A streaming site that allowed users to illegally watch films and TV shows has shut down.
Popcorn Time, which had been dubbed the “Netflix of Piracy” had come under legal pressure from the Motion Picture Association of America. The backers of the site had argued Popcorn Time didn’t distribute the content itself, instead of acting as a portal to other sources.
Rather than admit defeat at the hands of the industry whose revenues it had put under pressure, Popcorn Time posted a message on its website claiming the site had closed because of a lack of interest from its audience.
The Popcorn statement could be taken as a reflection of an ‘industry’ suffering under the availability of content from legitimate sources.
However, it’s not the first time that Popcorn Time has closed down. As its code is available as open source, there is nothing to stop another site from picking up where Popcorn Time left off.