Because of a variety of circumstances, European television watchers usually have to wait months -- and sometimes years -- before getting a chance to see American-produced television. Even with subscription cable channels like Sky One and the like, viewers in the United Kingdom have to be patient. And many of them are not.The illegal downloading of episodes has been a part of some Europeans over the years, getting a chance to see shows like "Star Trek: Enterprise" and "Smallville" at the same time Americans do. But with Sky One winning the rights to air the American series "Battlestar Galactica" first, it seems that Americans are the ones downloading episodes ... and producers of the show want it to stop.
"It's come to our attention that many of you out there are so eager to see our show that you've decided to jump the line and get the episodes via the Internet ahead of everyone patiently waiting in the U.S. and Canada for the show to premiere in January," said executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick in a release published on the Sci-Fi Channel message boards. "First of all, we're flattered and happy that you're so excited to see the new season of 'Battlestar Galactica' and appreciate the support. However, beyond the fact that getting episodes over the Internet is illegal, it's also potentially very damaging to the show itself."
In the statement, Moore and Eick said that downloading the episodes could affect ratings in the United States and Canada.
"The more episodes get downloaded and digitally copied and passed along and copied again ... it creates a dangerous situation where a lot of people are watching and enjoying 'Galactica,' but not seeing it when it counts -- namely on the air," the release said. "Please understand that in order to get picked up for a second season, we need good ratings in January [on the Sci-Fi Channel], not silent, uncounted viewing in November. The more you copy the show and pass it along to your friends now, the more it potentially impacts our total audience in January."
Ratings are conducted through audience sampling by the Nielsen Co., and it would be difficult for piracy to have too much of an impact on overall ratings, and some fans said they didn't feel that watching the episodes early would necessarily preclude them from watching it when it airs on the Sci-Fi Channel beginning in January.
One poster on the Sci-Fi Channel message boards, Aforlano, said that a lot of the blame for the American piracy can be placed on the deal between NBC Universal and Sky One to air the program in the U.K. first.
"I know that 'Galactica' relies on ratings to guarantee renewal, but in striking the deal you made, you've created your own problem," Aforlano said. "Rest assured, we do not want 'Galactica' to go away. We will do whatever is in our power to make sure your program is a continuing success. If Star Trek can exist for the past 40 years on life support, your program should have no problem surviving on a cable channel specifically designed for science-fiction fans."
Another poster, named Dman0001, said that the problem of piracy in this case could be fixed rather easily.
"Everyone who is downloading BSG that I know of is planning on watching it here in Canada," Dman0001 said. "Having said that, the ratings will never reflect that because none of us have the blessed [Nielsen] box. [Moore and Eick] want everyone to watch the show instead of downloading it. Fine. Release it everywhere at once and give everyone a [Nielsen] box so the braindead suits will know that people are watching it."
In their statement, Eick and Moore said that while they admired the resourcefulness of "Galactica's" fans in acquiring the series through other means, "we implore you to please refrain from downloading the episodes or sharing them in any way."
"Battlestar Galactica" premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States and on Space in Canada in January.
And speaking of ratings, Sky One has released ratings for the week of Nov. 7 on the satellite channel. With more than 4 million viewers tuning in, the third episode of "Battlestar Galactica" called "Bastille Day," finished ninth in the ratings with 790,000 viewers, which represents nearly a 20 share in the ratings.
The episode guest-starred Richard Hatch from the original "Battlestar Galactica" series, and represents only a 6 percent drop from the 850,000 people who tuned in to see "33," the first episode since the critically-acclaimed miniseries.
Ratings for "Water," the second episode in the series, were not available since Sky One only releases top 10 ratings, and the episode did not finish in the top 10. However, it is believed that the ratings for that episode are staying consistent with "Bastille Day."
