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Comment by ajtaylor | Hacker News Reader

I've been in Australia for nearly a year now, and the dearth of movies/videos available to buy/rent here is astounding. If you're lucky, a TV show will be re-broadcast here a year after it airs elsewhere. But the channel will probably butcher it with editing and additional commercials.

After talking with friends here, I can honestly say if the content was legally available the studios would have many, many customers. And please don't try to charge us 25% more. We know all about buying online and do price comparisons.

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Spot on. Piracy is not because people are not willing to pay, it is because it is the only option to get content without waiting months after it's US release. When is Game of Thrones on Aussie TV? I would pay $5 to download each episode legit, if I could.

> When is Game of Thrones on Aussie TV? I would pay $5 to download each episode legit, if I could.

Not at all, unfortunately. Even shows like Mad Men are a year behind[1] at best. If you're even remotely interested in these shows, the huge delay--and eventual risk of spoilers--is incredibly frustrating.

I'd love to be able to buy a season pass on iTunes or subscribe to an IPTV channel/service if it mean I could watch these shows on the "same day" (i.e. within 24 hours) as US viewers.

[1]: http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/madmen/

Exactly, therefore torrent gets a workout and I watch Game of Thrones the day after it is televised in the US.

Television stations and cable providers are locked into a business model based on selling advertising, not programming. They don't want your $5. They want you to watch ads. They want to charge millions for those ads.

The problem is people don't want to watch ads, and people don't' want to have to schedule their lives around a television show. If you can't time-shift it and skip commercials, what are your legal options? Wait four years for the DVD to show up in your region? That's hardly an efficient marketplace.

If these dinosaur companies could get the rights to sell the content directly to consumers, per-episode, the would make a lot more money in the long run. People that ditch their cable television for cable internet would be paying for content directly, not torrenting everything out of necessity.

It's not on TV. But it is on torrents and Usenet. And a surprising number of people know exactly what to do. I've even considered buying season subscriptions from iTunes, etc and then downloading the ripped versions. This would sooth my conscience AND let me use the content how/where I want. But iTunes is such a ripoff in AU, compared to the US, that I can't make myself purchase anything. sigh

Not to mention there would still be the legal argument that you helped the spread of illegal content.

Apple tv has the entire season up for grabs for about 20 bucks or so.... do your research.

I just checked the iTunes AU store. Yes, the season pass is available but it's only SD quality. Thanks, but I'll pass.

Buy Foxtel for $80/month and you'll get it (about a week after the US)

"you'll get it (about a week after the US)" - theres the problem right there.

Get a US iTunes account. $2.99 for new TV episodes, soon after they air, in 1080p HD. And a much larger selection of movies too.

Granted that doesn't solve the problem, but it's convenient, cheap, and at least I'm giving SOMETHING to studios and artists.

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