Netflix was just an example.

> I calculated that if I were to pirate I would spend less time downloading the movie than the cumulative time spent watching commercials on Netflix.

I don’t know what plan you were on, but mine doesn’t have ads.

This kind of proves my point, though: People don’t want to pay for things (including the ad-free level) so they use it to justify piracy as being superior for various reasons.

The selection is still shitty though, even with no ads. Piracy is a superior choice.

Given that Netflix invests heavily in DRM, Piracy is at least the more ethical choice.

> Piracy is a superior choice.

And there it is.

Netflix was just an example. There are other services.

Sorry, my post was not clear. Today piracy is a superior choice. The bedt product Netflix offered me was when they shipped DVDs - their selection was immense (on par with Blockbuster). I could have pirated then (I was going once a year to my home country where DVDs were sold on open air markets) but I did no do that because was too much trouble.

When Netflix started to be online only I tagged along, and it was OK-ish - selection was not that great but but price was not big either and once in a while I would watch a movie. Today ads are very intrusive and the cost for no ads is $20 / month- which is not worth it for me. Compared to this, piracy is clearly a superior choice.

You're arguing an example because it doesn't appeal to you specifically. In other words, you're arguing an example with another example. There's plenty of people who would pay for Netflix and don't because they know they can pirate.