With just a month before new television shows begin airing for the fall season, pilots and other unaired programs are taking file sharing networks by storm.
More than 10 episodes of highly anticipated shows have leaked online before their air dates, according to torrent-tracking site TorrentFreak. Leaks have offered sneak peeks at upcoming shows, including time-traveling cop drama Life on Mars, con artist dramedy Leverage and white-collar comedy Do Not Disturb, as well as unaired episodes of fan favorites like Stargate Atlantis.
"The number of leaked pilots and shows is always increasing," said Eric Garland, CEO of digital media tracking site BigChampagne. "Pilots started leaking as early as May and June, which is much earlier than usual and it will continue."
Welcome to the dawning age of the "pre-air" season, where shows bubble up online several months before their debut on network television.
-The leaks extend to some of TV's most highly anticipated new shows. In June, the first episode of J.J. Abrams' supernatural show Fringe (pictured) surfaced on file sharing networks -- three months before its scheduled premiere. HBO's Southern vampire drama True Blood became available for download through file sharing sites around the same time.
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