Advanced Television

Research: More legal content services best way to counter piracy

November 5, 2010

The digital media industry needs to offer more legal ways to access content, such as streaming and micropayment systems, to overcome piracy, suggests research by BDRC Continental.

At the Media Research Group conference in Malta, director of media and Internet research James Myring presented the company’s first study of digital content piracy.

“If piracy is to be reduced, it can’t be through threats and sanctioning. Carrot and stick need to work together,” said director of media and Internet research James Myring. “The availability of legitimate alternatives like Spotify and other streaming sites has reduced piracy, our research indicates. Streaming sites are of interest to content owners because they don’t have to worry about losing control. The idea of keeping all their content in the cloud is appealing.’

“Users get annoyed by having on-demand stuff taken down after a week. They want content whenever and wherever they are. It’s reasons like this that prompt some to download illegally. The industry has much to do,” he added.

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Piracy, Research