So ask your “producer” friend ... when everybody downloads through torrent and no one is paying for the service ... who is going to pay his/her “producer” salary? Believe me, your producer friend may believe that torrent has expanded the universe of TWD but would never want it to take over as the most popular way of getting the show. Ask him/her ... I dare you!
Now why would everyone DL clown. That’s NOT how we producers make money. AARGHHHH. This is like explaining E=MC2 to daffy Duck. This is like explaining to another Freeper that they have to get their ass down here physically to L.A. to sell a spec script..
Basically true, but the flaw in that assumption is *always* that those who avail themselves of a free download would otherwise actually PAY for the content. That percentage is debatable.
OTOH, just getting as many people as possible to consume the content by whatever means - thereby ensuring ‘popularity’ - may be a boon to the content creator (by way of other marketing channels/products).
In this ‘digital world’, who knows what makes the most profit, all said and done?