NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Dotcom's shutdown good for US studios

Simon Collins
By Simon Collins
Reporter·NZ Herald·
8 Mar, 2013 04:30 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hollywood film studios claim to have gained from MegaUpload shutdown.
Hollywood film studios claim to have gained from MegaUpload shutdown.

Hollywood film studios claim to have gained from MegaUpload shutdown.

Two Hollywood film studios may have gained more than an extra $1 million a week from paid legal downloads of their movies after last year's shutdown of Kim Dotcom's MegaUpload websites, a new study has found.

The study, by Carnegie Mellon University's Initiative for Digital Entertainment Analytics (Idea), estimates that the MegaUpload shutdown in January last year boosted the two studios' revenues from online movie sales and rentals by 6 to 10 per cent over the subsequent 18 weeks.

Based on average prices of US$15 ($18) for each online purchase and US$4.50 ($5.44) for each rental, the shutdown lifted the two unnamed studios' online revenue by between US$1.1 million ($1.3 million) and US$1.9 million ($2.3 million) a week across the 12 countries where the studios had digital sales channels.

The estimated revenue gains provide the first solid data pointing to how much revenue the studios may have lost while MegaUpload existed, allowing users to upload copies of movies to the website and share links enabling other people to download them free.

New Zealand police arrested MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom and other executives in a helicopter raid on his Coatesville mansion north of Auckland in response to a charge of aiding copyright infringement issued by a US grand jury. At its peak MegaUpload accounted for 4 per cent of worldwide internet traffic.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The new study contrasts with one by German and Danish researchers last October which found that the MegaUpload shutdown actually reduced box office revenue for a majority of 1344 movies across 49 countries, because it reduced the amount of information-sharing about the films. However, that study also found that the shutdown boosted box office sales for "blockbusters", which everyone knew about without needing to swap information.

Telecommunications Users Association of NZ chief executive Paul Brislen said he did not trust the study because it was based on data from the two anonymous film studios, which were "world-famous for their accounting practices".

Idea was established last October with "an unrestricted gift" from the Motion Picture Association of America.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Discover more

Opinion

Chris Barton: Dotcom's costly battle continues

04 Mar 08:30 PM
New Zealand

Dotcom case: Hearing to decide on evidence

05 Mar 10:28 PM
Companies

Dotcom ad points to share float

06 Mar 04:30 PM
New Zealand

Dotcom wins right to sue

07 Mar 04:26 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Property

'Grit their teeth' - Sweeney on Dubliners living on proposed MetroLink route

07 Jul 03:05 AM
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What was the title of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube?

07 Jul 03:00 AM
New Zealand|politics

NZ Herald Live: David Seymour speaks to media

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
'Maximum pressure': US tariffs set to rise in trade standoff
World

'Maximum pressure': US tariffs set to rise in trade standoff

07 Jul 03:15 AM
'Magic mix': NZ Youth Choir's stunning win at European competition
Entertainment

'Magic mix': NZ Youth Choir's stunning win at European competition

07 Jul 03:07 AM
Afternoon quiz: What was the title of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube?
New Zealand

Afternoon quiz: What was the title of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube?

07 Jul 03:00 AM
'Deeply saddened': Children’s theatre pioneer dies at 61 after cancer battle
Royals

'Deeply saddened': Children’s theatre pioneer dies at 61 after cancer battle

07 Jul 02:49 AM
Watch: Government to make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for children
Politics

Watch: Government to make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for children

07 Jul 02:30 AM

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
'Grit their teeth' - Sweeney on Dubliners living on proposed MetroLink route

'Grit their teeth' - Sweeney on Dubliners living on proposed MetroLink route

07 Jul 03:05 AM

'I would have preferred to stay in New Zealand,' says Sweeney.

Afternoon quiz: What was the title of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube?

Afternoon quiz: What was the title of the first video ever uploaded to YouTube?

07 Jul 03:00 AM
NZ Herald Live: David Seymour speaks to media

NZ Herald Live: David Seymour speaks to media

Watch: Government to make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for children
live

Watch: Government to make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for children

07 Jul 02:30 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search