Downloading TV shows is a complex legal issue, depending on the source of the file, copyright status, and country of residence. Fair use laws in the US allow for limited copying and sharing of copyrighted material, but downloading may still be illegal. Networks generally discourage downloading, except when they make the show available themselves or when the copyright owners have released the material for free distribution. The future may bring a more acceptable and profitable medium for distributing all TV content.
Whether or not it’s legal to download TV shows depends on several factors and is an evolving area of law that is catching up with technology. A lot depends on the source of the file, the copyright status of the show, and the country where you live. In many cases it is the provider who uploads the show to the internet who is breaking the law by illegally distributing copyrighted content, but it can also be illegal to download television programmes.
Within United States copyright law is a “fair use” law that basically allows a person to restrictively copy or share copyrighted material for occasional use in limited circumstances. For example, if you buy a book and have your neighbor read it when you’re done, that’s considered fair use. Fair use also allows you to copy songs from legally purchased CDs to create your own personal music compilation. Similarly, it’s also legal to make a “hard copy” (videotape or digital recording) of your favorite show as it streams to your television. Fair use does not permit redistribution or sale of copyrighted materials.
Based on the precedence of fair use, some argue that it is legal to download TV shows that have already aired in your home. The problem with this argument, as seen by copyright holders, is twofold. First, downloaders may not pay for content at home. Secondly, copyright holders hope to sell the licensing rights for television programs in other countries. When the episodes end up on the internet, the series essentially becomes free to the world, violating distribution and copyright laws.
For these reasons, networks generally do not want consumers to download television programs, regardless of a downloader’s perceived status, real or imagined, of acting fairly under the law. The only virtual exception is if the network makes the show itself available, which is increasingly done through websites like Hulu, owned by NBC and News Corp.
Premium cable networks like Home Box Office (HBO) and Showtime have uploaded episodes of original series to build interest in subscription services. Many free-to-air broadcasters also make TV content available for download, such as the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). It is completely legal to download TV shows from these original sources for personal use.
It is also legal to download TV shows when the copyright owners have released material for free distribution. This is sometimes the case with earlier series which have long been licensed internationally and have no further distribution value.
It seems likely that the Internet of the future will play a role in distributing all television content through a medium that is acceptable and profitable for copyright holders and convenient for consumers. Meanwhile, if you want to download TV shows that you don’t already pay for at home (or get free-to-air), it’s likely illegal unless the source is the network that produced the show or a licensed distributor. If you get the show at home but the network doesn’t deliver it online, the source is likely illegal.
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