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.
Those 76,000 viewers won’t be with him in Court.
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.
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.
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?
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.
I’d like to reply, but I’m off to Coles to steal this weeks groceries.
At least you’re not illegally downloading them.
I need to borrow a car for the weekend.
Anyone have Darren Sharpe’s address?
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
Hmmmm, not sure it’s an Australian thing per se. Ever travelled to Asia and seen the number of pirated DVDs for sale?
Bravo, well said!
Regardless the opinion of the company/service provider, it’s still illegal.
The fight, not “the match”
Hi Dylan,
I’m pretty sure you do get boxing matches…
Cheers,
Tim – MUmbrella
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.
Sorry, but only when I stream more on a weekend than watch broadcast will streaming have ‘come of age’
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.
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 😉
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…
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.
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