The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) said it has shut down an illegal video-streaming site that was racking up millions of monthly visits.

ACE, whose members include the major studios, said that Streamzz, an Ahlen, Germany-based global file hosting service, was drawing more than 7 million monthly visits to its ill-gotten streaming video gains, with the second most visits coming from the United States.

The site had been operating since 2019 and had hosted more than 15,000 TV show and 75,000 movies for illegal streaming, supplying more than 60 pirate websites, ACE said.

ACE said it got an assist in the takedown from member Constantin Film. “Piracy continues to undermine the legal market and the investment into new and exciting content,” Constantin executive VP Philipp Wohlfrom said.

“The shutdown of Streamzz is fresh proof that no one in the content piracy ecosystem — whether they’re a streaming service, video streaming host or anything in between — is above the law,” said Jan van Voorn, executive VP of the Motion Picture Association and head of ACE. ■

A U.S. District Court in Texas has found that the Super Arab IPTV streaming service pirated a number of channels from Dish Network, is liable for copyright infringement and has been directed to pay the satellite-TV provider $2.1 million.

The court said Super Arab IPTV has to stop streaming any content from the Al Arabiya, Al Hayah 1, ART Cima, CBC, CBC Drama, Future TV, Hekayat, LBC, LBCI (aka LDC), and Melody Classic channels.

It must also turn over domain names superarabiptv.com, iptvarab.com, superarabiptv.net, box001.cn, box001.ru, superaccount1.com, and tutanota.net to DIsh, which will have full control of those names.

According to The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP), Super Arab TV was given multiple copyright infringement notices by IBCAP to stop the piracy (Dish is a member), but ignored them and continued to steal and stream the channels, which led to the willful infringement award of $2.1 million.

“In this case, not only was the dealer ordered to pay, but the court also issued a broad injunction that will enable us to shut down the service in the U.S. as well as all dealers of the service,” IBPCAP executive director Chris Kuelling said. “We will enforce this order against dealers of the Super Arab service, non-parties associated with Super Arab, and the transfer of domains critical to the operation of the service.” ■

A U.S. District Court in California has ordered unlicensed video-streaming service Nitro TV to stop pirating streaming video, including movies and pirated TV station signals — and pay more than $50 million dollars for willfully infringing the copyrights of almost 2,000 “works.”

That figure represents $150,000 apiece for each infringed work, the maximum penalty, and includes court costs and attorneys fees.

Not only did Nitro steal and sell the content, but it had resellers marketing the illegal service worldwide and taking a cut of the ill-gotten gains.

Also: Alliance Shuts Down Illegal Soccer Streaming Ring

The default judgment — the defendants failed to participate in the suit — was handed down against nine parties operating the websites TekkHosting.com, NitroIPTV.com, Lalaluhosting.com, and Nitro.ltd, resolving a lawsuit filed by Columbia Pictures, Amazon, The Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., all members of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

Those sites, which had been collecting $20 per month from subscribers for thousands of live and curated channels of pirated content — The Office, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Toy Story 3 and Star Trek Beyond, among many others — must now be transferred over to the studios.

The video pirates also delivered programming from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW affiliates in Los Angeles, promoting their stolen content on YouTube and Facebook, the court said.

The court had already granted a preliminary injunction against Nitro TV; now, it is permanent.

“ACE applauds Judge Frimpong’s strong ruling against NitroTV, which underscores the direct and serious harm that piracy operations inflict on the legal marketplace and creative economy,” Motion Picture Association senior executive VP and global general counsel Karyn Temple said. “The MPA and ACE are committed to pursuing action, through courts or other legal authorities, against anyone who infringes upon our members’ rights.” ▪️

The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has signed on its first U.S. client, E.W. Scripps.

IBCAP will start providing anti-piracy protection to Scripps’s suite of channels comprising Bounce, Bounce XL, Court TV, Defy, Grit, Grit Xtra, Ion, Ion Mystery, Ion Plus, Laff, Newsy and True Real.

IBCAP monitors channels offered over set-tops to shut down unauthorized use of their clients’ content.

Also: Say Goodbye Newsy and Hello To Scripps News on Jan. 1

Scripps said it already has “robust” content protections and will be expanding those.

“By joining IBCAP, we are enhancing our content protection strategy by leveraging IBCAP's lab and know-how to shut down unauthorized providers of our content,” Dave Giles, senior VP and deputy general counsel for Scripps, said in a statement.

Giles added that the company is particularly interested in protection from multicultural-focused pirate services. ▪️

An alliance of content owners, including streaming content providers, has identified some key global challenges to an expanding legal digital marketplace.

That came in their annual submission to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on how the government can make sure its trading partners protect copyright and get rid of barriers to digital trade in video, video games and other content.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), in its submission for the USTR's Special 301 report on trading partners and content protection, made what it said were key trends and recommendations.

Among the alarming trends IIPA identified was the proliferation of piracy devices, with set-tops weaponized for unauthorized access to streaming video, games and music, with China the major source of those devices.

Another big problem, it suggested, were stream-ripping services that circumvent copyright protections that are critical to digital deliveries, whether streamed, downloaded or in physical form.

IIPA also said many of the U.S. trading partners have yet to agree to, or to implement, the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties and its minimum copyright standards.

IIPA member groups include MPA, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Independent Film & Television Association. ■

The one-two punch of a pandemic and online piracy is a big problem, thanks in part to the increased appetite for video streaming during COVID-19.

That is the conclusion of a new research survey from the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA).

With millions working from home, including on sensitive and confidential government work, DCA said there is a substantially raised threat level of malware and cybersecurity breaches if those workers have piracy devices or apps at home as well, what it calls "a toxic combination for cybersecurity."

The SurveyMonkey research study commissioned by DCA found that the one in 10 people who had such devices or apps were three times more likely to report a malware issue than those without them, which is a big problem if those at-home workers are in corporate finance, national security, government, medicine or the law. In addition, one in five said they had at least visited a pirate website.

Fully half of those who both identified themselves as working in jobs handling sensitive or confidential information and who had a piracy device in their home reported having "an issue" with malware in the past year, compared to only 17% for those who did not have a piracy device.

“When tens of millions of Americans were forced to work from home, it created a golden opportunity for hackers to mine their computers for sensitive information,” said Tom Galvin, executive director of the DCA, of the study findings. “Many Americans don’t realize that they open a window to their home when they plug a piracy device into their network. And if they work in jobs that can affect the economy or national security, for example, it’s a recipe for disaster.”

One of the key ingredients, CDA said, was Trojan Horse of streaming as the "go-to" method for watching TV shows and movies, an opportunity hackers seized to spread malware.

For example, said DCA, not long after a researcher downloaded a piracy app, malware had forwarded their Wi-Fi network name and password to a server that was apparently in Indonesia. And what was once thought as a big threat to at-home consumers has been transformed into a threat to businesses small and large now that so much of that business is being transacted from home, where malware could transfer from home to work computers via a home network.

The key takeaways include:

1. Not surprisingly, a majority (two-thirds) of respondents said they have been watching more TV shows and movies during the pandemic, with the 18-29 demo mostly likely (71%) to say that has been the case.
2. About half (52%) said there was "more than enough" content to satisfy their increased appetite for video.
3. About 20% said they visit pirate websites and about 10% said they have a pirate device or app, with a third to them saying they got them online, which DCA said its research has found are being "peddled" via Facebook, Craigslist and eBay, among other sites.

The online poll was conducted Feb. 3-4 among 3,634 U.S. residents 18-plus. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) took full effect Wednesday (July 1).

The agreement includes digital trade provisions that tech companies say appropriately promote cross-border data flows and storage.

Social media platforms will continue to be held harmless for third-party content on their websites under the agreement, though according to the compromise, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and other Dems, had wanted it scrubbed.

Language in the USMCA maintains that the civil liability carve-out "enhances the economic viability of these engines of growth that depend on user interaction and user content."

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) was applauding the milestone.

“The Motion Picture Association congratulates President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer, and leaders from Mexico and Canada for entry into force of the USMCA," said MPA Chairman Charles Rivkin. "The film and television industry accounted for $16.3 billion in exports last year alone, and registers a positive trade balance in every major market in the world. As this agreement begins to take full force, we will have better tools to address the global threat of piracy while also facilitating the growth of the legal, digital market for creative content. We look forward to working with the governments to ensure the full and effective implementation of all intellectual property and market access commitments under the agreement, while continuing to further improve protections for creators in today’s constantly evolving digital landscape.”

"The agreement will drive job creation and includes the strongest, most advanced, and comprehensive set of labor provisions of any United States trade agreement," said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

There have been numerous studies attempting to measure digital video piracy’s impact on sales revenue, but how does it effect time spent watching legit streaming platforms.

That is the question tackled by new research from the Technology Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tanked backed by Apple, Amazon, AT&T, Google, Comcast, Charter … and just about every other giant Silicon Valley technology company or globally recognized telecom.

The new study, which analyzed 5.25 terabytes of online activity from 19,764 U.S. households, using 468,612 devices in 2016 to 2017, concludes that for every minute a user engages in pirated video content, 3.5 minutes of legit OTT viewing is “crowded out.”

Nearly 46 percent of American households today subscribe to streaming video services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+ and Apple TV+, up from 20 percent in 2014, the Tech Policy Institute said.

“Yet, even with an abundance of video content with high-definition quality and low monthly subscription cost, suppliers of pirated video streams continue to distribute pirated copies of premium movies, television shows, and music to American households,” the think tank’s study said. 

As many as 7.3 percent of American households accessed pirated video streams in 2018, it added. 

For the study, the think data examined raw user data supplied by ComScore, pertaining to the  usage of 67 legal OTT services, 2,632 web domains identified as supplying pirated movies and TV shows, as well as numerous repositories for file sharing platform Kodi. 

The study authors said their measurements may only represent the tip of a piracy iceberg. 

“Our lists may be missing a large number of domains that were created in the 2016 to 2017 timeframe but were not included in the lists of known pirate sites compiled in later years,” the study authors said. “To the extent that we are missing pirate sites, our results will understate the crowding out effects of piracy.”

Dish Network is looking to use blockchain technology to better track video content and keep it out of the hands of digital pirates.

According to an application filed with the U.S. Patent Office in mid-2018, unearthed this week by Coindesk, the satellite TV operator is developing a “software and/or hardware facility that can be used by content owners to assert ownership of content so that copyright friendly websites and services can take action against copyright piracy effectively, efficiently and is scalable is disclosed. The facility makes available to all content owners watermarking/fingerprinting technology so an identifier (e.g., a unique code) can be embedded in the content (e.g., video/audio portion of each video content asset). The facility utilizes blockchain technology to add information related to each unique identifier in a database and allows an authorized user (e.g., the owner) to update the information through a blockchain transaction.”

Continued: Read the rest of this story on our new sibling platform, Next TV.  

Dish Network is looking to use blockchain technology to better track video content and keep it out of the hands of digital pirates.

According to an application filed with the U.S. Patent Office in mid-2018, unearthed this week by Coindesk, the satellite TV operator is developing a “software and/or hardware facility that can be used by content owners to assert ownership of content so that copyright friendly websites and services can take action against copyright piracy effectively, efficiently and is scalable is disclosed. The facility makes available to all content owners watermarking/fingerprinting technology so an identifier (e.g., a unique code) can be embedded in the content (e.g., video/audio portion of each video content asset). The facility utilizes blockchain technology to add information related to each unique identifier in a database and allows an authorized user (e.g., the owner) to update the information through a blockchain transaction.”

Dish asserts in its application that, given the vast amount of digital distribution points that now exists for video, it’s exceedingly difficult these days for rights holders to keep tabs of their content. And when illegal distribution is found, it’s usually after content has been unlawfully distributed many times. 

Dish’s anti-piracy scheme would use blockchain to embed ownership data into content. That data could only be uploaded and updated by the owners themselves. 

Those lawfully licensing the content would purchase it directly from the owners, paying in either fiat or crypto currencies. In return, they’d receive tokens that authorize them to use the content. 

Dish has been one of the more aggressive pay TV operators in terms of shutting down illegal online content networks. 

The year 2020 is here and TV will, once again, never be the same. Streaming video, subscription services, pirates, connected TVs, interactive programming and much more have changed the way, the where and the how of content consumption.

And it doesn’t stop there. There is so much more that will continue to change. Think of what we already know for 2020:

• Next-Gen TV will start to make ATSC 3.0 a household name.

• New over-the-top services from titans like NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia will join the battle for streaming TV viewers.

• The rumor mill for more mergers and acquisitions is already full, and will continue to reshape the business landscape of video.

Collectively, our industry will thrive if we plan for what’s next. To do so, broadcasters, OTT companies, content owners and technology companies should look ahead. Here are a few predictions:

Bundling: Meet the rebirth of pay TV and the growth of streaming and subscription VOD. Bundling is already happening, but it will increase exponentially. The cross-service TV bundle will move center stage as the perceived wisdom that cord-cutting is decimating the traditional pay TV sector will prove false. With the world’s media powerhouses launching streaming services into an already crowded market, consumers will be confronted with too many siloed options. The result is that many services won’t survive and some cord-cutters, tired of searching for content, may ultimately watch less. To avoid this fate, traditional pay TV programmers and new players will join forces to offer converged, curated “new pay TV” bundles that better meet consumer demand.

Piracy: Whether it’s casual credentials-sharing or the illegal sale of passwords and illicit streaming, piracy will continue to grow. We will see the industry raise the volume about the impact of casual credentials-sharing and the toxicity of streaming piracy and fraudulent, for-profit sharing. While individual operators facing severe piracy situations are already calling for more to be done to combat pirates, we are only at the start of this battle to protect both the value of premium content and operator revenues.

The proof of the severity of the problem is found in the numbers. Synamedia recently unveiled the findings from analyses of two video service providers, which uncovered more than 3 million viewer credentials were compromised across both the dark and open Web over the course of just six months. Additionally, the analysis found these particular video service providers are likely to be losing more than $72 million of potential annual subscription-fee revenue due to password-sharing from roughly 500,000 non-paying users.

These statistics illustrate a microcosm of the real impact piracy is already having in the industry. In order to survive, video providers must defend their livelihood with state-of-the-art technology, the intelligence of experts who think like pirates do and who know how they work, so they can move even faster than the relentless thieves. Simply, they must stay ahead of the game.

Latency: Achieving synchronized latency between live broadcast and OTT streaming at scale will become a ‘must-have’ as live sports streaming goes mainstream. This will require optimizing the entire end-to-end chain for low latency. Using a low-delay encoder is a moot point if the content delivery network (CDN) platform and player introduce delays down the line. Operators will also start to converge their broadcast and IP streams at the headend to help minimize any delay and optimize their workflows.

At the same time, we will also see a flurry of activity around ATSC 3.0 as U.S. broadcasters prepare the technical, commercial and legal ground for rollouts that will open up new application opportunities. It’s no secret that the way TV is viewed has changed since ATSC 1.0 was rolled out. There is no longer one screen in the home where viewing takes place. The TV-watching experience has changed, the platforms have grown in size (or shrunk in some cases) and the options have expanded. With ATSC 3.0, there’s more of nearly everything: More immersive experiences, more personalization and more content and related services.

Hybrid Operations and Cloud: As the move to the cloud accelerates, we will see greater adoption by pay TV providers of solutions to find the optimal balance between capital expenditures and operating expenditures. For example, solutions that offer the ability to launch, scale up and scale down high availability channels for smarter hybrid on-premise and public cloud deployments while keeping a tight control on costs.

From the viewers’ perspective, a hybrid approach takes into consideration their desire for accessible content, superior experiences and reliable services. Consumers expect to be able to watch any show they want, on any device they want, at any time they want. To keep up, companies must consider a blend of broadcast and IP to deliver more viewing options, must have cloud DVR and greater flexibility for a complete viewing experience.

Addressable Advertising: We expect to see new ecosystems and partnerships to address the growing demand for linear TV addressable advertising. This will include more pay TV operator and broadcaster collaborations based upon sharing advanced advertising platforms and audience data to create solutions matching the needs of advertisers and agencies. The entire industry will also need to work together to define a standard way of measuring addressable advertising audiences and outcomes.

However it all plays out, there’s one prediction that is certain to come true: It will be another exciting year in the ongoing evolution and revolution of the TV industry.

Jean-Marc Racine is chief product officer at Synamedia, a London-based video software and services company.

A pair of Las Vegas men have plead guilty in connection to running the subscription video platforms iStreamItAll and JetFlix, wire services, USA Today and other outlets reported. 

Darryl Polo, 36, and Luis Villarino, 40, plead guilty to copyright infringement, two years after the FBI raided their operation and shut down their sites. However, it’s unclear whether this is in connection to a plea deal—the FBI has alleged that Kristopher Dallmann was the ringleader of JetFlix, a platform that boasted more titles than Netflix and Hulu combined.

The FBI raided the Las Vegas homes of eight individuals, including Polo and Villarino, back in November 2017, charging them with running a platform, JetFlix, that charged users $9.99 a month and then let them watch pirated content. 

According to Wired, at its apex, JetFlix boasts 37,000 paid subscribers. The JetFlix operators’ brazen operating style led to their undoing. Unlike many other facilitators of piracy, who manage to skirt the rather vast grey areas of international digital copy right laws by merely pointing tech-savvy users to where they can steal content, the JetFlix operators were caught red-handed with the goods on their own servers. Worse, they were letting users download movies and TV shows. 

The indictment said that Polo programmed JetFlix, then started up a separate piracy operation, iStreamItAll. 

Google Director of Economic Policy Adam Cohen told a House Antitrust Subcommittee panel Tuesday (July 16) that his company takes steps to make sure its users' content is legitimate, whether it is video from a competitor or its own shows.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) said one concern raised around the issue of protecting online content was that if she were to Google a YouTube-original show, like Weird City, looking for a pirated version, no pirated version comes up, while if she Googles a Netflix show like Russian Doll, a "torrent" of different pirated versions "pop up."

She said there was a suggestion that YouTube was quick to take down pirated versions of its shows, but not others. 

"Congresswoman, I have not seen any evidence of a discrepancy," she said. "We take great steps to protect copyrighted material and to provide our customers legitimate means to reach legitimate licensed content."

He agreed to share any data YouTube came up with on possible discrepancies between platforms with Scanlon.

Updated: The headline of this story was revised to reflect that the lawsuit was settled, not won by Dish Network.

Dish Network has prevailed in its quest to stop at least one operator of an “add-on” within the Kodi ecosystem from retransmitting content on its satellite network.

Dish filed suit in Texas against the overseas operators of ZemTV and TVAddons last year. In the complaint, Montreal resident Adam Lackman, operator of TVAddons, and London-based Shahjahan Durrani, proprietor of ZemTV, were accused of copyright infringement, with Dish seeking $150,000 in compensation for each alleged instance of infringement.

In a statement, TVAddons said: “As a result of the settlement of a lawsuit, we have agreed with Dish Network to remove and cease providing assistance for all add-ons that retransmit any of the following channels: Aaj Tak, Aastha Bhajan, Aastha TV, ARY Digital, ARY News, B4U Movies, B4U Music, Dunya TV, Express Entertainment, Express News, Geo News, Geo TV, Hum Masala, Hum Sitaray, Hum TV, India Today (Headlines Today), Movies OK, Sahara One, Sahara Samay, Times Now, and Zoom.

“Furthermore, an expedited DMCA process has been enacted that will ensure a swift response to any future claims made by Dish Network. Please note that this settlement did not involve the exchange of any data or user information whatsoever. If you are interested in receiving any of these channels, you may contact Dish at www.dish.com or Sling at www.sling.com."

News of the settlement was first reported by Cord Cutter News.

Closure on the ZemTV case is uncertain.

According to a May report in TorrentFreak, Durban asked his lawyer to stop defending him, with the matter seemingly headed to default judgement, and Dish charged with recouping its award from a foreign national.

“I don’t have enough resources to fight this case completely with four kids that I am raising and anything more I do will be seem to be submitting to the U.S. Courts which I am not going to do unless I have enough money to fight the case,” told his lawyer at the time. 

Las Vegas – Looking to stay ahead of what could be a new wave of streaming piracy focused on ultra-premium content, Friend MTS has launched a 4K variant of its “ASiD” digital watermarking and video security platform.  

The launch complements Friend MTS’s video security services for standard- and high-definition content. Friend MTS’ core business is focused on live sports and other forms of premium entertainment, and uses fingerprint-based content recognition that is invisible to the viewer.

Friend MTS is pitching the new 4K variant as part of its overall security-as-a-service offering, which can be customized based on the distribution or content partner. The company didn’t announce any takers for the 4K component early on, but possible candidates could come way of its existing customer base, which includes NBC Sports, DirecTV, Univision, the Premier League, Sky, beIN Sports, and Foxtel, among others.  

RELATED: DirecTV Sets Slate of Live TV in 4K and HDR 

The new 4K variant, like Friends MTS’s other video security services, aims to identify and lock-down pirated streams within minutes, not hours. That small window is critical, especially with live sporting events, which diminish in value soon after they are concluded.  

The scale of streaming of sports piracy is “staggering,” Neil Sharpe, product marketing director at Friend MTS, said here at a press conference, noting that digital rights management and conditional access systems aren’t enough to take down this growing and increasingly sophisticated threat.  

He said the impact among rights owners and broadcasters is significant as they tend to deal with “thousands” of illegal streams over any given weekend.  

Automation and the ability to identify and deactivate illegal streams within five minutes is paramount. “The scale of this task is not appropriate for manual intervention,” Sharpe said.  

And while 720p resolution today is the most popular format for illegal streaming, because it delivers a “good enough” HD experience for big screen TVs without much worry about buffering, he said 4K-level streaming piracy is on the horizon as more events are produced and delivered in that format alongside the emergence of faster and faster broadband services.  

Friend MTS this week was awarded an Emmy for Technology and Engineering for its efforts around video identification technology used to protect content value and copyright.  

Sharpe also noted that digital video piracy has becoming increasingly sophisticated amid threats from illegal streaming devices and Kodi plug-ins, mobile apps, social media outlets and websites that are purveyors of ill-gotten content.  

RELATED: TV’s Scary New Threat (subscription required)  

At the same time, these pirate services have become more professional-looking and are branded to mimic legitimate pay TV channels and services, making it a struggle for some consumers to realize the difference.  

The cord-cutting revolution continues to torment established entertainment and telecom conglomerates.

Despite beating Wall Street’s expectations for revenues and profits, the release of Time Warner’s quarterly earnings report in early May sent shares sliding industry-wide. Investors blanched at the 2% drop in TV network ad sales for Time Warner’s Turner division and lackluster video head counts from multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) during Q1.

It’s not difficult to recognize phenomena like these are connected to a larger paradigm shift from traditional pay TV to over-the-top streaming services. Any doubts of such a connection were erased when MoffetNathanson followed Time Warner’s results with a report that 762,000 U.S. consumers had cut the cord in the first quarter, about five times the number that did so in the year-ago period.

A look to the Great White North shows that the situation isn’t much better there. Canadians seem equally as adamant to cut the cord. According to Victoria, BC-based Convergence Research Group, 220,000 cancelled their cable/satellite TV subscription in 2016. Canucks have long suffered high prices due to lack of competition in the telecommunications sector, with the “big three” Canadian telecommunications providers (Bell, Rogers Communications and Telus) dominating the broadband, pay TV and wireless markets.

Sensing growing dissatisfaction among Canadian consumers, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced in 2013 that cable companies would have to “unbundle” their channels. Though some are now offered a la carte, the Big Three fought hard to keep key channels bundled together in packages. To their dismay, rather than jump at the opportunity to build a better cable bill, most Canadians are opting for cheaper, more relevant options online.

On the other hand, OTT streaming services such as YouTube TV, Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, DirecTV Now and others have seen subscriber numbers rise, and cord-cutters aren’t the only ones signing up. Of all U.S. households with broadband, a whopping 63% subscribe to an OTT streaming service, according to Parks Associates.

In Latino and Hispanic households with broadband, uptake is even higher — 15% more when compared with the U.S. national average. Soaring popularity among Hispanics, the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, and millennials, the next generation of consumers, all but ensures the future belongs to OTT.

MANY REASONS TO UNPLUG
Viewers are ditching traditional pay TV for numerous reasons. News is more easily and readily accessible online. Live sports are following the masses wherever they go, offering live streaming for tablets and smartphones. The NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA have all started their own streaming services in some form or another, giving sports die-hards access to nearly unlimited games and content anywhere.

Take starting a family off the list as well: Kids are abandoning linear TV faster than their parents are, and when Netflix and Amazon Prime Video boast popular titles like SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Pokémon, and Sesame Street, why wait for someone to install cable or satellite?

In 2017, any kid with a smartphone can record themselves doing something silly, upload it to a video-sharing site right from the device, and become the next YouTube sensation. Barriers to producing and distributing content have largely been broken down, leading to more content being created; as more and more gets uploaded, it travels (and becomes irrelevant) exponentially faster.

Netflix, Hulu and others invading the original content space don’t follow this instantaneous path, but have more flexibility than their bricks-and-mortar competitors. They’ll never face the dilemma of how to slot the new showrunner into the fall lineup; when Netflix is done making the next season of House of Cards, they can release it whenever they feel the time is right.

PIRATES PROLIFERATE
The problem with the exodus to OTT is that piracy has exploded. Measuring total web traffic to 14,000 of the biggest piracy websites over the course of a year, content protection and data solutions company Muso found that 73% of site visits were to streaming sites, while torrent sites only made up 17%. Thanks to streaming, freeloaders don’t need to download chunky, risky .mp4 files anymore; they stream content over the internet for free, or watch content they’re not allowed to access from a service they pay for.

This increasingly costly practice of location piracy involves users turning on a virtual private network (VPN) or a fake location app to access content for free or at lower cost. These practices are disastrous for rights-holders and broadcasters, who lose revenue when viewers circumvent territorial licensing (or “windowing”) policies, which are virtually hard-coded into their distribution business models across the world.

Despite their best efforts, streaming services have difficulty blocking millions of international customers with subscriptions in their home country from gaining unauthorized access to content licensed for broadcast in the U.S. only. Ask anyone living outside the United States and they’ll tell you it’s possible to access the wonders of the U.S. version of the iTunes or Netflix catalog with minimal effort.

Without a move to strong authentication solutions, the cord-cutting revolution could collapse under its own weight. If the number of free riders becomes too large, content producers, distributors or broadcasters will opt out. Someone will deem the profits of streaming content over public internet connections, where users can route traffic through multiple servers, too low to justify the cost.

A mix of software (VPNs, DNS masking, etc.) and hardware (Kodi and Roku boxes) have made it easy for the viewer to bypass what little security/authentication mechanisms OTT streaming services currently employ. Those looking to enter the streaming market and the sector’s dominant players must step up their game if they want to avoid losing billions in revenue to technology available for $100 or less (and sometimes for free).

Until then, publicly traded media juggernauts will continue to be foiled by widely available technology that costs less than the average monthly cable bill.

David Briggs is chairman of GeoGuard, a provider of geo-data verification solutions and services.

The Copyright Alert System, a voluntary program started in February 2013 that involved several major ISPs such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, has come to an end.

Though the formal program is ending, parties that have been involved with the CAS program remain committed to “voluntary and cooperative efforts,” the Center for Copyright Information said in a statement released Friday:

“After four years of extensive consumer education and engagement, the Copyright Alert System will conclude its work. The program demonstrated that real progress is possible when content creators, Internet innovators and consumer advocates come together in a collaborative and consensus-driven process. CAS succeeded in educating many people about the availability of legal content, as well as about issues associated with online infringement. We want to thank everyone who put in the hard work to develop this program and make it a success, including past and present members of our Advisory Board. While this particular program is ending, the parties remain committed to voluntary and cooperative efforts to address these issues.”

CCI did not say why it was shuttering the effort but skeptics had questioned how effective the Copyright Alert System could be in curbing piracy, partly because it was limited to monitoring peer-to-peer applications, B&C reported.

The MPAA told Variety that the system managed to stop a “significant number” of users from accessing pirated content, but that “a persistent group of hard-core, repeat infringers are unlikely to change their behavior.”

But the CAS wasn’t really tailored to target that hard-core group.

Aimed at educating consumers and curb digital piracy, the program used a graduated “six strikes” approach what, at first, warned offenders that illegal file-sharing and copyright-infringement activity had been detected on their accounts, before more punitive action was taken. Depending on the ISP, that could include throttling of the user’s Internet connection and temporary suspension of the user accounts until the customer contacted the ISP.

“Termination is at one end of the spectrum, and it’s something we are not doing,” CCI executive director Jill Lesser told Multichannel News for the magazine’s cover issue for Feb. 10, 2013. “It’s not clear that saying, ‘If you do this again, we’re going to shut of your Internet access,’ is a deterrent.”

In that same story, Gigi Sohn, then the president and CEO of Public Knowledge president and a member of CCI’s advisory board (and, more recently, the former counsel for external affairs for past FCC chairman Tom Wheeler) stressed that the CAS will “start a conversation among casual file sharers…It’s not about stopping the hardcore uploader/downloader.”

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The CAS issued 1.3 million alerts in its first 10 months, with only 265 challenges and no findings of “false positives.”

While major ISPs came up with the six-strikes approach, the American Cable Association said last year that its members were strained by keeping up with the flood of alerts alleging that their customers were accessing content illegally.

--John Eggerton contributed to this story

About 39% of respondents to a recent survey said that they don’t care about the financial damage that video piracy inflicts on studios and other segments of the media industry.

And a sizable portion – about 32% -- of consumers admitted that they watch pirated content, according to a survey of 1,190 U.S. adults by YouGov that was commissioned by security specialist Irdeto.

Per the study, just 19% said the financial damage caused by piracy would stop them from watching purloined content altogether.

The study also found that 69% believe that streaming or downloading pirate content is illegal, meaning that a 31% think it’s totally above board.

Those findings, of course, are good for Irdeto, which believes that they indicate that content owners, movie studios and service providers should invest in additional content protection strategies to prevent pirates from stealing shows and movies and cutting into their legitimate businesses. Irdeto also believes that these issues cut even deeper.

“The negative impact that piracy has on the content creation industry extends much further than lost revenue,” Lawrence Low, VP of business development and sales at Irdeto, said in a statement. “Piracy deters content creators from investing in new content, impacting the creative process and providing consumers with less choice. It is becoming increasingly important for operators and movie studios to educate consumers on the tactics employed by pirates and to further promote innovative offerings that allow consumers to legally acquire content.”

Among other findings, 24% of consumers who watch pirated content are most interested in watching TV series, while the same percentage were most interested in prirated movies that are currently showing in theaters.

According to TorrentFreak, a site focused on file-sharing and privacy and copyright issues, HBO’s Game of Thrones was again the most-torrented TV show. Deadpool, it said, was the most pirated movie of 2016, ahead of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Irdeto/YouGov study also found that consumers are likewise interested in pirating DVD and Blu-ray movies (18%), live sports (10%), and originals from OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu (9%). 

Sunday’s season six premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones was popular with digital pirates, according to the latest findings from TorrentFreak.

TorrentFreak, a news site focused on file-sharing and privacy and copyright issues, said the premiere episode drew more 1 million downloads in half a day, with about 200,000 BitTorrent users actively sharing copies of the episode at last check.

According to those findings, pirates are improving their taste for purloined video. have shifted their focus from standard definition (480p) video to high-definition formats, including 780p and 1080p.

“A few years ago roughly 10% downloaded HD copies, which are larger in size, but today this is getting close to 50%,” the site noted in a blog post, noting that the episode drew heaviest interest from pirates in Australia (12.5%), India (9.7%), United States (8.5%) and the United Kingdom (6.9%).

Though the season six premiere was popular among that group, it was not the most-pirated TV show – that dubious distinction still belongs to the season five finale of GoT, which saw 1.5 million downloads in a span of eight hours, according to  TorrentFreak.

TorrentFreak also points out that its figures account only for BitTorrent downloads, adding that “it’s possible that other pirate sources such as streaming and direct download sites did see an increase and that HBO’s free preview to non-subs might have also had an effect on reducing piracy.

On the legitimate side of the digital video ledger, T-Mobile said it saw traffic to HBO Go and HBO Now double. Both apps also happen to support Binge On, T-Mobile’s optional mobile streaming platform that delivers video in 480p and zero-rates the traffic coming in via its partner apps/services.

With Halloween just around the corner and consumers increasingly likely to tee up some scary movies and TV shows to amplify the mood, digital security specialist Irdeto took a look at what titles from the horror genre are most attractive to pirates.

AMC’s The Walking Dead has the dubious honor of being the most pirated TV show in the field, generating 44% of total TV downloads, Irdeto said in its report, based on its tracking of BitTorrent and OTT piracy traffic from October 14-23.

Following The Walking Dead was FX’s American Horror Story (28%), Showtime’s Dexter (10%), NBC’s Grimm (9%), The CW’s iZombie (7%) and Netflix original  Hemlock Grove (2%).

But zombies didn’t lead the way by piracy category. Ghost-themes titles (54%) led, then came zombies (27%) and slasher movies and TV shows (18%).

On the movie side of the digital piracy ledger, Insidious (16% of horror-genre downloads) was tops, Poltergeist (10%), The Shining (9%), 28 Days Later, Hotel Transylvania, The Exorcist, Saw, Shaun of the Dead, and Paranormal Activity.

Oh, and Irdeto did all of this with a message in mind for pay TV and OTT service providers– this data can help them put forth content that consumers are seeking during this frightening period, and perhaps put a damper on piracy.

 “As scary as this sounds, piracy data can help pay TV and OTT operators understand what their customers demand and may not have legal and affordable access to,” said Rory O’Connor, VP, services at Irdeto, in a statement.  “By looking at spikes in piracy, you can determine the most advantageous content, timing and format for your video service offerings in specific markets. For instance, consumers in the United States gravitate to older horror flicks that generate nostalgia around Halloween. It is quite possible for older video content to rise from the dead during key points of the year.”

O’Connor also reasons that Hemlock Grove isn’t a big target for piracy due to Netflix’s binge-friendly approach of releasing all episodes in a season at once.

HBO's Game of Thrones appears set to keep its crown as the most-pirated TV show as Sunday night’s season five finale set a new record of 1.5 million downloads in a span of eight hours, according to TorrentFreak, a site focused on file-sharing and privacy and copyright issues.

By comparison, it took about half a day last year for an episode of GoT to hit such a lofty piracy figure.

TorrentFreak said it expects that number to “swell to over 10 million during the days to come,” noting that the season finale also set a record for the number of people sharing a single file at the same time. At last check, TorrentFreak said 258,131 people were sharing a single torrent of the season five finale, with 181,075 sharing a complete copy of that particular torrent, with another 77,056 still in the process of downloading it.

The site said lower quality copies (480p) of the show remains the most popular among illegal downloaders, followed by copies in 720p and 1080p.

According to TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones has been the most pirated TV-show three years running, and is positioned for a fourth. 

Heading into season five, Irdeto likewise had GoT as the most-pirated show, finding that episodes from the first four seasons were downloaded more than 7 million times between February 5 and April 6, followed by AMC’s The Walking Dead (5.7 million illegal downloads), History’s Vikings (3.4 million) and Netflix’s House of Cards.

Periscope, Twitter’s new live streaming app, was in a bit of hot water with HBO after some of Periscope's users live-streamed the premium network’s April 12 season five premiere of Game Of Thrones, which is already wearing the crown of world’s most pirated TV show.

"We are aware of Periscope and have sent take down notices,” HBO said, in a statement. “In general, we feel developers should have tools which proactively prevent mass copyright infringement from occurring on their apps and not be solely reliant upon notifications."

Those takedown requests have been going directly to Periscope, and not to the consumers in question.

Twitter told Australia-based news site Mumbrella that it will look into suspending Periscope accounts that are found to be streaming copyrighted material, but that it does not constantly monitor for that kind of behavior.

Twitter’s Periscope terms of service page has a section dedicated to its copyright policy, which basically says, don’t send copyrighted material on the service,  or risk getting tossed out.

“Twitter, Inc. respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of Periscope Services to do the same,” it reads. “We will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable law and are properly provided to us….We reserve the right to remove Content alleged to be infringing without prior notice and at our sole discretion. In appropriate circumstances, Periscope will also terminate a user’s account if the user is determined to be a repeat infringer.” 

As millions of movie-lovers prepare to fill out their ballots ahead of Sunday night’s Academy Awards, Irdeto checked in with some fresh data showing that piracy picked up sizably after the films nominated were announced. 

Irdeto, the content protection specialist, monitors such things, and found a 385% increase in piracy worldwide for nominated films when the announcement was made in mid-January. Irdeto said it figured that out by tracking illegal download data from those titles across the U.S. and more than 200 countries using the company’s automated crawlers, which use special software to identify users and files on the BitTorrent network.

While Gone Girl held an early lead, American Sniper surpassed it, with more than 1.38 million downloads during the period tracked -- January 15 through February 14. The report is available here.

Irdeto said about 36% of pirate copies came from retail Blu-ray and DVD discs during that period, while 31% came way of Hollywood screeners.

On that note, Irdeto said the six nominated movies (American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Wild, Selma, Whiplash and Still Alice) not available yet for retail purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, VOD or legal streaming/download sites saw the highest levels of piracy from screeners. It further estimates that more than $40 million in retail revenue could have been captured if those titles were already available to consumers.

Irdeto cares about this in large part because it provides the kind of security that could support earlier digital distribution windows, something it’s in favor of and believes Hollywood should be as well.

“In the world of internet re-distribution, the window between theatrical release and worldwide market availability may simply be too long, leaving room for pirates to take advantage and offer consumers alternative means of instant gratification,” Rory O’Connor,Irdeto’s VP of services, said in a statement about the company’s findings. “Today’s consumers simply refuse to wait to access these movies through legitimate services.”

During the timeframe monitored by Irdeto, the U.S. led the way in illegal downloads, followed by Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, India, Australia, Spain, South Korea and the Netherlands.

This heat map (partly shown above and available in full here) offers a more granular view, breaking down by the top three Oscar-nominated movies downloaded on a country-by-country basis.