*RAGE* MPAA Targets Six BitTorrent TV Sites. You UNBELIEVABLY STUPID PEOPLE! There is NO HARM WHATSOEVER in pirating TV! It solidifies your audience and serves as an excellent tool for bringing new fans in, or catching up already-converted fans when they miss an episode! You lose NO REVENUE until you bring the DVDs of the show out, and in that case, if fans were going to buy the DVDs to begin with, most likely they will still buy the DVDs regarless of whether they have all the episodes burned on CD. Piracy for TV only increases the number of fans likely to purchase DVDs! We think the commentary tracks and higher video/audio quality and deleted scenes and featurettes are worth it! I have all of Buffy Season 7 burned on CD, but I still bought the DVDs, and all my experience in the fandom indicates that I’m in the definite majority on this issue. I still plan of buying the Lost DVDs, even though I have nearly the entire series in HDTV-quality! We want to support the shows we love, and we’d like it if the studios would HELP us spread the love, rather than trying to LIMIT THE FRICKIN’ FANBASE. And plus, according to current laws, while legally in a grey area, it’s NOT TECHNICALLY ILLEGAL.

In the article, they say: There are thousands of people in the entertainment industry who are working to develop, produce, and promote television shows. Those shows and those jobs are worth protecting. Show me ONE PERSON in the entertainment industry who will lose his/her job because of piracy. Tell me ONE WAY that TV piracy can cause harm, and I’ll shut up.

There’s no advertising revenue lost, because the number of people that would watch the show as it aired on TV does not change. People still like to watch shows as they air. And because you’re drawing in new fans, your advertising revenue can only increase!

There’s little chance DVD sales will go down, because generally, those that would have bought DVDs in the first place will still buy DVDs. And because you’re increasing the fanbase, you have a wider market of potential DVD buyers.

With serial shows like Lost with plotlines and story arcs that extend over many episodes, piracy allows us to revisit past episodes and increases fan speculation, which is much of the core of fandom!

A lot of fans rely on piracy, as many don’t have TiVO or VCRs, and many have conflicts that prohibit them from watching the show when it airs. Trying to eliminate piracy alienates a HUGE portion of the fanbase.

DVDs don’t come out for months after the show finishes each season, often longer if the show is less successful. I’ve brought my Lost CDs to slumber parties and introduced a huge bunch of friends to the show, several of which are regular watchers now. Without piracy, how are fans supposed to spread the love in an age where the VCR is no longer as popular?

Sites like BTEFnet.net are set up in a way that discourages library-building, which was the main sticking point on the Betamax decision. The website is set up with the clear intention of allowing fans to catch up on recent episodes. After an episode has been available for a few weeks, it is taken down. Episodes are long gone by the time the DVDs come out.

Piracy is THE REASON Firefly got its second first chance. Piracy allowed me to catch up on the Lost episodes I missed before my friends convinced me to watch the show.

STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID IDIOT MORONS! *RAGES*

And man, couldn’t they have waited TWO WEEKS for Lost to be over?