By Pascal M tral, Vice President, Legal Affairs, and Head of Anti-Piracy Intelligence, Investigations and Litigation at NAGRA
Global content piracy defrauds content producers, erodes customer confidence in service providers, and puts everyone at risk from further criminal activity. Findings from our recent Money for Nothing' report in partnership with the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA) show that pirate subscription IPTV services have grown into a billion-dollar industry in the United States alone. And this US$1 billion number does not include website piracy, credential selling or sharing, content piracy on social media or other forms of piracy. The report also found that approximately nine million US households subscribe to illegal IPTV services alone, making them true competitors of legitimate services, such as Disney+ or Dish. With turnkey solutions for pirates that enable them to easily start, build and run their own operations around the world the scale of the challenge is clear.
However, commercial piracy isn't restricted to the USA, it affects virtually every TV provider around the world, including Asia-Pacific. For example, in Indonesia, a 10-month survey commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association's Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and conducted by YouGov, found that online piracy deprived the Indonesian TV, Online Video sectors of approximately US$1 billion in revenue in 2019.
To understand the impact that pirate subscription IPTV services has on APAC, I spoke to Neil Gane, General Manager of AVIAs Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) at the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), to discuss the extent of the threat:
The evidence shows that illegal piracy subscription services is now a multi-billion-dollar industry that's damaging content creators, legitimate TV operators and even poses risks for consumers. What is the prognosis in APAC?
In terms of revenue losses, the negative impact of illegal IPTV services would not be dissimilar in Southeast Asia to what it is in North America. For example, in Indonesia alone, a January 2020 Media Partners Asia economic damage report found that online piracy deprived the Indonesian TV, online video sectors of approximately US$1 billion in revenue in 2019 and an estimated 6,000 new direct and indirect jobs that could have been created.
Unfortunately, online consumers in SE Asia have an unhealthy appetite for viewing stolen content. Recent YouGov consumer surveys, commissioned by CAP, found that 66% of Filipino's use piracy streaming sites to view stolen content; in Malaysia, 61% access such piracy streaming websites; in Thailand, the figure is 53%, Vietnam 50%, Taiwan 33%, Indonesia 28% and Singapore the lowest at 17%.
What can and should be done to these illegal services in APAC?
There are a number of effective and proven strategies that can be put in place to disrupt and curb such grievous piracy levels. Firstly, an effective site blocking process that blocks access to streaming piracy websites and ISD application servers. Site blocking has been a key feature of the coalition against piracys (CAP) strategy, working alongside governments to introduce a regulatory site blocking protocol or make current blocking processes more streamlined and effective. In Indonesia, for example, we have referred over 2,400 piracy websites and application domains that have been blocked over the 12 months to August 2020, averaging 60 sites blocked every 10 days. The results of this strategy have been impressive with Indonesia fast becoming a market leader in video IP protection in South East Asia, boosting the growth of local and international legitimate services. Piracy traffic has dropped an estimated 68% and traffic to legitimate video sites increased by an estimated 18% within the same period. In June 2020 an Indonesian YouGov consumer survey found a massive 55% reduction in consumers accessing piracy websites over the past ten months, with 28% of online consumers admitting to accessing piracy websites compared to 63% from a similar survey conducted in September 2019. ISD usage in Indonesia also fell from 29% to its current level of 6% - the lowest in SE Asia.
Enforcement will always remain a key pillar of any anti-piracy strategy and we continue to work alongside our members in investigating and referring major IPTV crime groups for criminal enforcement.
There is no one silver bullet to disrupting and reducing online piracy ecosystems. However, collaboration is key, and we need to continue to work alongside other content industry stakeholders as well as technology platforms, payment processors, e-market platforms and other intermediaries to disrupt the technological ecosystem and the illicit commercial transactions at the point of sale.
Are you seeing any trends in the proliferation of such illegal services?
From a criminality standpoint, rather than seeing a proliferation of illicit IPTV services we are beginning to see a consolidation of bigger players dominating markets. As with many other profitable crimes, it is a matter of time before criminal syndication takes over.
What is being done to crack down on the pirates?
One of the handicaps to effective enforcement has been the lack of a physical product, and with illicit IPTV services the product has become even more transient whilst presenting no single point of attack from a law enforcement perspective. We are, however, beginning to see Southeast Asian governments increasingly agreeing that the online world needs to be managed and there needs to be rules. Regulatory site blocking regimes already in place are becoming more streamlined and time efficient. Other governments are in the process of introducing new regulatory site blocking protocols. Content theft on its current scale is simply unsustainable for the legitimate industry, and we are confident that more
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final
21 July, 2026
Media releases
Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
21/07/2026
C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
New capability centralizes collaboration, feedback, security and status tracking within VIDA, providing a structured, auditable approach to master quality contr...
21/07/2026
Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SI...
21/07/2026
Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
Brie Clayton July 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist blends vintage film looks to shape...
By Pascal M tral, Vice President, Legal Affairs, and Head of Anti-Piracy Intelligence, Investigations and Litigation at NAGRA
