Today, two major events occurred that will have a dramatic impact on the future of online television distribution. First: as reported in  an article in the business section of The Gaurdian [1], TV-Links, a directory of streaming pirated video, was shut down today in the UK for facilitation of piracy. The site did not host any actual content, but linked to numerous other sites where the pirated material could be viewed. This was the first of this sort of anti-piracy bust to occur in the U.K.



Meanwhile, in the U.S., Comedy Central has launched a new web site for their flagship news satire program, The Daily Show. The new site contains a searchable archive of every segment of every episode for all of Jon Stewart's run as host, going back as far as 1999. Though many networks now offer streaming video, this is the largest archive ever made publicly available. 


Though these two events seem to be complete opposites, they share a common factor: instant access. The entertainment industry misunderstands the nature of priacy. Many people who participate in file-sharing are not looking to steal from the industry's bottom line. Rather, most simply wish to watch their television and movies and listen to their music when and how they want. There will, of course, always be a group of people whose aim is to circumvent payment for their entertainment, but this group is small, and will not be stopped by the shut-down of a few sites as the MPAA and others play catch-up. Rather, the best way to stop the majority of piracy is to address the need that it represent. The success of business endeavors like iTunes show that most people are perfectly willing to pay, they just want to watch or listen to whatever they want that very instant. Likewise, the success of YouTube demonstrates the appeal of instant entertainment. If the film and television industries embrace this trend, they stand to make plenty of money off of instant digital distribution. But if they continue to chase after file-sharing sites, they will continue to promote their image as bullies while scaring away an otherwise profitable customer base. The Daily Show is clearly a step in the right direction. The question now, though, is whether others will follow suit.


 


Disclaimer: I do not condone the piracy of copyrighted material, nor the crime of copyright infringement.