Spring Break
The Daily OrangeBitTorrent offers means to download TV shows - just not legally
By Jared Novack
Posted: 4/13/05, 12:02 AM EST Section: News
There have been times when five to 10 users of ResNET were using 80 percent of the network to download shows, movies and applications. But Badman said CMS keeps no records whatsoever on what people download or upload to the network.
"Who's doing what, we could care less as long as they're not chocking the network," he said.
However, companies like BayTSP do care about users' Internet activity. The company monitors file-sharing protocols for TV networks, producers and other media companies.
BayTSP Spokesman Jim Graham said the firm monitors 3.5 to 5 million infringements per day.
"TV shows are definitely the hottest growth area for p2p," he said.
BayTSP traces the IP addresses of violators to their Internet service providers and sends a notice of illegal activity. Graham said his company alone sends about a million of these notices per month.
Badman said CMS had received some of these notices, at which point the student who possessed the IP in question was referred to judicial affairs.
"The ResNET environment is pretty much the Wild West," he said.
The legal alternative
Currently, there is no legal way offered by the networks to download these shows; nothing in the same vein as the iTunes music store.
"The networks are certainly capable of cluelessness," Thompson said. "For the last 30 years they've missed the boat plenty of times." Thompson believes the networks are working on a legal method to download shows, but doesn't expect to see it for another several years.
According to Jorge Gonzalez, co-founder of Zeropaid.com, a file-sharing portal, Fox is leading other networks in developing a legal alternative, but there's been no public result yet.
Scott Grogan, vice president of corporate communications for Fox Television, refused to comment on the network's plans saying, "If we were working on something, we certainly wouldn't tell the Syracuse (Daily) Orange."
Katie O'Connell, a vice president of Imagine Television, which produces one of the most pirated shows, "24," said she would welcome a legal solution to TV piracy.
"Who's doing what, we could care less as long as they're not chocking the network," he said.
However, companies like BayTSP do care about users' Internet activity. The company monitors file-sharing protocols for TV networks, producers and other media companies.
BayTSP Spokesman Jim Graham said the firm monitors 3.5 to 5 million infringements per day.
"TV shows are definitely the hottest growth area for p2p," he said.
BayTSP traces the IP addresses of violators to their Internet service providers and sends a notice of illegal activity. Graham said his company alone sends about a million of these notices per month.
Badman said CMS had received some of these notices, at which point the student who possessed the IP in question was referred to judicial affairs.
"The ResNET environment is pretty much the Wild West," he said.
The legal alternative
Currently, there is no legal way offered by the networks to download these shows; nothing in the same vein as the iTunes music store.
"The networks are certainly capable of cluelessness," Thompson said. "For the last 30 years they've missed the boat plenty of times." Thompson believes the networks are working on a legal method to download shows, but doesn't expect to see it for another several years.
According to Jorge Gonzalez, co-founder of Zeropaid.com, a file-sharing portal, Fox is leading other networks in developing a legal alternative, but there's been no public result yet.
Scott Grogan, vice president of corporate communications for Fox Television, refused to comment on the network's plans saying, "If we were working on something, we certainly wouldn't tell the Syracuse (Daily) Orange."
Katie O'Connell, a vice president of Imagine Television, which produces one of the most pirated shows, "24," said she would welcome a legal solution to TV piracy.
