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Channel Five to offer legal TV show downloads

23 March 2005 11:37 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 5 comments

Channel Five is to become the first broadcaster in the UK to offer parts of its shows for download on the Internet. Viewers of the show Fifth Gear will be able to download can reviews for about �1.50 in DVD quality. Producers said reviews of 12 cars such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari F430 would be available to buy as downloads from Monday. The market for legal downloads has become huge but most TV companies have not taken advantage of it just yet. In Britain, large amounts of P2P users illegally download TV shows every day.

The will also make available their "shoot-outs" which is where they race similar cars. The technology for the service is being provided by 7 Digital, who has said TV companies were increasingly keen to make money using the Internet. "Broadcasters have seen the revenues attainable from music downloads and are eager to do the same with their own content." Managing director Ben Drury said, "TV footage can work so much harder for broadcasters, with the internet now a commercially sound distribution channel."

Web tracking company Envisional recently made a report that showed UK TV show downloaders were responsible for about 18% of the total figure of illegal downloads including shows like 24, Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under. The report said that an episode of 24 was downloaded about 100,000 times completely and about 20,000 of those downloaders were in the UK.

Source:
BBC News

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Most TV series downloaders are in the UK (18 February 2005)

TV show piracy enters spotlight (9 February 2005)

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venomX05 (Senior Member) 23 March 2005 11:48
Hey this is kinda cool... But wondering if they are trying to deter people from downloading the shows, buy offering them at a really low price...cause I hate to say it, but I don't think it is going to happen. If you can get it for free, then why not. Anybody think this is a good idea? [ + quote]
rdevanat (Junior Member) 23 March 2005 18:28
Yes, I think it is a good idea, because it makes it legal. But there is no point in offerring "parts" of shows. They need to offer full shows. Why dont they do it now? Whats the main problem in offering TV shows online, say 1-2 weeks after they have been released on TV. I think most ppl will like this idea. [ + quote]
venomX05 (Senior Member) 23 March 2005 18:36
Hhhhmmm, sounds like a good point... But what if, they ALLOWED you to d/l the shows. Here me out on this one. So, shows make money based on ratings and advertisements. But what if the producers made the shows WITH advertisements, and then were able to be downloaded on the internet, kinda of like internet advertising, without the freaking spyware and adware. Be just like a regular show that you would see on tv, with all the Nike, Coke, and other obnoxious commercials people usually see. They could track the shows downloads via some type of counter and the company will then make a nice little profit off of it. Same thing as regular tv, but they put it FREE on the net. However...we all know that there are programs that can crop the show and then take the commercials out, but by that time, it would have been downloaded MULTIPLE times and still reap the same benefits. Anyone think this would work? "WE ARE....VENOM!" 2.6Ghz P4 Dell Inspiron 1150 60Gig HDD 512 DDR SDRam Windows XP Pro WD External HDD 80Gig Mad Dog External Floppy Drive Hitachi DVD/CD Writer External CD/DVD [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 23 March 2005 18:37
indienemo (Inactive) 24 March 2005 4:51
That sounds like a good idea, why should we pay to watch shows on the internet we can watch on TV for free? I think the advertising thing is a gudden tbh [ + quote]
venomX05 (Senior Member) 24 March 2005 11:57
It should be pretty good... I wouldn't mind that to happen, I mean since even if it doesn't people are STILL going to be downloading anyways. Look at those statistics: Quote: The report said that an episode of 24 was downloaded about 100,000 times completely and about 20,000 of those downloaders were in the UK. I mean...DAMN! You would think they would have just went with a different idea instead of charging people for them. Cause all they are doing is trying to cover up the fact that they are in a losing war with p2p clients. [ + quote]