Apparently, Britain is getting its content fresh of the ‘net.

According to Envisional, Britain accounts for about one-fifth of TV downloads through file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent and eDonkey, more than any other country, followed by Australia and the United States.

‘Cause the people want it. The cat’s out of the bag, and people (outside of the US) aren’t gonna wait for American shows to be shown in their local area.

But the local cable people are getting scared:

Britain’s status as a TV downloading hot spot, revealed Thursday in a study by U.K. technology consultancy Envisional, could pose problems for U.K. broadcaster BSkyB, which is counting on high-profile U.S. shows such as “24” to draw new subscribers to its satellite TV service.

Which is a problem, because 24 is the most popular:

The top 10 pirated TV shows worldwide are:
1. 24
2. Stargate Atlantis
3. The Simpsons
4. Enterprise
5. Stargate SG-1
6. The O.C.
7. Smallville
8. Desperate Housewives
9. Battlestar Galactica
10. Lost

But Desperate Housewives neck’n’neck with Battlestar Galactica; it’s a strange mix of scifi and romance. My guess is that the geeks are trying to keep their girlfriends happy too.

So, memo to the copyright holders. Stop sueing people, and bring out a legal version, already.
It’s a brave new world – freaking get on board already.