Update from 2024: wow, we certainly fixed this problem. Then broke it even harder.

Why the networks have lost the copyright battle, in a nutshell.

http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/01/01/Getting-Lost

Tim Bray wants to watch episodic TV without commercials, and on his own schedule. He’s willing to pay, but being in Canada, nobody is willing (or able) to sell to him. The best way to obtain TV shows this way is, unfortunately, BitTorrent.

In both Canada and the United States, the networks are hurting financially. This market may not be huge, but it is untapped and easy to cater to. Other companies are making a respectable living catering to niche markets (cough-Apple-cough :), and this would be relatively high-margin added revenue.

I don’t think the networks are going to figure this out, of course…