Twelve Billion Pirated Videos Last Year

Only fifteen percent of all videos downloaded in 2008 were legal.

Twelve Billion, that’s twelve, followed by nine zeros. Twelve billion videos were illegally downloaded last year, according to Ben Drawbaugh of Engadget making up around 85 percent of all videos downloaded. The reasons are plenty, though the main points seem to be the extreme DRM placed on most downloads, and the availability of movies and television shows.

It seems the television industry is going to have to adapt even more than it has if it wants to curtail piracy. Streaming shows next day on Hulu is a nice start, but for those more concerned about quality than instant access, there needs to be an option. That means giving viewers access.

Pay attention industry folks, the consumer is telling you what they want. They don’t mind waiting for a download if it’s going to be a quality picture and DRM free.