for many people. if one applies good effort and time, this can be a great source of your regular income. having said this many people still do it as a part time business to meet many of their…
http://PetPremiumHub.com pet bird care

that either don’t have the time or…

desire to write.to put it quite simply the ghost writes so you don’t have to…. and you get all the credit, benefits and financial reward, not a bad deal!how can a ghost help me to organize my ideas and plan?when you…
http://www.xn--12ca0dbd6fbc4c0b4azcd10be.com/ กระดาษอาร์ตการ์ด

a blogger needs focus. you can not…

be everything for every one. you must clearly define what your mission for blogging is. for instance, if you are writing about dogs, you should not waste time and energy writing on online jobs.try and write on what you are passionate…
http://www.getpaintlessdentrepair.com www.getpaintlessdentrepair.com

you can go about getting lots of…

ideas for free. i might also talk a little about outsourcing content creation! comments and replies to blog posts and articles are welcome when done correctly.most of us that blog and write articles are happy to receive comments about our work…
http://www.paintlessdentrepairnow.com/ paintlessdentrepairnow.com

being your own boss, you are going…

to have to go after things in a lot different manner.for this article, we will assume that you want to work as a freelancer. you can start to build your reputation by beginning to find work on one or more of…
http://itp.nyu.edu/we/2012/2011/10/13/applications-are-open/ this link

comes to advertising, marketing, and the constant…

pursuit of fresh content. you can find these online jobs posted through freelance websites and craigslist. take a look at these examples of ways to make money and see which ones match your skills and interests.email marketingonline marketers need help …
http://wikitravel.org/en/Rotterdam where to sleep in Rotterdam

new blog now and you’ve found a…

great template to use on your webpage. you’ve made it very attractive to look at while keeping it in your own personal style. you sit down to start blogging and you suddenly realize that you have a knife, a fork, a…
http://driving.bookmarktique.com/story.php?title=pain-in-back-of-shoulder Web Site

cultures and it will be difficult for…

them to read your blog. i suggest that you either download a “translation plugin” or simply write for a 4th grader. this will make it easy for anyone to read your blog posts and get the information they need. keep in…
http://youtu.be/65zTJy_pWYg mackelmore same love

business online, you may want to hire…

your own professional blogger. here are 5 reasons why you should hire a blog writer for you business blog.1. saves more time and effort. more websites mean more responsibilities. you need relevant articles to drive traffic to your website. so if…
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYFKYUC weight loss motivation

thing in line is the packages that…

the company provides you with. make sure they are affordable. initially you could start off with shared hosting because of your budget which is pretty sensible and that will also be very affordable for you. but as your blog grows, you…
http://www.twimmr.com/story.php?title=dr-j-a-jacobi-book chronic heart disease

much whenever you edit a post, and…

more. but despite all of this, many people still use wordpress as their blog provider.no matter which provider you choose, you can still make money with your resale rights product on your blog. you will want to make it a good,…

join us on

The dollars and sense of online piracy