This entire piece boils down to "I don't like what the content providers do, therefore I take it". Like it or not, someone who produces (or buys the rights from the producer) content has a right to determine to whom they distribute it too, how, and for what price. If you don't like their terms, you have the right to NOT BUY the content. You do NOT have the right to take it anyway.

Just because I don't like the prices my local cable company imposes, doesn't give me a right to pirate their, anymore than than I have a right to steal a car from a dealership I don't like. If you don't like the way these companies do business, simply don't do business with them. If people do that, pretty soon they'll either change their practices or go out of business. On the other hand, if you insist on taking the content anyway, they see "lost business" and of course attempt to recoup that (and more if they can, they are a business after all) through legal means.

I understand the attraction of piracy, but to try to claim it's justified requires that you assume you have a right to that content, which is clearly patently false.

Actually, even if you do get connection refused you should probably fire them, or at least chew them out. WTF are you not using a proper firewall for? You should be seeing timeouts.