I won’t lie to you: I once bought a pirated DVD. It was based on the film Troy (2004), with Brad Pitt. I swear I regret it. Not to be a nice guy, no, but the picture was horrible, all grainy and there were even people talking in the background of the poorly made recording inside a movie theater.
20 years have passed since then and piracy has modernized. Thousands of websites have started hosting movies and series on the Internet. Many of these addresses were deleted regularly, but new ones always appeared.
It is in this context that Netflix emerged in 2010 in the United States. In Brazil the platform arrived a year later, but it became popular even after 2015.
The affordable price with high definition video and a large catalog were a perfect match for the audience. Netflix has cost R$15 in our market.
History has repeated itself across much of the world, and the number of visits to pirated sites has dropped significantly. In 2020, global visits to video piracy sites fell to 104 billion during the pandemic, according to Data Tracker report Muzzle.
In 2023, however, this number has risen again to around 141 billion, or an increase of almost 40%.
What would have led to this increase?
There is no study that answers this question. But we can advance some – good – hypotheses.
The problem is not Brazil
To be fair, Brazil is not in the list of countries that have accessed the most pirated video sites in recent months.
Data from the Muso company shows that the isolated leaders in this regard are the United States and India, followed by Russia.
There are currently approximately 130 subscription piracy sites in the United States. This figure used to be much higher, but as of 2020, the Legislature has passed legislation that makes running an illegal streaming operation a crime – previously it was only considered a misdemeanor.
Since then, more than 1,200 illegal addresses have been taken offline. And some of those responsible were arrested and sentenced to pay very high fines.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA), a trade group representing Hollywood studios, estimates that the three major active illegal sites together have about 2 million monthly subscribers.
They spend between $5 and $10 to access movies, series, TV shows and live sports. One subscription for everything. And cheaper than Netflix’s $15 or Disney+’s nearly $14, which can go as low as $20.
From $5 to $5, some illegitimate services rake in more than $2 billion a year.
Anti-Piracy Task Force
In 2017, the MPA created the so-called “Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment.” This is an inspection task force made up of around 100 investigators who travel around the world to help local authorities arrest streaming pirates.
The group is led by Jan van Voorn, an Interpol and Marine Corps veteran and expert in fighting drug trafficking.
The work to reach those responsible is not easy, as subscription payments are often made in untraceable cryptocurrencies.
The marine says it is working in collaboration with Europol, Interpol and national police forces dedicated to intellectual property theft and cybercrime.
According to him it is necessary “Two weeks to dismantle the operations of an illegal unit in Egypt and up to four months in Spain”.
Charlie Rivkin, executive director of the MPA, fully supports the work of this task force and is forceful in criticizing pirated streaming: “This is organized crime”he has declared.
The information comes from Bloomberg.
The post Piracy is on the rise – and the goal is now streaming appeared first on Olhar Digital.
Source: Olhar Digital
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
