- Jul 27, 2015
- 5,458
Over the last few days there has been a new flurry of anti-piracy activity as rightsholders from all over the world attempt to tackle the rising threat of pirate IPTV services. With arrests, blockades, domain seizures and targeted DMCA takedowns, the gloves are certainly coming off in 2022 but the size of the mission ahead isn't easily understated.
As illegal IPTV subscriptions maintain their popularity among those looking for a cheap live TV fix, rightsholders from all over the world are trying hard to counter the threat. Broadcasters and sports leagues are applying significant pressure but with VOD services now a part of many pirate IPTV packages, Hollywood studios such as Disney and distributor platforms including Netflix and Apple are playing a leading role. Yesterday we reported new activity by anti-piracy coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) which included seizures of IPTV domains. Today we can report new action, not only by ACE but others in the sports and broadcasting ecosystem utilizing a range of anti-piracy tools. In a 2020 submission to the United States Trade Representative, Spanish football league La Liga reported several illegal TV services for infringing its rights. Among them was Seko IPTV, a service that now, thanks to ACE, is no longer operational. Seko IPTV first made an appearance more than five years ago in May of 2016. At the time it offered around 3,200 channels according to its own data, plus a VOD (video-on-demand) service offering movies and TV shows. Promoted for Mag boxes, Smart TV, Enigma, VLC, Kodi, smartphone, tablets and other devices, more recently the service boasted more than 9,000 live channels and 20,000 videos in its VOD library. However, it now appears to have reached the end of the road after ACE and the MPA took control of its domains.
This morning, Spain’s national police and the country’s tax agency further announced the arrest of six people and the seizure of 24,430 TV devices in Madrid. According to the authorities, the group sold the devices on various web platforms and via their own forum, from where technical support was provided to customers. “The analysis of the bank accounts of those investigated has revealed income derived from the illicit activity of 1.2 million euros between 2017 and 2021,” a police statement reads.
Pirate IPTV: New Arrests, Blocks & Seizures Hit Services From All Angles * TorrentFreak
A new flurry of anti-piracy activity in recent days shows rightsholders from all over the world are scrambling to tackle pirate IPTV.
torrentfreak.com