Copyright Infringement of Television Programmes

It might come as a shock to you that something free like television programmes might actually be a victim of copyright infringement. Learn more about it in this section.

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  1. The Tube
  2. So how DCI committed here?
  3. Related Readings
  4. Bibliography
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The Tube

Television has been a dominant form of entertainment for the past few decades, something which was originally unimaginable. Darryl F Zanuck, Head of 20th Century-Fox, stated in 1946 that “[Television] won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” Conversely, it has gained influence far beyond and other medium of entertainment in history.

Television programmes are largely varied, ranging from a two-minute news update to a one-hour variety show to a three-hour movie. New concepts are constant being thought up; many could not have imagined American Idol a decade ago.


Example of a older television model, One of the most influential communications media in this Digital Age.
[Picture credit: luisvilla from flickr. Licensed under CC by 2.0]

Distribution of television programmes vary; some programmes are aired freely, granting access to anyone with a television set. Others require a subscription fee to view. Generally, however, television is free to us, as the costs of operation a television network is offset by advertising revenue; some rely on subscription fees instead. Ultimately, television broadcasts remain low cost and affordable, hence its wide appeal; this in turn leads to greater demand for advertising, due to large viewership. This dynamic relation between viewership and advertising allow for low cost, yet high quality television programmes.

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So how DCI committed here?

Copyright Infringement of Television Programmes is largely a new area, according to research by web monitoring company Envisional. A report published in February 2005 found that copyright infringement of television programmes is on the rise. An example cited was that of the show 24, of which 100,000 illegal copies were being downloaded per episode. This makes it the most downloaded television show worldwide..

The internet remains the primary method by which television programmes are transmitted illegally. Since there is little cost involved in watching television programmes, the main driver for such a trend is that of unwillingness to wait for the screening of foreign programmes on local television. Popular television programmes may appear online within hours of its first screening worldwide.

Developed countries constitute the main source of copyright infringement of television programmes. This is firstly due to the easy availability of high-bandwidth internet connections in these countries, along with the prevalence of popular culture in such societies. Currently, the UK accounts for 38.4% of copyright infringement of television programmes, followed by Australia at 15.6%, and the US at 7.3%.

Some television companies, such as Sky, have recognized the opportunities in this field and air popular programmes from overseas on local channels much earlier than free-to-air channels for a subscription fee. In a web report, a research consultant from Envisional said that some viewers may have subscribed to pay television Sky to watch programmes like 24 or The Simpson’s first. Such companies may well be adversely affected by the increasing incidence of the copyright infringement of television programmes.

Do note that DCI of individual television programmes is different from pirate decryption, which refers to the unauthorized decryption and reception of paid television without subscribing to the service.