The worldwide content distribution industry - from traditional cable, telco and satellite TV providers to the growing number of direct-to-consumer (DTC) players - will go through a transformation phase in the coming years. As digital transformation and greater consumer choice take hold, existing offerings have to rush to keep up with new entrants, differentiating themselves to create a compelling offering for the consumer.
Part of that offering has and continues to be the range of content they give to consumers, and that has relied on partnerships with the content owners. However, as the owners, such as HBO and Disney launch their own services, they're increasingly reserving that content for themselves. Disney for example, has pulled its content from Netflix, encouraging consumers to sign up and get access its movies.
But with so many providers, consumers are forced to effectively create their own bundles - often at greater cost than if it was still available through one provider. For some this content stacking will simply be too expensive, and they will look for substitutes - including pirate services. The problem is that, until operators re-aggregate and re-bundle content and services that can be more cost-effective to the consumer, the issue will only get worse as consumers will just pick up their smartphones, search for what they want to watch and find illicit options.
And it's not just lone wolves, sharing with their friends. Commercial pirates pose a two-pronged threat of stealing the content and enticing subscribers away with cheap offerings that mimic legitimate pay-TV services. Usually found as apps on Android devices, or even on set-top boxes and smart TVs available to purchase in store, pirate services can look legitimate to the average user, making this the real competition as they steal the content for free while enticing subscribers away from legitimate services.
The problem doesn't lie with one type of content either, now that we are fully operating in a globally-connected consumer market, where the internet can be easily misused by pirates. But that doesn't mean it all has the same value, live and premium shows will obviously have greater value for consumers and therefore for the pirates too. Even free-to-air is at risk as, when stolen, pirates can remove advertising or time restrictions, all packaged in what appears to be a convenient service for subscribers.
According the 2019 Pay-TV Innovation Forum, industry executives estimate that 17 percent of households worldwide now use illegal TV services on a regular basis, up from 11 percent in 2017. This significant acceleration in pirate services consumption is driven by apps and devices that can give easy access to the so-called grey-market services, which creates a business risk for the whole content creation industry. Ultimately, it hurts the consumer too, as operators and content providers will have less finance to develop new shows.
And, like the open internet, piracy doesn't recognise country borders, meaning containing international distribution rights is also an issue. Saturday afternoon football distributed in the USA are re-streamed back to Europe and around the world - all for free. With live sports one of the most expensive and greatest revenue generators, such activities are a major thorn in operators' sides, and anyone around the world is potentially at risk of having their content stolen. And, with the growth of 5G, executives expect to see this trend continue according to the Global Market for Premium Sports OTT Services report. As content security specialists, we're seeing the growing trend of innovative pirate services stealing content and subscribers, and it's clear that content owners and distributors should be concerned. Not that security technology isn't used, but the new nature of pirate services is calling for a holistic response that goes beyond what has been done in the past.
For the casual pirates, a mix of hardware and software solutions, from encryption technology in chipsets, to an intelligence-based approach comprising of content watermarking, monitoring and taking down infringing services, can prove powerful deterrents.
For the more organised criminal groups stronger actions is required, focusing on a three-pronged, intelligence-based approach that focuses on:
Identifying and shutting down leaks using technologies such as watermarking, which adds an invisible digital signature' to the content that enables us to track any illegal redistribution
Monitoring streaming servers and removing any illegal services with the help of hosting companies
Disrupting pirate services through blocking access to specific servers needed by the pirates
From our experience, we believe that all stakeholders such as content owners, governments, service providers and consumer groups all have a part to play in addressing the piracy problem. Through challenging the pirates from multiple angles such as, investing in consumer education, legislation and anti-piracy technologies alongside creating smart packages of products which address consumer needs, should create a landscape which is increasingly difficult for pirates to operate.
We need to come together. Addressing the piracy challenge has now become an executive level issue for the technology, media and telecoms industries. It is no longer a question of asking should I do something? but am I doing the right thing? and is this being reviewed on a consistent basis that will ensure my business model is being preserved?
As we stated in a recent Newsweek article: All valuable content is at risk. Consumers want to have access to content, and if they cant, they just pick up their phones and search for it. Competing with free is just not sustainable.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
The worldwide content distribution industry - from traditional cable, telco and satellite TV providers to the growing number of direct-to-consumer (DTC) players - will go through a transformation phase in the coming years. As digital transformation and greater consumer choice take hold, existing offerings have to rush to keep up with new entrants, differentiating themselves to create a compelling offering for the consumer.
