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Tv-links.co.uk shut down
By Chris | October 20, 2007
A popular British website that linked to streaming videos of television shows and movies was shut down on Friday. I was introduced to the site as an undergraduate while working as a night auditor at a hotel in my college town. My coworkers would use the site to catch the latest episode of “House” when there was a lull at work. I wasn’t particularly impressed with site as links were often dead (having been shut down for violating copyright) and the quality of videos was poor. I much preferred to watch a TV show through the video feed of its respective network’s website.
While piracy on a large scale likely reduces industry profits and the incentive for innovation, it also fills demand that would otherwise go unmet. Many of the links on the tv-links.co.uk were for shows that are no longer, or very rarely, on the air. For example, past shows that aren’t out on DVD such as “The Wonder Years” are virtually impossible to watch legally. When their is no legal venue to view a show, piracy may be illegal and/or immoral, but it’s probably not inefficient.
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