Pirates and Streamers

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Does Netflix kill piracy or just use it?

Netflix has never been the only available way to have movies instantaneously stream, no, as long as the internet has been around in public hands, piracy has been an issue. It use to happen behind closed doors, in subforums of subforms. But recently, piracy has been talked about from Reddit to Facebook, people openly discussing illegal activities. Activities that Netflix has to compete with.

But Netflix isn't just a competitor. For some torrent site, Netflix has been almost a death sentence. BitTorrent, another popular piracy site, drops 50% when Netflix enters a new country. And this happens because Netflix approaches the problem not by hunting them down. But from what services they offer.

Yes, the popular streaming service goes after rights and licenses from whatever's popular in a country. However they also go after a different list; top torrented shows and movies. By doing this they've helped eliminate a lot of piracy though one site is still sitting strong. Popcorn time.

They have a similiar formatting to Netflix, easy to navigate, simple streaming, their own torrenting guide. And this, not HBO, not Amazon Prime, but this illegal little site is it's biggest competitor. Especially when you take a look at this internet popularity chart.

What's even more ironic is on Popcorn Time's most downloaded lists are loads of Netflix original series, including House of Cards.

Questions to further research

How do VPNs hurt Netflix?

Are TV networks taking cues from Netflix?

How do Netflix original series happen?