The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) is a coalition of international and U.S. content owners, broadcasters and distributors representing more than 210 television channels from the U.S., Europe, Brazil, the Middle East, and South Asia. During its annual members meeting, it highlighted some of its many accomplishments over the course of 2023 and into 2024.
For example, in December 2023, IBCAP coordinated an infringement lawsuit filed by DISH Network against the operators of the infringing service GloTV, the CEO and director of New York-based distributor Massive Wireless, Inc., and Rays IPTV LLC, a California distributor and retailer, their management and others for operating, managing and distributing TV channels that are or were licensed for exclusive distribution by DISH.
The stolen programming originated in Pakistan, India, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and is part of DISH’s international programming lineup. DISH seeks damages that may total more than $25 million.
Advanced lab
IBCAP runs an advanced lab for detection, to build evidence in support of legal action against the illegal distibutors by proactively monitoring and identifying unauthorized video services and assisting with legal actions and criminal investigations against organizations and individuals that engage in pirate activities after collecting evidence that confirms that activity.
The IBCAP lab uses proprietary monitoring software – developed in-house and updated monthly – to automatically detect infringing linear channels for STBs and assist in capturing and preserving evidence of infringement occurring in the United States. It then sends automated DMCA takedown notices to infringing services, CDNs and hosting companies, which typically results in the removal of illegal streams worldwide.
The lab’s capabilities are in the process of being extended to monitor for, and take down, illegal programming that is distributed on-demand.
Detection and takedown yields settlements
With IBCAP support, DISH Network LLC received a $3M settlement from Datacamp, a UK-based transport provider that enabled illegal streaming services for 11 infringing pirate services that were illegally streaming programming that had been licensed – some of it, exclusively – for distribution by DISH. In July 2023, a US federal court ruled against Datacamp’s attempt to have the motion dismissed. DISH’s complaint had alleged that Datacamp received nearly 400 notices of infringement from IBCAP but did little to stop the pirate services from continuing to use the Datacamp CDN.
That multi-million dollar settlement was sufficient to motivate several other CDNs and hosting providers to also comply with IBCAP take-down requests.
Sports streaming
During the 2023 India Premier League Tourament, IBCAP disrupted nearly 9,000 streams, including more than 3.6 million views disrupted on Facebook Live streams worldwide. Through the swift actions of both the IBCAP team’s analysts in India and the United States, IBCAP sent takedowns in real time during the matches, resulting in a 100% takedown rate for streams on social media and mobile apps identified by the IBCAP lab.
In addition, the IBCAP lab removed more than 17,000 streams and disrupted more than 9.5 million views on Facebook Live streams worldwide during the highly popular Cricket World Cup tournament. Of the STBs monitored, more than 4,000 streams were removed, with a nearly 70% success rate.
New members
IBCAP has expanded its reach into South Asia, with two new members based in India. Joining in May 2023, Times Internet Limited, the owner of Times of India and Cricbuzz, and India’s largest digital products company with over 500 million monthly users. Cricbuzz is the world’s largest digital platform dedicated exclusively to cricket and the official digital streaming partner for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in MENA, Continental Europe, and Latin American region.
Joining in October was Star US LLC, the owner of highly popular channels from India, joined IBCAP. Known for its trendy South Asian content, Star’s television network, which is in nine language groups, reaches more than 700 million viewers across India and more than 100 countries
Further reading
Report: Year-in-Review Results. Press release. May 22, 2024. IBCAP
Why it matters
IBCAP was originally established as a partnership between Nagra and the US pay TV distributor DISH Network, to identify entities that were illegally distributing programming that was licensed – often exclusively – by DISH for US distribution; and has matured into a leading anti-piracy organization.
IBCAP also coordinates with government agencies and law enforcement both in the U.S. and abroad, reports suspected infringers to the appropriate authorities, initiates investigations and promotes the prosecution of persons or companies that participate in the illegal distribution of its members’ video content.
