Sticky Situation

Ok, here's the setup:

I love HDTV. My favorite TV show is LOST, neither of those statements are news to those who have read this blog and/or have talked to me for longer than 5 minutes or so :). LOST is on ABC. My local ABC affiliate is KATV. KATV's tower collapsed two weeks ago. KATV will not have a new tower for many, many months. It probably won't be back on the air, via antenna in high definition, until after I'm long gone to Norman, OK.

I can still few LOST in standard definition, albeit sloppy SD, via DISH Network. However, there are absolutely zero options to watch LOST in HD in central Arkansas, not even on cable or if we had an HD package from DISH. If KATV's tower had not collapsed, I would watch and record each LOST episode each week and store the episodes, after editing commercials out, on my external hard drive.

But since KATV does not have a tower at this time, and no other HD service is available, I cannot do this. I still plan to watch LOST in standard definition each Thursday night and I will watch the local commercials (or change channels). Therefore, is it morally ok for me to use a torrent client such as BitTorrent to download HD episodes of LOST after they air? Why or why not? I'm seeking your opinion here. Regardless of the confusing laws in place, if there were no laws governing this, would it be morally ok to download a TV show for free?

My justification: I would be recording LOST and editing out the commercials for myself anyways so why is it wrong to download the same thing I would have? I'm not using this as a means to avoid KATV's commercials and their income. I'm not using this to sell it or display it for the public. I am not using it instead of buying the season 4 DVDs when they come out (there's no doubt I'll buy Season 4). I am simply using it to watch the show in HD, an option not available to me due to an unforeseeable accident and lack of HD download stores. Therefore, as much as I dislike and fear using BitTorrent and similar programs (due to lawsuits from the big bad media companies), I will be downloading HD episodes of LOST on Fridays to enjoy the spectacular scenery and amazing HD of the best show on television.