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Big entertainment has been trying to restrict the distribution of movies online since that became possible, how's that going for them?

wpietri 6d ago
Pretty well, honestly. Somebody with both technical knowledge and familiarity with a particular subculture can get access to entertainment videos with some work. But they've managed to keep piracy economically negligible. Basically everybody uses streaming services, 90% of US households pay for at least 1, and the average household pays for 4. [1] Brand was wrong. Information doesn't want to be free, just cheap. [1] https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/how-much-us-households-spend-streaming-video-deloitte-study-1236694151/ https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/how-much-us-households-spen...
- Marha01 6d ago
  This is only the case because streaming services today are so cheap and convenient. Jack up the price, or decrease the convenience, and see people sail the high seas en masse again..
  - LogicFailsMe 6d ago
    Indeed, the origin stories of these streaming services are deeply intertwined with combating piracy if you go back 20+ years. And I agree, if they outlaw open weight models, then only outlaws will have open weight models. But good luck finding and prosecuting the outlaws beyond a few whales.
- 998244353 6d ago
  You can watch a lot of TV series online on some random pirate sites by simply googling "show x free online". It doesn't even require the relatively simple technical knowledge of using a BitTorrent client.
mitxela 6d ago
Quite well. Lots of people in jail and it's quite obscure how to download movies as a casual.
ThrowawayR2 6d ago
The long term trend seems to be in their favor as governments want to include more traceability and ability to shut down sites into the Internet for their own reasons which will help the entertainment industry as a byproduct. Plus they can use LLMs just as much as anyone else in their quest to build better roadblocks.

wpietri 6d ago

Pretty well, honestly. Somebody with both technical knowledge and familiarity with a particular subculture can get access to entertainment videos with some work. But they've managed to keep piracy economically negligible. Basically everybody uses streaming services, 90% of US households pay for at least 1, and the average household pays for 4. [1] Brand was wrong. Information doesn't want to be free, just cheap. [1] https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/how-much-us-households-spend-streaming-video-deloitte-study-1236694151/ https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/how-much-us-households-spen...

Marha01 6d ago
This is only the case because streaming services today are so cheap and convenient. Jack up the price, or decrease the convenience, and see people sail the high seas en masse again..
- LogicFailsMe 6d ago
  Indeed, the origin stories of these streaming services are deeply intertwined with combating piracy if you go back 20+ years. And I agree, if they outlaw open weight models, then only outlaws will have open weight models. But good luck finding and prosecuting the outlaws beyond a few whales.
998244353 6d ago
You can watch a lot of TV series online on some random pirate sites by simply googling "show x free online". It doesn't even require the relatively simple technical knowledge of using a BitTorrent client.

mitxela 6d ago

Quite well. Lots of people in jail and it's quite obscure how to download movies as a casual.

ThrowawayR2 6d ago

The long term trend seems to be in their favor as governments want to include more traceability and ability to shut down sites into the Internet for their own reasons which will help the entertainment industry as a byproduct. Plus they can use LLMs just as much as anyone else in their quest to build better roadblocks.