When one AT&T Broadband customer dropped his subscription to DirecTV, he joined the samll buy growing band of cable TV pirates who use their high-speed Internet connection to pilfer video signals.
"I only get (basic) cable. I don't subscribe; it just comes to my house along with the cable modem signal," said Noah A. He saves roughly $40 a month on cable but spends about $42 a month on Internet access.
Drawing on old-school methods to splice cable TV lines for unauthorized use, hackers say they can buy a splitter at the local electronics store and easily run an additional line from the cable modem line for the computer into the television. Without a set-top box, the result is free, basic, analog cable; with an illegal converter or set-top, hackers say they have access to premium channels such as HBO and Showtime.
"Lots of people do this if all you want is analog cable," he said. "All cable services are run through the same line; they can't just cut power to analog cable and still give you a cable modem."
About 13 million Americans get a free ride as a result, compared with the more than 64.5 million paying cable subscribers, according to research firm The Carmel Group. The losses are significant. The firm estimates that the industry misses out on about $6.2 billion annually from piracy.
News source: CNet News
