Calling it a turning point in the fight against the piracy of sports broadcasts, ARCOM, France’s regulator for audiovisual and digital communication, said that it had blocked 1,922 illegal services between January and August 2024; up from 1,544 over the same period in 2023. This led ARCOM to say that sports piracy in France dropped by 22%
In addition, from the resumption of the McDonald’s League 1 football (soccer) competition on August 16, (presumably) to the date of ARCOM’s press release on September 24; ARCOM reported that it had blocked a total of 396 illegal services, including 362 IPTV television services from France’s main Internet service providers, including Bouygues, Free, Orange and SFR.
New system to make blocking requests
In January, ARCOM adopted a “model agreement” document, pursuant to IV of Article L. 333-10 of the Sports Code, which provides a process for sports programmers to report suspected piracy events to ARCOM, which in turn decides whether or not to communicate a temporary blocking request to ISPs. Blocking measures end at the end of the authorized broadcast of the competition.
To implement and update these measures during the duration of an injunction, the rights holder is responsible to communicate to Arcom the identification data of the suspected services concerned. Arcom then decides whether or not the broadcast of the competition or sporting event should be blocked, and conveys a blocking order to the ISP. The process also applies to mirror sites
ARCOM and AAPS launch consumer awareness program
In June 2024, the Association for the Protection of Sports Programs (APPS) of France launched an awareness campaign, with Arcom support, to increase public awareness of the global consequences of piracy of sports content by explaining the virtuous circle linking the legal offer and the development of professional and amateur sport, national and local.
This film of the campaign “Protect your sport” (below) was released on June 8.
Further reading
Fight against piracy of sports broadcasts. Policy statement. September 2024. ARCOM
Model Agreement (to request blocking orders through ARCOM). September 2024. ARCOM
Why it matters
As the national regulator, ARCOM is committed to the fight against sports piracy, and particularly against the illegal live broadcast of sports competitions on the Internet. The new reporting process introduced in the Sports Code takes into account the urgency inherent in live audiovisual broadcasts of sporting events (“live streaming“), the potential for damage and its severity.
