EZTV has been the leading TV-torrent distribution group for over a year now. They collect and distribute the TV-torrents, that find their way to millions of people every week. TorrentFreak has conducted an interview with Boggibill, one of the EZTV crew members, to find out a little more about them. Here's a taster:

TorrentFreak: Do you think that distributing these (copyrighted) shows is morally wrong? That is, do you consider sharing shows to be the same as stealing?

Boggibill: In no way is this wrong. There is absolutely no way what we are doing would have any negative effect on the TV industry whatsoever - I'd refer you to an "old" Piracy Is Not A Crime article on TV torrents, but I'll just give you the short version here. The Nielsen ratings system, from which all TV companies make their money, is based on so-called "Nielsen families" that have a special box attached to their TV sets. This box basically reports what they are viewing, and Nielsen then "blows up" the numbers to account for the whole population. It is an idiotic system, but IMO it works to our advantage (and the TV industry's) - the chances of one of the Nielsen families being an active user on our site is *low*. This means that our download numbers will have absolutely no negative impact on the ratings.

TorrentFreak: What do you think the future of TV, and TV-torrents will look like?

Boggibill: I think BitTorrent.com is on to something. Right now, their biggest issue - possibly the only significant one - is the DRM one. Of course, this is "the big one" isn't it... but yes, I do believe we will see more "legal" alternatives in the future. The torrent model is the most efficient distribution model available, it is just a matter of time before the industry realize this. Another solution with a lot of potential is Joost, that one will be interesting to follow.

Ed.note: Don't understand why the networks just don't release their own versions of these television shows shortly after they are aired. Make them commercial free but stick a little water mark on the lower right hand corner of the screen with ad for Snickers or Budweiser or whatever. The water marks could switch after a certain time interval. If a company wants their advertisement on the screen for a longer period of time, they pay more money. This would also cut the costs of the advertiser's by eliminating the need for filming expensive commercials.