Television in the digital age
Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Sam
Piracy of television shows is a widespread practice, with episodes available on filesharing networks hours after premiering on television. The same issue is affecting the music and movie industries, but the difference is that television sales still operate on a regional model. Unlike movies or albums which usually have worldwide release within a month, television series are sold to individual networks who broadcast them at a later date - and that's if a network chooses to buy the program at all. In the age of the internet, for people seeking instant gratification, this is unacceptable, and so they turn to piracy.
By delaying broadcasts of a television series in other countries, networks essentially limit their audience. Especially in the case of returning series - many fans who are already invested in it would have already downloaded and watched it. This leads to lower ratings, and advertising fees for the network when it is eventually aired.
Delaying broadcasts also shuts international fans out of fan communities. For someone such as myself, who is "spoiler-phobic", trying to avoid reading about the current season of a series is becoming increasingly hard. Participation in fan culture is cut to a minimum to avoid coming across spoiler material. Since television is a medium which lends itself to speculation, with ongoing storylines and evolving characters, being unable to participate in the latest discussions ruins part of the collective experience that comes from being part of a fandom, especially for genre shows, where the number of fans are already fairly limited.
The industry needs to realise that once a program has been released in one region, it is impossible to stop it from leaking onto the internet - effectively releasing it in all regions. By minimising the delay between the original broadcast and a regional one, viewers may feel less inclined to download episodes of their favourite shows immediately, and choose to show their support by watching it live.
By delaying broadcasts of a television series in other countries, networks essentially limit their audience. Especially in the case of returning series - many fans who are already invested in it would have already downloaded and watched it. This leads to lower ratings, and advertising fees for the network when it is eventually aired.
Delaying broadcasts also shuts international fans out of fan communities. For someone such as myself, who is "spoiler-phobic", trying to avoid reading about the current season of a series is becoming increasingly hard. Participation in fan culture is cut to a minimum to avoid coming across spoiler material. Since television is a medium which lends itself to speculation, with ongoing storylines and evolving characters, being unable to participate in the latest discussions ruins part of the collective experience that comes from being part of a fandom, especially for genre shows, where the number of fans are already fairly limited.
The industry needs to realise that once a program has been released in one region, it is impossible to stop it from leaking onto the internet - effectively releasing it in all regions. By minimising the delay between the original broadcast and a regional one, viewers may feel less inclined to download episodes of their favourite shows immediately, and choose to show their support by watching it live.