aNewDomain — Piracy works around the clock. A global network of servers can be accessed through numerous popular sites like Kickass Torrents, Torrentz, Extratorrent, EZTV, RARBG, 1337X and Limetorrents. Many of these have been blocked in the UK, but many and others like them are still operational in the US.
Millennials are responsible for most of this pirated content. Find more analysis on this trend below the fold.
Check out the TV Producers Lose Billions to Piracy infographic, below.
TV Producers Lose Billions to Privacy infographic: Courtesy of Statista
Illegal downloading and streaming also have a huge impact on people’s inclination to subscribe to traditional cable or satellite packages. The latest season of “Game of Thrones” set a new record for online piracy, with 32 million people pirating episodes within the first week, according to TorrentFreak.
Alongside this, customers are also potentially bypassing paying for services through shared logins.
According to Global Web Index, two thirds of Netflix users in the UK and US share their password with other people. Given that some of these users are likely to be in different households, this is a potentially large subscription base that is being lost.”
Piracy and cord cutting go hand in hand
The ubiquitous use of piracy goes hand in hand with the cord cutting, the concept that you can disconnect from the more normal contracts (or actual physical cords). Paid television subscriptions are quickly going under, while streaming content through digital devices is on the rise. And millennials are spearheading the effort.
Young Americans most likely to be Cord Cutters infographic: Courtesy of GlobalWebIndex
GlobalWebIndex’s Cord Cutters report (paywall) from last month found that:
In the TV-obsessed US, 9 per cent of 16-24s are in the Cord-Cutter camp. That means it’s now a significant section of the youngest consumers in the US who are falling outside the influence of the traditionally dominant cable TV companies.”
Many millennials find themselves simply fed up with their cable companies for many reasons -– the service, the plan or the price. And so, we’ve seen an interesting shift towards alternative television and what’s been termed “cord-cutting.” This, plus piracy, has put the entertainment industry in an awkward and innovative space.
What will the future of media consumption look like?
For aNewDomain, I’m David Michaelis.
Featured image: Screenshot courtesy HBO
You want to put a serious dent in piracy? Make all content available to ALL areas of the world at the same time for a fair price. Done. The only thing that makes this an “awkward space” is that the channels who have such in-demand programming aren’t doing global streaming for a fair price. It’s their own damned fault.