GECs
Content piracy on a rise in the United States
NEW DELHI: Content piracy is not declining and is still a very serious ongoing threat to copyright owners, according to findings from Rightscorp, a provider of monetisation services for artists and holders of copyrighted intellectual property (IP).
Rightscorp’s chief executive officer Christopher Sabec and president and chief operating officer Robert Steele presented key market findings at the 5th Annual Content Protection Summit 2014 during a discussion that tackled the issue of whether piracy is on the decline titled, ‘Is The Piracy Threat Decreasing? What Content Owners Need To Know Now.’
It presented an overview of the landscape of piracy from a past, present and future perspective. In the presentation, Sabec and Steele highlighted that in the United States, peer-to-peer file sharing grew 18 per cent from 2010 to 2013 on a data traffic basis.
Estimates show that over 2 billion units of movies were shared in 2013. Rightscorp estimated that music consumption on file sharing networks grew from 2.7 billion digital songs in 2010 to 8.3 billion digital songs shared in 2013.
Rightscorp also estimated that approximately 74 per cent of digital music was consumed on file sharing networks in 2013 without compensation to the copyright owners. In addition, the presentation forecast a 40 per cent increase in peer-to-peer file sharing by 2018, which includes 11.9 billion songs and over 3 billion movies illegally downloaded. Rightscorp’s estimates were based on source data from Cisco, Envisional, and Netnames.
“We have heard many people state that they believed that piracy was decreasing in the United States. We have now presented our analysis that piracy has only increased across every industry since 2010,” stated Steele.
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
