Pirate TV downloads on the rise

A massive rise in illegal downloads of television programmes from the internet is revealed today.

New figures show that British computer users download more illegally recorded TV shows than any other country in the world.

Computer users are able to download copies of the latest episodes of programmes just minutes after they are broadcast in America, and often months before they are shown on British screens.

Experts say the problem is now so bad it could jeopardise the production of future programmes.

David Price, of Envisional which carried out the study, said: "With popular shows such as 24, we're talking about 100,000 copies of the latest episode being pirated, with around 20,000 of those shows being downloaded in the UK.

"That is going to start hitting the likes of Sky."

According to Envisional, TV piracy has increased 150 per cent in the past year. "We see programmes online 20 minutes after they are broadcast," he said.

A spokesman for Sky said the company "continues to monitor the situation closely".