Trouble for BSkyB as '24' named most popular illegal TV download

The research shows that after '24', which stars Kiefer Sutherland as a government agent, other popular shows to download are 'The Simpsons', 'The OC' and 'Desperate Housewives'.

Fans of these shows who have high-speed internet connections are able to download episodes via file-share networks such as BitTorrent and eDonkey. High quality pirate versions are available on the internet within hours of being aired in the US and months before they are screened in the UK.

In the past 12 months, Envisional monitored illegal downloads of '24' and found numbers increasing from an average of 35,000 illegal downloads of each episode from series three, shown in 2003, to an average of 95,000 downloads of each episode from the new series, an increase of more than 150%. Downloads of 'Desperate Housewives' have shot up, from 40,000 of episode one to more than 60,000 for the most recent episode.

Ben Coppin, chief operating officer at Envisional, said: "The internet is revolutionising how people watch, obtain, and view television programmes. It's now as easy to download a pirate TV show as it is to programme a VCR.

"While this brings immense power to the TV viewer, questions must be asked about how television studios and networks will survive when the advertising so essential to supporting them is deleted and syndication fees are affected."

He said television companies should consider following the lead of music companies by making programmes available to download at a small cost, to avoid losing their audiences to free, unregulated delivery.

The full report on television piracy can be ordered <a href="http://www.envisional.com/tv_piracy.htm>here</a>.

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