Yet Another Byte (If major broadcasting companies released high quality TV show torrents WITH commercials in them, would you download those instead of commercial-free pirated ones?)

Comment Text If major broadcasting companies released high quality TV show torrents WITH commercials in them, would you download those instead of commercial-free pirated ones?

I thought I’d pick out some of the discussion around this topic that stood out to me.

I find I’m constantly defending myself when people ask why I download all my shows. I personally do it for the convenience of being able to watch them at my leisure.
~ Lope31 (Reddit OP)

The combination of RSS + BitTorrent […] a legal and useful way for TV broadcasters to embrace the internet with shows that had ads on them
~ Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

If you want me to watch your commercials, you need to sneak them in quietly. High volume, strobing bright colors, etc., will only get you skipped.
~ oditogre (Comment)

People […] really just hate bad advertising, and don’t realize that they actually like good advertising
~ Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

Or discussions about advertising… like The Gruen Transfer.

If ads are reasonably targeted and polite, I generally watch them without even thinking about it. I don’t mind leaving adblock off on sites like reddit, either. Polite, likely to be relevant to me…yeah, I’m ok with that. [I don’t like] LOUD (both in terms of audio and also visually) [ads, or ads that are] not relevant to me / things I have even a remote chance of spending money on in the foreseeable future.
~ oditogre (Comment)

Most pirates today aren’t pirating for any moral reason. The fact of the matter is that pirating is popular because it’s free and convenient. If the broadcasting companies meet those stipulations, they’re going to get a lot of support, mine included. Commercials aren’t a big deal.
~ masked_felix (Comment)

For me it is (I think) quite straightforward. I will watch video (purposefully a generic term - doesn’t need to be TV shows or movies) when I want to or am able to. I often simply can’t watch TV at certain times. I dislike or am not interested in most of what is on, anyway. Pirates are indeed simply underserved customers.