The Live Content Coalition, representing Europe’s leading commercial broadcasters and VoD services, sports organisations, and live content producers and exhibitors, says it agrees with the European Commission’s conclusions regarding the inefficacy of its Recommendation on combatting online piracy of sports and other live events, set out in its assessment published on November 20th.

The Commission’s findings align strongly with the recent report of Grant Thornton, who were commissioned by the Live Content Coalition to analyse the data submitted to the EUIPO over a 17-month period. The unavoidable fact that online piracy persists and continues to escalate despite the Recommendation leaves no doubt as to the necessity of legislative action as an urgent corrective measure, the Coalition contends.

As highlighted by the assessment, legislative action to clarify the meaning of ‘expeditious’ removal of infringing content is indispensable to protect the integrity of Europe’s creative and sporting industries, to safeguard revenues that sustain cultural production and grassroots sport, and to ensure that European consumers can access legal, high-quality live content safely. Until then, online piracy of live content will continue to rob rightsholders, endanger consumers and fund organised crime.

“Piracy of live sports and entertainment is not a victimless act,” stated Mark Lichtenhein on behalf of the Coalition. “Every match, every concert stolen represents lost revenue, lost jobs, and lost investment in Europe’s creative future. The Commission must, therefore, urgently present a legislative proposal to close the gaps within existing EU legislation, particularly the Digital Services Act, of which the notice and takedown regime is a critical element. The infringement of live rights requires effective remedies such as reliable real-time notice and takedown mechanisms and dynamic blocking orders.”

For such legislation to be effective, the Coalition underlines the need for:

• Swift and reliable notice-and-action mechanisms adapted to the real-time nature of live broadcasts;

• Dynamic, real-time blocking orders that can be applied consistently across the EU;

• Structured cooperation between rights holders, intermediaries, and enforcement authorities, grounded in clear legal certainty;

• Recognition that European infrastructure — including data centres, hosting providers, payment and advertising intermediaries — is routinely used to distribute and monetise illegal live streams.

The Coalition says it stands ready to work constructively with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Member States to ensure that such legislation will deliver a robust and enforceable framework capable of protecting Europe’s creative and sporting industries.

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Categories: Articles, Business, Content, Piracy, Policy, Regulation, Rights

Tags: Live Content Coalition, live piracy