Supergirl Pilot Leaked to the Torrents
It is out there. Is it on purpose, or theft?
‘Supergirl’ Pilot Leak: Theft Or CBS Marketing Ploy?
Forbes – “Following the release of what became the most watched trailer of this past month’s upfronts, CBS CBS -0.77% was running on a major high to the fact that it may have finally grasped the millennial market in a way it’s typically not known for thanks to the help of Supergirl. Unfortunately, that excitement may now be short lived as many fans awoke this morning to find the pilot of the series had leaked online through a variety torrent sites in a high-def, 1080p format. However, the high quality nature of the file is making some question the validity of the leak itself. Is it actually possible Warner Bros. (the show’s producing studio) and CBS (who declined to comment on the matter) put the pilot out themselves in order to get people talking this early?
Unlike the leaks of Game of Thrones and Orphan Black back in April, the release of the Supergirl pilot is not very damaging to the show itself for a variety of reasons, the first of which being the fact that the pilot doesn’t air for another six months. This isn’t a case of four episodes leaking the day before the season premiere. This is a case of one episode leaking before there’s even a legitimate marketing campaign to be spoken for. Any damage the release of the pilot could have done to viewership is going to off-set by the fact that it’s most likely going to be screened at San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic-Con in July and October for the same people downloading it now anyway.
In addition, this isn’t the first time a Warner Bros. produced DC series leaked early as the pilot of The Flash also leaked online in a legitimate theft of the episode from a screener disc around this time last year. But, as we can see from the reception of the show’s season finale earlier this week, if that release did anything, it’s help The Flash garner some much needed buzz to what was, at the time, serious speculation about its capability to be good based on set photos that had been released online weeks earlier. The damaging nature of a leak also comes down to its timing, and a leak six months ahead of schedule for a television series is not nearly as bad as one for a major blockbuster release such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
However, there still remains the question of whether or not CBS (or, more likely, Warner Bros.) released the Supergirl pilot early to drum up some buzz. While it may sound like an insane notion that CBS would allow, or Warner Bros. would be willing to release the episode in a 1080p format, keep in mind CBS already went against its own mold earlier this year with marketing when it sent the full 13-episode season of Battle Creek to critics ahead of the show’s premiere – which according to showrunner David Shore, is the first time that had ever been done by the network. In addition, Supergirl wouldn’t be the first time the question of intention came up concerning a Warner Bros. pilot leak. Back in 2008, the studio was thought to be the source of a leak surrounding the pilot of Fringe, a show that would go on to survive five seasons on Fox for a grand total of 100 episodes.
Should it turn out the leak of Supergirl occurred through theft of the episode via an unauthorized release, then we can just add it to the pile of series from this year to suffer at the hands of overly excitable fans with access to thing they perhaps can’t be trusted with. However, should it one day be revealed the pilot was leaked online by none other than the studio that actually produced it in order to create some early buzz that will more than likely be serviced at July’s San Diego Comic-Con, then the move can only be considered what it is, a genius beginning to what’s already looking to be a stellar marketing campaign. But, the odds of the studio ever admitting that truth, should it be the case, is slim to none due to the consequences it would create for the industry in the long run.”