Channel Five is to become the first broadcaster in the UK to offer parts of its shows for download on the Internet. Viewers of the show Fifth Gear will be able to download can reviews for about £1.50 in DVD quality. Producers said reviews of 12 cars such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari F430 would be available to buy as downloads from Monday. The market for legal downloads has become huge but most TV companies have not taken advantage of it just yet. In Britain, large amounts of P2P users illegally download TV shows every day.
The will also make available their "shoot-outs" which is where they race similar cars. The technology for the service is being provided by 7 Digital, who has said TV companies were increasingly keen to make money using the Internet. "Broadcasters have seen the revenues attainable from music downloads and are eager to do the same with their own content." Managing director Ben Drury said, "TV footage can work so much harder for broadcasters, with the internet now a commercially sound distribution channel."
Web tracking company Envisional recently made a report that showed UK TV show downloaders were responsible for about 18% of the total figure of illegal downloads including shows like 24, Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under. The report said that an episode of 24 was downloaded about 100,000 times completely and about 20,000 of those downloaders were in the UK.
Source:
BBC News
Web tracking company Envisional recently made a report that showed UK TV show downloaders were responsible for about 18% of the total figure of illegal downloads including shows like 24, Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under. The report said that an episode of 24 was downloaded about 100,000 times completely and about 20,000 of those downloaders were in the UK.
Source:
BBC News
