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Even if they were talking about illegal downloading, the numbers are still fantastical. The industry reaches its estimates by doing something like taking the total estimated number of downloads in a given category, and multiplying by an average retail price for the item. So, if there were 100 movie downloads (keeping the numbers low for simplicity), and the average DVD has an MSRP of $24.99, they would say they've lost $2500 due to piracy.
Never mind the fact that each download does not represent a lost sale, as many people would not buy if they couldn't download, but rent, wait until the movie's on free TV, borrow it from the library, or whatever. Nor does it take into account that only morons pay full retail price for DVDs and music CDs. That's the way they calculate their "losses" and end up with the ridiculous numbers they whine about.
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