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Freely unveils new channel partners

Everyone TV has revealed a new wave of content partnerships for Freely, the free streaming platform backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, bringing together live and on-demand TV all in one place. The announcement was made at an  event hosted during MIPCOM in Cannes, where Freely confirmed it is working with Hearst […]

October 14, 2025By Colin Mann

Kenya: Arrest in online piracy case

The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), in collaboration with other enforcement agencies, has arrested a suspect following an extensive investigation into a sophisticated online piracy network responsible for the unlawful distribution of copyrighted television content belonging to licensed broadcasters. The suspect, Kelvin Kiplagat Singóei, was apprehended in Kiplombe, Uasin Gishu County, for distributing and reselling illegal […]

October 13, 2025By Colin Mann

Research: New era of streaming partnerships

Research from Omdia presented at IBC 2025 in Amsterdam reveals a fundamental shift in the streaming media landscape, with major platforms moving from fierce competition to strategic collaboration in what Maria Rúa Aguete Head of M&E at Omdia called Streaming Love – a new era of partnerships between previously competitive giants. “The ‘Streaming Wars’ narrative […]

September 15, 2025

World’s largest live sports piracy ring shut down

In collaboration with Egyptian authorities, antipiracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has confirmed the shutdown of the Streameast piracy network. Through its 80 associated domains, the network logged more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year, making it the largest illicit live sports streaming operation in the world. “Today, ACE scored […]

September 3, 2025By Colin Mann

Argentina: Piracy network taken down

In a new decisive step in the fight against organised crime in the audiovisual industry, a massive operation in Argentina has dismantled a criminal network with up to 8 million paying users worldwide and a potential reach of over 20 million clients. The operation, led by the Argentine judiciary, involved technical collaboration from La Liga, […]

September 3, 2025By Colin Mann

Mercado Libre, La Liga combat LatAm online piracy

Mercado Libre, an e-commerce and payments technology company in Latin America, and La Liga – Spain’s professional football league – have confirmed the incorporation of the Spanish competition into the Mercado Libre Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance (MACA). This strategic alliance seeks to strengthen the protection of audiovisual rights in the region and fight audiovisual fraud, particularly online […]

August 27, 2025By Colin Mann

Arrest in Argentina sports piracy case

Argentine justice has struck a decisive blow against audiovisual piracy in Latin America by arresting the founder of the website Al Angulo TV for the illegal broadcasting of national and international football matches and high-profile sporting events such as Formula 1 and La Liga football. The arrest took place after a police raid at the […]

August 22, 2025By Colin Mann

Analysis: SVoDs reduce scripted TV commissions

The number of Scripted TV Originals ordered for production by the top six global streamers – Apple, Amazon, Disney+, HBO MAX, Netflix, Paramount+ – in the first half of 2025 fell by 24 per cent year-on-year, down from 318 first-run and renewed titles, to just 242, according to insight from Ampere Analysis. The drop reflects […]

August 12, 2025

Astro joins ACE

Antipiracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has welcomed Malaysia-based Astro as its newest member. Astro, a leading content and entertainment broadcasting company in Malaysia, was established in 1996 and has since built a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem that includes both pay and free-to-access TV services and OTT platforms. Currently, Astro reaches approximately 64 […]

August 5, 2025By Colin Mann

Italy strengthens online copyright protection

Italy’s Communications Regulatory Authority (AgCom) has broadened its online copyright regulations to include all live content, including films, TV series premieres, and music. The ‘Piracy Shield’ platform allows rights holders of live events to report copyright infringements and have access to illegal content blocked. They can now register on the ‘Piracy Shield’ platform, either directly […]

August 4, 2025From Branislav Pekic in Rome