A producer of The Walking Dead argues that illegal downloading of The Walking Dead, will most likely end the series in one to two seasons.
Gale Ann Hurd has produced several hit productions including Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2:Judgement Day, and several other hit production. Now, she is working on The Walking Dead as an executive producer.
The Guardian recently interviewed her during the Cannes Lions festival and the conversation surrounded piracy. Currently, The Walking Dead is the second-most pirated series in the world. She commented that we are close to the point where piracy is ruining the TV industry. “We are poised on the precipice … because of the prevalence of piracy. The content creators won’t get a revenue stream, to the point that they won’t be able to create.” The most disturbing aspect is that Gale Ann Hurd suspects there’s a season or two left in Robert Kirkman‘s, the creator of ‘The Walking Dead‘ material – but Hurd strongly feels piracy threatens the industry as a whole.
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“When you do go on these websites, they look legitimate,” she continues. “They have advertising from well-known brands … How would a consumer know the difference between a legitimate site and an illegitimate site?”
Hurd argues that Google Search Engines could do a better job eliminating what is appears in search results.“Search engines should be able to filter out pirated websites,” she says, pointing out that in searching for House of Cards she was unable to find Netflix as an option in the first 50 hits of a Google search.
Despite Gale Ann Hurd‘s assertion that the show will only last a season or two, I find it hard to believe.
Indiewire reports that at the Producer’s Guild of America’s Produced By conference last month that The Walking Dead Executive Producer David Alpert was asked about producing a show from the original comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard.
“I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what Season 10 is gonna be,” Alpert replied. “We know where season 11 and 12 … we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we’re lucky enough to get there.”
This is more than a piracy issue. The Walking Dead is not just a hit show in the United States but a major series across the world. Australia for example, will have to wait for months before ever seeing a new episode. So, instead of waiting they visit websites where they can illegally view the hit series. At the end of the day, piracy is a problem but, with any industry, it has to evolve. Besides, are also more likely to spend their money on film, music and gaming content.
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What do you think? Is ‘The Walking Dead‘ only going to last one or two more seasons? Do you think piracy hurts the entertainment industry? Why do you think Gale Ann Hurd and David Alpert have different opinions as to how long the show will last? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!
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Photo Credit: AMC
