'Lost' Is Most Pirated TV Show of 2010

Cult series "Lost" and "Heroes" are the two most pirated TV shows on BitTorrent in the year of 2010, TorrentFreak has found out. These are the exact two shows that also topped the list in 2009 although the number of illegal downloads slightly decreases this year.

"Lost" scored higher than "Heroes" which came out as the winner last year. A single episode was downloaded almost 6 million times, while the estimate U.S.

TV viewers is 13.5 million. "Heroes", which aired its very last episode in February, was downloaded 5.4 million while its average viewership on TV is 5.3 million.

"Heroes" is one of the examples of how TV viewing habits have steadily changed throughout the years worldwide. While in the U.S. the number of downloaders has declined due to alternatives like Hulu, those in Australia and Europe remain "at pretty much the same level as last year".

At the same time, the demand for U.S. TV shows increases but it takes weeks and even months before the show debuts overseas. Those not patient enough turn to BitTorrent. The top 10 most pirated shows are below while the numbers are available at TorrentFreak.com.

1. "Lost"
2. "Heroes"
3. "Dexter"
4. "The Big Bang Theory"
5. "House M.D."
6. "How I Met Your Mother"
7. "24"
8. "True Blood"
9. "Glee"
10. "Family Guy"