Report: Football, Premium TV being pirated at 'industrial scale'

[Istock]

A lack of action by big tech firms is enabling the “industrial scale theft” of premium video services, especially live sport, a new report says. The research by Enders Analysis accuses Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft of “ambivalence and inertia” over a problem it says costs broadcasters revenue and puts users at an increased risk of cyber-crime.

Gareth Sutcliffe and Ollie Meir, who authored the research, described the Amazon Fire Stick - which they argue is the device many people use to access illegal streams - as “a piracy enabler”.

Amazon told BBC News that it remained “vigilant in our efforts to combat piracy”. Sports broadcasting is big business, with the total value of media rights across the world passing the $60bn (£44bn) mark last year. The increasing cost of rights deals results in higher prices for fans at home, especially if they choose to pay for multiple services to watch their team play.

To get round this, some resort to illegal streams of big events.

Enders say there are often multiple streams of individual events - such as high profile football games - each of which can have tens of thousands of people watching them.

Bosses of big rights holders, Sky and DAZN, have previously warned piracy is causing a financial crisis in the broadcast industry. Nick Herm, chief operating officer of Sky Group, said the Enders research “highlights the significant scale and impact of piracy, particularly on premium live sport”.

“It’s a serious issue for anyone who invests in creating and delivering world-class content,” he added.

“We’d like to see faster, more joined-up action from major tech platforms and government to address the problem and help protect the UK creative industries.” There is a risk for users too.

The Enders report says fans watching football matches, for instance, via illegal streams are typically providing information such as credit card details and email addresses, leaving them vulnerable to malware and phishing scams.

Many supporters, though, argue that lowering the cost of legally streaming sport would be the most effective way of minimising such risks.[AFP]