June 19 – With the row over the Saudi-based BeoutQ pirate broadcaster and the takeover of Newcastle United still hot news, an international coalition has managed to shut down another illegal streaming network
The German and Spanish FAs together with NAGRA and Nordic Content Protection say they have combined to end broadcasting by an illegal IPTV streaming network based in Spain. The pirate network also included 50 pirate servers located in various countries in Europe. All were shut down as part of the operation.
The network had over two million subscribers and was apparently offering more than 40,000 video channels and video-on-demand content, offering a wide range of channels, sports events, films, documentaries, and series, as well as 50 pirate servers located in various countries in Europe. All were shut down as part of the anti-piracy operation.
Although the network was based in Spain it operated worldwide in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Canada and the US, generating profits in excess of €15 million.
The shutdown is the result of criminal complaints and a co-operation between the various football leagues and the Spanish police. Arrests have reportedly been made across Europe, those involved charged with crimes against intellectual property, communications fraud, money laundering and criminal organisation.
“We are grateful to the Spanish National Police and all involved in this operation for working together to protect and defend content owner rights,” said Melcior Soler, audiovisual director at LaLiga.
“Piracy is a global problem and it’s critical for the industry as whole to come together to fight it, share knowledge and leverage key partnerships and anti-piracy technologies to preserve high quality content for our fans, whether it’s in sports or other types of entertainment. Together we can make a difference and alter the piracy landscape.”
The DFL also welcomed the transnational anti-piracy operation which came just as major European leagues are resuming their seasons.
“Tackling large pirate operations at the source is a key component in the fight against large-scale content theft,” said Dr. Holger Blask, director audiovisual rights at DFL. “We are glad the industry is more and more united against piracy, in this case both the sports and the content industries joined efforts to make it happen”
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