Choice says Foxtel has itself to blame for illegal downloading of hit showConsumer group Choice says Foxtel only has itself to blame for the number of Australians watching pirated versions of hit show Game of Thrones, which set a new record for illegal downloads on Monday night.
The season four finale was downloaded roughly 1.5 million times in the 12 hours after the show went to air, according to internet tracking site TorrentFreak.
That makes it the most pirated program in history, and thousands of Australians were among those watching.
Foxtel says about 500,000 Australians watch each episode via a paid subscription, while another half a million download it illegally, mostly by sharing episodes with other users through a process known as torrenting.
Foxtel says the people who do the downloading are thieves, and is urging the Government to enact legislation that will make it much more difficult to illegally download popular programs, video games and music.
But Choice's Erin Turner says Foxtel "has an outdated business model" and can only blame itself.
"It expects people to pay for a whole range of products when they may want [just] one. You're getting Real Housewives of every city, rather than just Game of Thrones, which you want," she told 7.30.
"It also locks people into viewing content on particular devices. They're developing this. Ultimately the problem is there are few competitors to Foxtel in Australia.
"There are few choices. If you want to watch Game of Thrones for example, Foxtel is the only place to go."
Illegal downloader Albert says the market is being fed by Foxtel's expensive subscription deals, and the exclusivity arrangement with program maker HBO, which forced the show off legal download sites like iTunes.
"We're closed out, and if we're being offered another option people are going to take it," said Albert, who asked that the ABC refrain from using his surname in case copyright holders decided to take legal action against him.
He had previously paid to watch each episode on iTunes, but that is no longer an option.
"I do pay money to watch things like House of Cards, and Orange is the New Black. I pay money to Netflix. I pay to watch American television shows, like Saturday Night Live on Hulu," he said.
"I do my duty, using what little money I make as a student, but when something is not being made available at a cost-effective way, and they’re putting 1,001 hurdles in front of us, then people will illegally download."
His argument is dismissed by Foxtel's Bruce Meagher.
"I can't think of any other circumstance where you would say 'I think you charge too much for this product therefore it is legitimate to steal it'," he said.
"There's a moral disconnect there which I just don't get."
Game of Thrones was available at a premium for Foxtel subscribers hours after the program aired in the US. Fans could legally download the full season on Google Play a day later for $2.99 an episode.
Full story:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24259972/game-of-thrones-piracy-war-choice-says-foxtel-has-itself-to-blame-for-illegal-downloading-of-hit-show/
