A week ago, Fox began to delay posting its shows online for eight days after they aired on television. Effective Aug. 15, unless users have a subscription to Hulu Plus or DISH Network, they’ve got to wait more than a week to watch shows like Glee or The Simpsons. According to TorrentFreak, this delay has caused a spike in piracy of Fox programs.
TorrentFreak said it tracked two Fox shows on BitTorrent for the first week the delay has been in effect. In the first five days, downloads for the latest episode of Hell’s Kitchen increased by 114 percent compared to the first three episodes of the season and downloads for MasterChef increased by 189 percent.
In the past, Fox shows were generally posted online 24 hours after they were broadcast on TV. TorrentFreak cites lack of availability as a reason viewers turn to alternative sources. That Fox has stopped making its shows available online in just a day doesn’t mean people will stop watching these shows, but that they’ll find them through other channels, TorrentFreak says.
The previously mentioned shows aren’t the only ones Fox has delayed; viewers also have to wait eight days to watch programs including Bones and Family Guy.
Although channels like ESPN already have authentication services, Fox is the first broadcast network to go down this road.
“We are continually looking at opportunities to provide our pay television distributors with content and products that enhance the value of pay television to subscribers,” Michael Hopkins, president of Affiliate Sales and Marketing at Fox Networks said when the plan was announced. “Our new authentication service will continue to provide next-day access to Fox broadcast shows for our viewers who subscribe to participating pay television subscribers.”
Has the Fox delay caused you to turn to other sources for your favorite shows? Let us know in the comments.