TV leads the way in piracy fight, according to The Economist

Two interesting article appeared in The Economist last month, detailing the impact of piracy on television compared to film and music.

Whilst piracy is similarly rife in all three industries, and the availability of torrents for popular shows such as Lost widespread, The Economist believes measures taken by the television industry – such as broadcasting shows to foreign audiences faster, and embracing services like Hulu - coupled with the nature of the medium in comparison to film and music, means there is cause for (cautious) optimism for the future.

The article also notes that, unlike with film, audiences have often already paid for programmes through subscription services such as Sky, so have no need to watch illegally. “Television has”, according to The Economist, “endured because it has responded better to such threats than other media businesses...and other outfits are learning from [it]”.

Read more here and here.