Australians still download lots
A new study has just revealed what visual content Australians were downloading via
bit-torrent in 2007, television programs 'Heroes', 'Lost', 'Battlestar
Galatica', 'Top Gear' and 'Prison Break' were popular. While in Australia it
is easy to draw a comparison between TV programming delays and downloading in
the USA downloading still reamins a problem, so it's not just the fact that we get the shows months later.
Obviously in Australia one of the biggest contributing factors to a high level is downloading is the many months or even years between when a show airs in the USA or UK and when it finally reaches Australia. Australians have always been frustrated to wait, before we just lived with it, now we don't have too.
That dosen't explain why people download so much in the US though. The real reason for this is not just changes to technology, but changes to the way we live. The days when people worked 9-5 and Monday to Friday are long gone. Many people now are not getting home until late in the evening - yet both free to air and PAY-TV still fail to cater audiences outside the standard primetime viewing hours.
If I'm free to watch TV from mindnight to 2am, what are my choices,
1. Get a DVD
2. Record things on my VHS
3. Wait for Tivo to arrive
4. Turn to my computer
The point is that I wouldn't reach choice number 4 unless all my other options are closed. Televison providers who want to build and maintain audiences in the future will have to open up some options for me. Bring the advertising dollar to where I'm watching, rather than sheparding me to 'traditional appointment viewing'. I'd like my appointment to be at 2am please.
Obviously in Australia one of the biggest contributing factors to a high level is downloading is the many months or even years between when a show airs in the USA or UK and when it finally reaches Australia. Australians have always been frustrated to wait, before we just lived with it, now we don't have too.
That dosen't explain why people download so much in the US though. The real reason for this is not just changes to technology, but changes to the way we live. The days when people worked 9-5 and Monday to Friday are long gone. Many people now are not getting home until late in the evening - yet both free to air and PAY-TV still fail to cater audiences outside the standard primetime viewing hours.
If I'm free to watch TV from mindnight to 2am, what are my choices,
1. Get a DVD
2. Record things on my VHS
3. Wait for Tivo to arrive
4. Turn to my computer
The point is that I wouldn't reach choice number 4 unless all my other options are closed. Televison providers who want to build and maintain audiences in the future will have to open up some options for me. Bring the advertising dollar to where I'm watching, rather than sheparding me to 'traditional appointment viewing'. I'd like my appointment to be at 2am please.
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