Hmm. Tanstaafl means there's no free lunch, right? Those broadcasts come with commercials. If someone distributes TV shows, they get less advertising dollars. Stations sell advertising based on how many people are watching shows. If nobody's tuned in, then nobody's going to advertise. If I can get an episode from my friend with no commercials to watch, you best believe I'm going to do it rather than have to tune in at a certain time and sit through the ads.

In reality, the networks don't give a damn if people watch Friends. They want people to watch the Ford and Budweiser and Burger King commercials which are in between Friends. So any "increased distribution" of the shows is irrelevant to their agenda unless the commercials are there.

I'm not calling those who share or skip commercials using the RTV 4000 evil, I'm just saying they're pirates by definition. They're obtaining something without "paying the piper" by sitting through commercials. But so is someone who flips over to a digital music channel, or someone who fast-forwards through them on their VCR, or someone who goes to the fridge while they're on. And as I've said, I am likely to put my name on the list for one of these things, as I think it's a cool device. But if I watch broadcast TV without watching the commercials, I am in some small way reducing their bottom line. Do I give a $hit? No. But do they have a legal case against the product I'm using? Hell yeah.

Yes I'm taking this definition of pirates literally, but that's what judges do in court, right?