Big tech is “clearly unwilling” to address the surge of pirated streaming of football matches and other premium TV, a report from media analysts Enders has claimed.
Sports broadcasting is big business, and broadcasters spend billions securing rights to live games. For instance, at the end of 2023, Sky Sports secured a record £6.7bn deal to broadcast Premier League football matches in the UK to the end of the 2028–29 season.
To watch these matches, fans have to pay a high subscription fee. However, there is a way around it through illegal, pirated streaming.
According to the Enders report, pirated feeds account for a “double digit percentage” of all viewing of premium sports and television, based on private data from broadcasters and analysis of internet data.
The report reveals that a single pirated stream of a live football match can attract “tens of thousands” of people. When this stream is shared across social media, the number easily multiplies.
The analysts warned that “combating piracy...