Between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, the French telecommunications regulator ARCOM received 4,919 domain name blocking requests from seven sports rights holders (three audiovisual program publishers and four sports leagues) concerning fourteen sporting events: the Africa Cup of Nations, UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, English Premier League, Rugby Top 14, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, Formula 1, Moto GP, FIFA World Cup, German Bundesliga, WTA, Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Spanish La Liga.
3,797 domain names were blocked following Arcom notifications to internet service providers (an increase of 146% compared to 2023), including 1,769 domain names providing access to IPTV services. Of these 3,797 domain names, 439 were also notified to public DNS, and 1,085 were also subject to delisting measures.
Sweeping blockade operations were carried out during 2024 in conjunction with rights holders against IPTV services during popular sporting events, notably the French Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. For example, 258 IPTV services were blocked on October 27, 2024, during the OM-PSG match. As a result, the number of requests to block domain names allowing access to IPTV servers increased significantly during 2024.
Piracy declines
In France, illicit consumption has been declining, with 24% of French people affected, compared to 26% in 2020.
‘IPTV’ piracy
In 2024, Arcom conducted a study on the consumption of illegal content via IPTV. While this phenomenon is recent (66% of illegal IPTV users started less than three years ago), 11% of French internet users already use it.
ARCOM assessed the loss of revenue linked to the illegal consumption of audiovisual content and broadcasts of sporting events, which was estimated at €1.5 billion, or approximately 12% of the market, to which is added a loss of €190 million for the State in tax and social security revenues.
The loss of revenue for the audiovisual sector alone is estimated at €1.2 billion, and that for the sports sector at €290 million, representing 15% of the revenue generated by legal sports platforms and broadcasters in 2023.
Anti-piracy enforcement framework
In 2009, France put a mechanism in place to combat piracy by individuals, called the Graduated Response Procedure, which sends successive warnings, to remind internet subscription holders that they must take all necessary measures to prevent their connection from being used, by themselves or by a third party, to download or make available on the internet works protected by copyright or related rights.
124,522 initial warnings and 33,631 second warnings were sent to consumer subscription holders. While 75% of subscribers who received one or the other warning no longer issued a second warning, 3,765 reports of gross negligence were notified to subscription holders, informing them of potential criminal prosecution. 1,610 cases were forwarded to the public prosecutor.
Any rights holder may refer infringement matters to Arcom. In 2024, the number of referrals filed by rights holders continued to decline compared to previous years. This decline results from the effectiveness of the fight against piracy, such as the transformation of practices regarding the consumption of cultural works on the internet, the acceleration in the dissemination of legal offers during the past year.
Some infringements are not observable, due to the increasing use of workarounds (such as VPNs) by internet users – which contributed to the decrease in piracy noted in the report.
About the report
The ARCOM report is submitted each year to the French Parliament and Government, as means of evaluating its activities and its legal environment. It is the subject of a public presentation before the committees responsible for cultural affairs of the National Assembly and the Senate.
Further reading
ARCOM’s 2024 Annual Report. Research report (in French). Published June 19, 2025. ARCOM (Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication; Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique)
France: ARCOM releases 2024 piracy studies. Site blocking seen as effective. Article. December 2, 2024. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
Why it matters
According to ARCOM’s president Martin Adjari, ARCOM faces two general challenges. The first consists of consolidating the economic model of professional content producers, particularly news producers. In addition to a general weakening that the États généraux de l’information have perfectly documented, traditional media are facing competition from digital platforms that are not subject to the same obligations and that capture a growing share of advertising resources. Several European and parliamentary initiatives are planned, in particular to strengthen the independence of these media and the visibility of professional information.
The other challenge will be to respond to the strong demand for protection against the systemic risks of very large platforms in areas as diverse as combating foreign interference, particularly during election periods, disinformation, online hate, and protecting our children from pornographic content.
Arcom will continue to ensure the proper integration of video-on-demand services into the system of mandatory financing for audiovisual and cinematographic works and to combat various forms of piracy, particularly those affecting sports programs. A strategic project currently being developed, covering the period 2026-2028, will complement these first two areas.
