During the last week in February, the BREIN Foundation, a Dutch anti-piracy and copyright advocacy organization, took down 15 websites that were used to offer illegal IPTV services in one fell swoop. The individual sites were not identified.
The websites were all hosted by the same hosting provider. Because BREIN repeatedly encountered this hosting provider as a host of illegal IPTV services, they decided to investigate the network further. This immediately resulted in a substantial list of illegal IPTV websites. After analyzing and gathering evidence, BREIN reported 15 illegal IPTV websites.
As a result of BREIN’s report, the 15 sites were quickly taken offline. The majority remain offline. Because BREIN also requested and received identifying information from the hosting provider regarding the parties behind the illegal sites, BREIN can now pursue the infringers themselves. If any anonymous websites are moving to hosting providers abroad, BREIN will inform its international sister organizations of the services they use to take action. BREIN continues to actively monitor the hosting infrastructure.
Why it matters
Illegal IPTV services provide access to live TV channels, movies, and TV series from well-known, legal video-on-demand providers. Offering illegal IPTV, and its use by consumers, infringes on the copyrights and related rights of content producers and broadcasters.
“Illegal IPTV set-top boxes and subscriptions carry the risk of malware and fraud. Consumers lose their prepaid subscription fees if the service is discontinued and should be aware that personal data such as bank details could fall into the hands of organized crime,” said BREIN director Bastiaan van Ramshorst.
“Consumers often receive nothing at all after paying for a subscription. None of the money the criminal organizations behind these services collect reaches the creatives, makers, and producers of the films and TV programs, leaving less money available for new productions. Aside from the criminals, there are only losers.”
Further reading
15 Illegal IPTV Web sites offline after BREIN report. Press release. March 2, 2026. BREIN
