The downloading generation

There is a consistent trend of people downloading whole seasons of TV shows aired in the US and the
reason is the time lag caused by syndication issues .
But basically, it is an illegal means to acquire TV and movie programming content.
Broadcast programs are every bit as copyrighted as a show on HBO or a movie in a theater.

The downloaders are fully aware what they are upto. It is not a case of ignorance being bliss;
They know fully well that the downloading of seasons is illegal but don't have the patience to wait 6-8 months for the programs to air in India, and the TV shows here are
way behind schedule .With torrent downloads, they get immediacy and continuity in seasons, and there is no reliance on (English Channels)STAR WORLD,AXN ,HBO or ZEE Cafe.

Just to cite an example,Prison Break fans won’t wait for Star World to air the final season of Prison Break to know what happens to Michael Scofield. Star World incidentally has started airing Prison Break with extended ads noticing viewers that they get the previous seasons on its website.
They are not interested ,cos you are 8 months late. Prison Break concluded in summer 09’.

Downloaders can watch these seasons at convenience, as the whole seasons gets downloaded in a day! Importantly, they can do away with the ads .A one hour drama has only 40-42 minutes original
running time and a half an hour sitcom gets over in 20-22 minutes, it saves time !And what’s more, it is all HDTV quality.

What's also true is that there is so much at offer from American Television with great shows like True Blood,Weeds,Dexter,The Office which often don't air here regularly ,but are popular with the downloading generation. People were getting tired of the re-runs too.

The Oscar nominated movies were already on their laptops before they released in India .These guys are extremely aware and believe in getting the content pronto. The urban youth, the downloading generation, now has the broadband at its disposal and therefore is not shying away from getting content that may never air in India because of several reasons like censorship, TV rights or absent mindedness of the English channels.

But for all the advantages, the downloads are still illegal.
A copy is only legal if it comes from the original in your possession, be it a CD, DVD, or a TV signal you receive in your home, broadcast or pay, which in this case will be viewers with a set top box in the US. Copyright law have what they call a first source doctrine. Shows downloaded from torrent sites are illegal because they weren't recorded from your cable or antenna connection. Also if you are downloading in the Indian subcontinent, there's an added infringement of the content crossing the country of origin, usually the US, UK or Canada. If you are thinking that because they were broadcasted they are in some sort of public domain, you are wrong.