Piracy to Survive the Age of Streaming

Streaming services won’t kill piracy, claims research.

17:49 04 December 2017

Streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, have become more and more popular in recent years. These services provide unlimited access to several old TV shows and films for a flat monthly fee. Many people see them as alternative to illegal downloads but research has found that legal streaming services are not making enough impact on the fight against piracy.

 

A study carried out by Carnegie Mellon University and Universidade Católica Portuguesa in partnership with an unnamed telecommunications company found that having access to streaming services is not enough for people to stop illegally downloading TV shows, films, and sporting events.

 

The study, which was meant to see if levels of BitTorrent piracy would decrease when legal alternatives were on offer, was participated by thousands of BitTorrent users. Half of the participants were offered a free 45-day subscription to a premium streaming service.

 

Researchers found that although the participants ended up streaming more, there was no significant change to the amount of torrenting they did. The major reason is because streaming services do not offer new titles that can be illegally downloaded online.