Several file-sharing sites have been forced offline or forced to seriously limit their offerings in recent months thanks to the efforts of the MPAA, RIAA, and the like. But any hopes the industry has of killing the practice off appear to be nil.
At least if the popularity of the final episodes of Lost on these sites is anything to go by.
Internet Piracy
Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ll know that file-sharing is hugely popular on the Internet, and has been for many years now.
The various entertainment industries don’t want people to share content this way, naturally, as it cuts into their profits and loosens the control they have over content creators.
If anything, there has been an increased effort to take these sites offline of late. The most obvious and high-profile example is The Pirate Bay. But the sites have pushed back, refusing to bow to legal pressure. And people generally don’t see anything wrong with piracy.
Lost Finale Breaks Record
Lost
finished on Sunday (May 23), after six seasons of plot twists, many of which left the audience more confused than they were before.
According to TorrentFreak, almost 1 million people downloaded the final two episodes of the ABC show in the first 20 hours after it aired. This is a new record for any TV show.
This comes despite efforts to prevent the episodes from being pirated, or at least the need for fans to get them via the Internet. The finale was broadcast simultaneously (or as near as damn it) in 59 countries around the world. But this doesn’t seem to have done much to put people off.
But why?
So why did this happen?
Primarily because the Lost finale was a TV event, more than just an average episode in the middle of a season. Even those people who haven’t watched the series religiously probably tuned in, or at least downloaded it to see how it all turned out.
But it’s rather interesting that 15 percent of all downloads came from Australia, where the finale wasn’t due to be shown until today (May 26).
Conclusions
Internet piracy is far from dead. In fact, the popularity of the Lost finale shows that just as many people are doing it now than ever have. And this is despite the entertainment industries’ efforts to curtail the practice.
Isn’t it about time this dead horse stopped being flogged? There has to be a better way to proceed than going after the sites and users sharing files.
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