People in the US are increasingly pirating popular TV shows and making them available to the world via peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, a report has stated.

The BBC reported that shows such as Lost, Desperate Housewives and 24 are becoming increasingly easy for people to download on popular filesharing networks and this is causing problems for the networks in the US.

Dr David Price, head of piracy intelligence at web monitoring firm Envisional, explained to the UK broadcaster: "Most episodes come online about half an hour after it first airs in the US.

"Someone with a fast connection in the UK can watch it before it airs on the west coast of the US."

He added that it was "now as easy to download a TV show through a website as it is to set your VCR".

In addition, Dr Price explained that many people put the shows up without ads, again increasing their popularity.