How Facebook and Twitter have turned the Australian public into pirates
Live video streaming came of age in Australia at the weekend. And its impact on traditional broadcasters is only just beginning, argues Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes
This weekend, my habits reached a tipping point.
For the first time, I watched more streamed video than I did traditional broadcast television.
On Friday night, alerted by gleeful comments from friends on Facebook, I joined thousands of Aussies watching a Brisbane mechanic troll a Foxtel executive while live streaming boxing.
On Saturday, I watched from my sofa the Bruce Springsteen concert, live from AAMI Park in Melbourne.
And on Sunday, I rewatched Em Rusciano’s live stream from the interval at Book Of Mormon which included an exquisitely awkward (and amusing) moment when she found herself filming her predecessor in the 2Day FM breakfast chair, Sam Frost, without her knowledge.
First, to the boxing.
With Foxtel charging home pay-per-view customers $59.95 – and bars and hotels a lot more – the match was always going to be an obvious target for piracy.
But what has changed in recent months is just how easy it has become.
Last week was only the first anniversary of Facebook Live becoming available to all users.
Taking its cues from Twitter’s streaming service, Periscope, Facebook Live demands almost no technical skill to become a live broadcaster (or in the case of the boxing, rebroadcaster). And for the viewer, it’s even easier.
And this is the crucial threat to the traditional broadcasting system. Previously, a viewer needed a modicum of technical knowledge to find pirated content, whether movies, TV dramas, music or TV sport. And the pirate uploader needed a little more again. Not a huge amount, but enough to be a slight impediment.
Now it’s so easy that the technical barrier has vanished; and with the disappearance of the need for VPNs or an understanding of how peer-to-peer services work, the moral barrier has dropped too.
I’ve never been a fan of the hypocrisy behind piracy from people who think of themselves as fans.
I’ve always paid to watch the likes of Game Of Thrones or Better Call Saul. I don’t think I’ve deliberately watched a pirated episode of something in my life. As I’ve written previously, it’s self interest – if we don’t pay for this stuff as viewers, then eventually the business model that funds the creation of expensive shows dries up, and they don’t get made.
But at the weekend, without really thinking about it, I crossed to the other side.
It was too easy to follow the Facebook link and become one of the hundreds of thousands who watched Darren Sharpe teasing the Foxtel rep as he broadcast the phone call asking him to stop streaming.
(It would also, incidentally, be interesting to know what the legalities were around streaming the phone call without the Foxtel exec’s permission, let alone the match.)
And this one, shut down just before the card got to the main fight, was simply the highest profile of several who actually streamed the whole thing.
But what is going to make for an interesting Monday morning in the offices of Foxtel’s PR team is what they decide to do about it. The Australian public like a Robin Hood figure, and taking extreme legal action – which the company has threatened – will turn Sharpe and his compadres into exactly that.
Sharpe has started a GoFundMe crowd funding page, which has already raised $3,000 at the time of writing, towards any legal defence against Foxtel.
Public sentiment seems to be on his side. There are plenty of people who enjoy watching Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp get a bloody nose. “Legend” was the most common comment I saw appearing on the live stream.
Whereas I had no real interest in the boxing, and didn’t bother to seek out another stream when Sharpe’s ended, on Saturday, I was far more of a hypocrite.
In an act of self-justification, I told myself that as a fan, I’d paid enough – I’ve bought tickets to several of the other gigs of the tour. And if there had been a high quality stream, I’d have been willing to pay for it. But there wasn’t.
Yet really, that’s only a justification. And it’s the same one I’ve heard Game Of Thrones torrenters make. “Foxtel’s too expensive – if it was reasonably priced, I’d pay for it”.
Legally and morally, it’s the right of the content owner to decide who to share it with, and for how much.
The person streaming that concert had no right to do so, fan or not. Twitter’s Periscope had no right to deliver it. The band and promoter Frontier Touring received no income from it.
But in the end, I couldn’t resist, mainly because it was so easy. I clicked on a link, and there it was.
And this ease is what makes Facebook Live and Periscope so dangerous for the likes of News Corp’s Foxtel, along with the other broadcasters. If you thought News Corp hated Facebook before, you’ve seen nothing yet.
The legalities of live streaming somebody else’s content – by the way, mostly remain untested in court but fairly clear. As far as I can tell, since Facebook Live came along there hasn’t yet been a court case in Australia of a content owner going after somebody who has streamed to an audience. But it’s likely that the law would make it easier to go after the streamer than the technology provider.
The principles of the law are not much different to those who share files of TV shows or movies in a non-live format. Except that with streaming the viewer would, I suspect, be in the clear when watching content on a mainstream service like Facebook or Periscope.
It would be almost impossible for a content owner to demonstrate that the viewer knew it to be unlicensed content when they consumed it.
But beyond sharing other people’s content, live streaming on Facebook and Twitter (and let’s not forget that Youtube has big plays in this field, too) is changing the game.
Broadcast personalities are using it in all sorts of innovative ways, particularly with Facebook, which is the only service to crack the problem of delivering a near-instant live audience because its users are on it virtually all the time. Hit Network’s Hamish & Andy, Sunrise’s Sam Mac and Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa are among those doing interesting things with video.
Even before she got the 2Day FM gig, Em Rusciano was building up a huge following on Facebook.
As she demonstrated this weekend, even a quick chat to the camera at the Book Of Mormon interval drinks can deliver 27,000 views – in large part because that live element makes the viewer feel like anything might happen.
The devilment on Rusciano’s face as she mentions “The media are going to pick up on the fact that I just filmed Sam…” is a great example. It was an amusing micro-moment, that wouldn’t even be relevant except when filmed live.
(Originally, by the way, at this point in the post, I’d embedded that Em Rusciano video. But just before I hit publish, it seemed to have been deleted…)
The simplicity of the technology is what is breaking the old model – in the same way file sharing service Napster destroyed the model for the music industry before legal action shut it down in 2001.
And this is where the broadcasters and rights owners will need to focus their efforts if they are to stand any chance of hanging on to their models – not on fans like Darren Sharpe or Flamingo Lane, but on those who provide the technology to facilitate it.
Not, by the way, that I think they stand much chance of success.
And the more legal action they take, then the greater the publicity for the services in question.
Instead though, if they want to take the public with them, they may need to find a new model – just as the music companies have with iTunes, Pandora, Spotify and the rest.
I suspect that we’ll see rights holders getting more and more into bed with the streaming service, not because they necessarily want to, but because they’ll have to.
And this was the weekend that streaming went mainstream.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Those 76,000 viewers won’t be with him in Court.
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I love this.
How did the guy get contacted by Foxtel?
If someone set up an anonymous account and streamed live events, technically there would be no way to identify/contact them, right?
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I’d like to reply, but I’m off to Coles to steal this weeks groceries.
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I need to borrow a car for the weekend.
Anyone have Darren Sharpe’s address?
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Until media providers give people affordable, high definition access without DRM, forcing people to sign up to ridiculous apps, subscriptions and additional crap you don’t want, then it will still happen.
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Back in the early 2000’s I remember the hue and cry from the FTA networks when Foxtel decided to re-broadcast the FTA signals on their cable channels. Ultimately FTA lost that battle. If I remember correctly Foxtel argued that once the signals were in the public domain they could re-transmit with impunity.
This re-transmission is only different in the sense that Foxtel is a paid service and only available to subscribers. But what if instead of re-transmitting they invited 75,000 to their place to watch it. Highly impractical I know, but what if….?
As far as the live performance is concerned, cameras have been banned from concerts for years. As mobile phones get better and better camera technology, are we approaching an era when mobile phones will be banned from venues too.
We certainly live in an interesting age
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At least you’re not illegally downloading them.
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Once the broadcast begun you were not able to buy into the fight, Foxtel were offering a replay at a later time.
Anyone who was going to pay for the match would’ve done so before the Facebook streams started popping up.
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Was I the only one that streamed to watch biggest show ever watched on B.E.T *The New Edition Story* attracting over 90 millions viewers?.
Foxtel Exec: Who is New Edition & what is B.E.T?
Me: Good luck with that lawsuit!
#SaveBlackberry
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The answer is it was “convenience” and therefore of no real value nor of any real loss to the FTA channels (i.e. doesn’t matter to them how someone watches their show).
http://www.copyright.org.au/ac.....nnels.aspx
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They can flash up a service number in the screen in any spot. Match the number to one that’s being streamed and you know your user/box.
This is how they nabbed all the streamers on Friday. Naturally their job was a bit easier as they could lock down a location based on FB profile.
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Correct, they may call him “Legend” but they will drop him like a ton of bricks and not care and move on to the next free thing in life.
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It seems to be the “Australian Way” in that if an intangible product is perceived to be unreasonably priced or that the company which produces it is perceived to have an ongoing PR problem then it is OK to steal that product. What then follows are a litany of pathetic and legally irrelevant excuses including a complete lack of any willpower whatsoever to justify participation in the theft. Well done Australians. An outpost for criminals in 1788. Still an outpost for criminals in 2017. Awesome. I hate Foxtel too. I have found their customer service to be terrible and their products to be over-priced compared to alternatives such as Netflix and Fetch. None of this things give me any justification whatsoever to steal Foxtel’s content or to watch that same content that others have stolen. If you can’t afford to pay or don’t want to, just don’t watch it at all. It really is that simple.
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That’s only one part of the equation though.
We don’t know how many people planned to try to watch the Green vs Mundine fight for free via streaming, meaning they held off buying the package. Or those who were going to use some kind of third-party access (i.e. a sports bar showing the fight) but decided to stay at home and watch the stream for free.
If people start thinking they can rely on streaming then demand for Foxtel’s package decreases, not only among residential customers but among businesses who use the PPV events to attract customers. That’s what Foxtel wants to avoid.
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The fight, not “the match”
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Hi Dylan,
I’m pretty sure you do get boxing matches…
Cheers,
Tim – MUmbrella
Hmmmm, not sure it’s an Australian thing per se. Ever travelled to Asia and seen the number of pirated DVDs for sale?
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Bravo, well said!
Regardless the opinion of the company/service provider, it’s still illegal.
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Good one Tim.
Some interesting provocation here. I think that the Telco’s and ISP’s could be the ones to police this (if they really want to) and it’s also likely why they’re getting in on the live sports content themselves.
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Sorry, but only when I stream more on a weekend than watch broadcast will streaming have ‘come of age’
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It’s about time someone reminded Foxtel that we’re in the 21st century. Their product is overpriced and in my opinion a load of shite. We’ll see more of this behaviour… after all, it’s the Australian way 😉
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I don’t know anyone under 40 who doesn’t stream more than they watch broadcast. Why do we keep propping up archaic business models with outdated laws… Foxtel is done.
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Hey what are you gonna do? Fame is Fleeting! Its not like he is going to end up being bitter about the hollow nature of fans in an Andrew Denton interview.
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Totes agree!
Overpriced, terrible quality (unless you pay more).
I used to love piracy, but I have found over the years the legitimate alternatives are worth paying for.
Wouldn’t go without Spotify and Netflix now.
If only I could just pay for the NRL etc and steam to my TV in HD without any tie ins to hardware or providers…
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Agreed with you both. Bobby you make a very good point. Music, books and films can pretty much be streamed and downloaded to any device, through a variety of platforms these days. This is because these industries can see the benefit in scale and giving users what they want and as we progress through the years: what users demand. Business has always and will always be about supply and demand. Sport is a no brainer and we will see the ability, in the not too distant future to subscribe to day the EPL on YouTube, or Apple, or Amazon. Great platforms, that are fast and the user gets the platform that they use regularly, can navigate with their eyes closed, the one they trust. Goodbye Foxtel.
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Well what do you know: https://mumbrella.com.au/google-announces-youtube-tv-offering-live-television-unlimited-recording-space-35-per-month-429743#comment-1201316
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