Online distribution of digital cultural products : are legal distributors strong enough against piracy?

In 2012, the music industry is showing positive growth for the first time in fifteen years. The same year, Game of Thrones is declared the most pirated TV series with an average of 4.28 million illegal downloads for each episode. Ever since the creation of Napster in 1998, online piracy became a common practice which is weakly reprehended socially-speaking. The starting point for our work was Gabe Newell's idea that piracy is not a matter of price but a problem of service rendered to customers. Such an opinion orientates our work towards finding a solution against piracy thanks business. To find this possible solution we started with the evolution of open source software because the concept and its history brings us to the notion of copyleft and the creation of the Creative Commons. These ideas translate to new ways of sharing intellectual property. But to understand these notions correctly we need to explain how cultural works are protected by the law. Which is why we introduce author rights and copyrights in several countries. When we know how the law works and the tools that have been developed to simplify them, we can start giving examples of businesses which are distributing digital cultural products legally. But a comparison between both legal and illegal offers is necessary to explain why customers choose piracy. Thus, in addition to the market study of legal offers, we also study pirate offer. Such comparison showed that several factors make customers willing to break the law to access cultural products. With our study we analyze the factors that might help in justifying this choice

Esports events: classification and impact of business model of video games on size

Esports events are not commonly researched in academic literature. This research aims to provide a higher degree of understanding around esports, esports events and their size, and to develop a framework for future research. Video game business models are considered, as their link with esports is not often examined. Overwatch is also investigated as a case study of a single video game and its associated esport. The methodology employed is based on mixed methods. A pragmatic approach is utilised, adjusting the research philosophy based on the most suitable approach for each part of the study. The research design evolves based on the findings and the methods used in the previous chapters. Chapter 4 utilises a mixed methods approach, chapters 5 and 6 both use a quantitative method, before chapter 7 uses a qualitative, case study like technique. Chapter 4 explores the determination of a framework to measure size of events and such framework is created, with 1 event being classed as ''giga'', 16 as ''mega'', 15 as ''major'', and 11 as ''minor''. Chapter 5 undertakes a similar pursuit but utilising an index to rank sizes. There are no large differences in score or in class, and there is a high degree of correlation between the index and the classification from the previous chapter. Chapter 6 explores event size vs. video game business model, finding that events associated to buy-to-play and free-to-play games have a larger size than events associated to pay-to-pay games. Chapter 7 analyses Overwatch and concludes that a switch to a free-to-play model would be beneficial for Overwatch, and for its associated esport Overwatch League. A number of recommendations are made as a result of the research undertaken. Better collection and organisation of data on esports would be beneficial for future research. A centralised governing body would help with a number of aspects in esports. More research could be undertaken into business models, into the implication of choosing one over another and switching between them. A research centre at the European level would also be beneficial, as would the growth of formal structures around esports and esports research

Essays on the Economics of Telecommunications

My dissertation consists of three chapters on the economics of telecommunications. Chapter 1 studies how COVID-19 pandemic changed people's internet usage behavior by documenting both short-term and persistent changes in internet engagement using a novel panel of high-frequency household-level internet usage spanning 2020-2022. We find that Spring 2020 stay-at-home orders led to a dramatic increase in residential internet traffic, driven in part by the use of collaboration applications (e.g., Zoom), and other tools associated with access to the digital economy. We document changes in intertemporal usage patterns, time spent online, and bit rates across traffic categories. Finally, we compare behavioral changes in internet engagement by demographic segment, and discuss implications for broadband labels and the digital divide. Chapter 2 uses novel household-level data describing internet and TV usage, together with the timing of Kodi software adoption, to quantify damages from media piracy. We find that adoption does not harm paid over-the-top video providers. TV subscriptions decrease and internet-tier upgrades increase, resulting in a 1% reduction in payments to multiple-system operators (MSOs). MSO profits decrease if TV margins exceed 30%. These behavioral changes harm content providers reliant on MSOs for distribution via reduced licensing and advertising revenues. Chapter 3 develops a model of demand for mobile telecommunications with shared data allowances, and estimate it using individual-level plan and usage decisions. Using the model estimates we measure the biases in preference estimates that result from ignoring the strategic interaction between household members, and loss in consumer welfare due to over-consumption early in billing cycles.Doctor of Philosoph

What's Going on in Community Media

What's Going On in Community Media shines a spotlight on media practices that increase citizen participation in media production, governance, and policy. The report summarizes the findings of a nationwide scan of effective and emerging community media practices conducted by the Benton Foundation in collaboration with the Community Media and Technology Program of the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The scan includes an analysis of trends and emerging practices; comparative research; an online survey of community media practitioners; one-on-one interviews with practitioners, funders and policy makers; and the information gleaned from a series of roundtable discussions with community media practitioners in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Portland, Oregon

Toward an Ecology of Intellectual Property: Lessons from Environmental Economics for Valuing Copyright\u27s Commons

The fair use defense in copyright law shields an intellectual commons of protected uses of copyrighted material from infringement actions. In determining whether a given use is fair, courts must assess the new use\u27s potential effect on the market for the copyrighted work. Fair use jurisprudence too often fails to address the complementary, network, and long-range effects of new technologies on the market for copyrighted works. These effects parallel the indirect, direct, and option values of biodiversity recently recognized by environmental economists. Their sophisticated methods for valuing natural resources in tangible commons can inform legal efforts to address the intellectual commons\u27 effect on the market for copyrighted works

Online Distribution of English-Language TV in Mainland China

In the age of multiple screens, online video streaming has in the 2010s and present become the most significant way of consuming television content in mainland China. Among all the available content provided by Chinese streaming services, English-language television series stands out as an imported audio-visual product that is mainly distributed and circulated on the internet rather than television channels due to relevant media industry regulations and policies. Prior to landing on online streaming services as its legal distribution platform, English-language television series initially engendered its local audience base via informal distribution means, such as pirated DVDs and file-sharing and downloading websites; yet some of these informal services still exist in a grey area, since the content library formal streaming services possess is largely restricted in terms of size. From the perspective of media industry studies, this thesis deals with both formal and informal distribution platforms with a focus on formal distribution practices and the mechanisms behind them, which involve cultural, political and economic factors. This thesis first examines the streaming services themselves, studying distribution practices for American and British television series to understand the logic behind the localization of the business practices surrounding transnational television and to illustrate the features streaming services adopt to cater to online audiences based on local streaming consumption habits. The thesis then investigates how the current distribution pattern has been constructed by state supervision through cultural policies and censorship and by the historically dynamic relationship between formal distribution and informal distribution. I argue that the localized online distribution of English-language television series in mainland China is the result of the interplay among distributors’ business practices, Chinese authorities’ regulatory practices and Chinese viewers’ consumption habits and viewer practices. Putting the thesis in a global context, I contend that the development of online streaming technologies has created distinctive forms of media consumption in mainland China. Within the specific local political environment, the localized distribution pattern of transnational television content represents part of China’s response to the global television trade

P2PTV: Is it a feasible option for the television industry?

Peer-to-peer technology is a technology that uses a centralized system which usually carries a server/client relationship which is responsible for carrying the load of information for all connected clients. Peers from the peer-to-peer community connect to a central directory where they can publish information about the content they will offer the peers. In order to guide the research, there were three research questions that were focused on. Those questions were: 1. What are some of the possible uses for peer-to-peer television technology within the television industry? 2. What are some of the benefits and downfalls of peer-to-peer technology for the television industry? 3. How can peer-to-peer television technology change advertising revenue if involved in the television industry? Through these research questions, the results showed that there were many benefits and concerns for peer-to-peer technology being used within the television industry. Through the research it was also discovered that the internet service providers may also play a vital role in the regulation of the technology and how it is used.M.S., Television Management -- Drexel University, 201

The Uses and Gratifications of Streaming Live Linear Sports Networks Online

The streaming of live sports television channels online is changing how sports fans access live sports T.V. content. This new technology is becoming a greater challenge to traditional cable/satellite television services as Americans continue to cancel their cable services for new online streaming options. DirecTV Now, SlingTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, among others, are offering sports fans access to the most popular live national and regional sports T.V. networks online via live streaming, allowing them to bypass traditional cable. These new services provide subscribers’ access to their favorite channels anywhere and on any mobile, internet connected device. The purpose of this study was to explore the gratifications that are obtained by sports fans from using online live streaming for sports content. With online live streaming from over-the-top (OTT) services becoming a growing alternative to cable, this study wanted to examine the gratifications obtained from using these services and if the gratifications obtained are similar or different from gratifications obtained from previous television and internet research. The uses and gratifications theory was the theoretical framework for this study. A survey was commenced online using the Amazon M Turk platform (N = 300) to obtain data for this study. The results showed there is a significant relationship between viewer’s intentions and their use of online live streaming for sports content. Other variables examined including the convenience of use, viewing costs, perceived enjoyment, social benefits, and viewing quality may all affect their use of online streaming once the participant has decided to use these services. Other findings showed that the television/Smart T.V. is still the main source for viewing televised sport content. In addition, the results showed the most popular televised sports are also the most popular online with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and college football, all ranking as the most streamed sports. This study included a wide range of participants’ demographics, showing there is an interest in streaming sports among a variety of demographics