Via EHomeUpgrade, the MPAA is filing lawsuits against BitTorrent directory providers who list links to downloadable files to television programming. According to MPAA Chief Executive Officer Dan Glickman:

“Every television series depends on other markets (such as) syndication and international sales to earn back the enormous investment required to produce the comedies and dramas we all enjoy. Those markets are substantially hurt when that content is stolen.”

I’m not sure why a BitTorrent directory website is any different than google except that google is big enough to fight back.

Copyright issues aside, BitTorrent of television shows is a great resource for downloading and viewing programming your DVR didn’t catch. For some series that require context to get emotionally involved in the show, downloading old episodes let new potential viewers catch up and become regular viewers, so in some ways it stimulates more viewing as opposed to hurting their investments.

That being said, it’s still not the optimal way of getting old programming content and instead of hiring a bunch of lawyers, I wish the MPAA would acknowledge the demand BitTorrent has unearthed for old content. It’s not rocket science to provide the content online with DRM safeguards, and if there is truth to the theory of the long tail, there is a huge market by providing access to every episode of Joanie loves Chachi, let alone every episode of Lost, Alias, or American Idol. I’d be happy to pay a monthly fee to be able to more easily download old episodes of shows that I missed the first time around.

I believe a ubiquitous and easy online service at a low monthly cost would likely be more effective than litigating to stop the distribution of television programming via BitTorrent. Of course, then the MPAA would be making money for the industry instead of spending it on lawyers.