Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

techdirt.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 116 posts

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#31

Post by w1ntermute »

jeffool wrote: post #2

Absolutely. I was recently kicked off my cable provider's ISP for excessive DMCA violations (torrenting) after DVRing and their OnDemand services proved too shoddy to actually watch. (And I forgot to DVR one show, to be fair. That one's completely on me.) It seems that they could ask you to sign in to a service, offer free show in segments, and build in local (or at least relative) advertisements. I'm told web ads co…

> I was recently kicked off my cable provider's ISP for excessive DMCA violations (torrenting) after DVRing and their OnDemand services proved too shoddy to actually watch.

I get around this by using a seedbox. Downgrade your internet service to save some money and share the seedbox with a few friends - you'll end up spending the same amount per month.

You can use SFTP to get the files from the seedbox to your computer and you'll be able to completely avoid detection by your ISP.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#32

Post by onedognight »

jeffool wrote: post #22
pan69 wrote: post #13

I guess one of the issues here is localisation. If you insert a commercial in a video then everyone, everywhere needs to watch that same commercial. Also, commercials tend to go stale. You want to switch commercials based on season or even current affairs. This doesn't allow you to do that, T.V. and streaming video does. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it but I think these are two major issues potential advertisers w…

I can easily see them using a custom client so that they can segment the shows and add localized/fresh ads even as you go back and watch reruns.

I can easily see them using a custom client

i.e. Hulu.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#33

Post by dhughes »

ashconnor wrote: post #27
rb2k_ wrote: post #16

I can see the message already: "The torrent you're trying to download is not available in your country" Thank you content industry...

Then I have to mess around with HTTP headers just so I can watch The Daily Show.

I get a kick out of www meaning "world wide web" but it's used on websites where I can't see anything due to my location in this wide world using the Web.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#34

Post by w1ntermute »

No, not a chance. A lot of people say that torrents are inconvenient or unreliable, but that hasn't been my experience. If you use a good private tracker, you are guaranteed good & fast downloads, no strings attached.

After not watching TV except when with friends and using ABP in my browser for several years, I've become hypersensitized to ads. I simply cannot stand watching them.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#35

Post by cookiecaper »

xenophanes wrote: post #30

It's the same as the answer to: Can I watch them in VLC? Also I'm not actually going to watch the ads. It's not very hard to skip ahead. So how much can they really be paid for those ads?

I think they can still get paid pretty well for them. For one, if these releases occur, they're better than nothing; right now, media companies derive no advertising revenue from torrented files with ads embedded because they don't offer them at all. Even if they have to sell for a reduced price, that's better than zero.

Furthermore, "skipping the ads" isn't that big of a deal. People do it on TV all the time by getting up to go do something else, changing the channel, muting the television, etc., when the commercials play. Those with DVRs or VCRs fast-forward, as a VLC user might. VLC doesn't really offer much better fast-forward features than the VCR; unless you also download a pre-defined chapter file (and I don't think many people hate ads that much), this is no different than using DVR/VCR and there's no point in paying less for these ads. VLC users will still visually see your logos, commercial, etc., while watching and I think that has value too, and again, the situation in that respect is no different from conventional methods.

I think the real logistical issue here is that it'd be much more difficult to insert localized ads. Hulu et al can use IP geolocation to target local ads (I don't know if they do or not, but it's possible), but a nationally distributed mp4 file would only have nationally distributed advertisements. This causes some havoc on the current pricing system, as it cuts affiliates, who manage the advertisements on conventional TV, out of loop. Perhaps the corporate guys like this, but as long as terrestrial broadcasts are the predominant form of distribution, corporate is always going to be careful not to disrupt the affiliates' revenue stream too much.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#36

Post by cookiecaper »

I would definitely do that. I'd be highly attracted and would use it instead of pirate trackers because there wouldn't be any potential negative legal ramifications. I can't stand the streaming experience provided by most vendors; I find Flash the most detestable component thereof, but I also strongly dislike being forced to redownload data if I want to watch again or even make significant seeks. I don't necessarily have a problem with ads.

However, I would prefer to patronize a tracker that required subscription fees and didn't display ads. I have thought about launching a startup that would provide media companies with the platform to do this. There are a lot of interesting possibilities for both producers and consumers there.

At the same time, advertisement is so deeply ingrained in the operation of TV companies that I am not really sure they'd ever be comfortable moving to a model of distributing TV that didn't rely upon an advertisement as a revenue stream.

As jerf mentioned, these companies love streaming because it gives the same kind of control they get from "streaming" the broadcast to your television; all the content is retained server-side and the user doesn't get their own copy without special initiative (DVR/VCR). They are still able to consolidate control of distribution under the streaming model (or the iTunes model, where they ask Apple to remove the file and it's apparently gone forever) and I find it unlikely that they'll be willing to give that up.

This is primarily hypothetical as I consciously avoid almost all TV and movies.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#37

Post by aaronbrethorst »

jrockway wrote: post #26

No. Why would I watch content with ads when I can already watch the same content without ads? Content middlemen: you've lost. The 21st century has no place for you. Distribution is now dirt cheap and dirt simple. You can't add any value because you don't solve any hard problems. All you've done for the last 10 years is make content harder to pay for. Content creators: make content, add it to your website, charge $2 (…

$2 seemed way too little to me, but I just did some back-of-the-napkin calculations, and it looks like two bucks would actually be a huge bump in revenue for some TV shows...assuming they were able to maintain the same number of viewers.

Case in point (and I know these numbers are a little faulty, but...):

The Simpsons in October 2010 charged $253,170 for a 30 second spot[1]. Meanwhile, during the previous season, they had an average viewership of 7.2 million per episode[2]. This works out to about $0.035 per spot per viewer.

[1] http://adage.com/article/ad-age-graphics/american-idol-spots...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons#Criticism_of_decli...

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#38

Post by sausagefeet »

jerf wrote: post #28

Surprised nobody else has said this in the three hours this has been up, but: Can I skip them? Are they just embedded into an mp4 file that otherwise has nothing special about them? Yeah, sure. Are they in some DRM'ed format with a player which mandates playing the ads without skipping? No, absolutely not. It's a null issue anyhow because it's not on the table. Everybody wants to stream you stuff so you can't keep it…

The main problem I see with not doing the latter option is targeting ads. You simply can't give the same ad to someone in Boston as you give to someone in LA.

Re: If TV Companies Released Authorized Torrents With Ads, Would You Download Them?

#39

Post by sausagefeet »

xenophanes wrote: post #30

It's the same as the answer to: Can I watch them in VLC? Also I'm not actually going to watch the ads. It's not very hard to skip ahead. So how much can they really be paid for those ads?

How is it different from a DVR?
Post reply on HN