In a recent project for a UK rights holder delivered by KLipcorp we analysed the extent of live piracy of a football match. The match was delivered on free to air TV in the UK and worldwide by about 7 further broadcast partners.
We had expected limited piracy due to the free to air distribution in the primary market but were way off the mark in that respect. We found a minimum of 19 illegal streams who were clearly in breach of copyright and in some instances also making illegal use of trademarks - Sky Sports amongst others.
The pirates were using pre-stream ads and Google adsense tools to monetise their activities and in a couple of cases were charging for PPV viewing. YouTube was used as a barker channel to promote illlegal streams. When stripped of rights fees and the lions share of technical costs the Pirates have a pretty attractive model - something that rights holders need to address before their broadcast partners realise that exclusivity "ain't what it used to be".
We had expected limited piracy due to the free to air distribution in the primary market but were way off the mark in that respect. We found a minimum of 19 illegal streams who were clearly in breach of copyright and in some instances also making illegal use of trademarks - Sky Sports amongst others.
The pirates were using pre-stream ads and Google adsense tools to monetise their activities and in a couple of cases were charging for PPV viewing. YouTube was used as a barker channel to promote illlegal streams. When stripped of rights fees and the lions share of technical costs the Pirates have a pretty attractive model - something that rights holders need to address before their broadcast partners realise that exclusivity "ain't what it used to be".