Amost one-fourth of US internet households agree that pirating content is acceptable, up from 14% in 2019; according to new research from Parks Associates to be released in Q4 and previewed during a Sept. 23 Webinar. “Almost half of pirates believe stealing content is acceptable because there are no consequences to the behavior,” said Jennifer Kent, Parks Associates’ VP, Research.
Parks Associates also found that the avenues traditionally associated with piracy – credential abuse, illegal streaming apps and rooted/jailbroken devices – are now in the minority.
During the Webinar’s opening Analyst presentation, Parks contributor and Piracy Monitor Managing Director Steve Hawley added the theft of advertising, fraudulent apps, theft of infrastructure capacity and the theft or illegal sourcing of consumer data to the mix.
Industry recognizes the threat
During the Webinar, industry executives discussed new technologies and services that are identifying piracy threats and provider concerns about piracy and new solutions in the market. “Piracy is an evolving challenge facing the market today and I’m excited to join this event for a discussion that will provide streaming creators and innovators the insight and tools needed to face this challenge,” said Marty Roberts, Brightcove’s SVP of Product Strategy and Marketing.
Piracy’s impact has gone from bad to worse, and it’s hitting content owners and service providers where it hurts: in their pockets. The good news is there is technology and intelligence available to keep content secure and stop them in their tracks,” said Steve Epstein, Fellow Solutions Engineer, Synamedia.
Verimatrix CTO Matthew Fite agrees: “We’re talking to the largest streamers and studios in the world, and they are all expressing a similar feeling – piracy is a today problem to solve. I think that as an industry we have the opportunity and the responsibility right now to work together to find creative solutions to shut down piracy,” he said.
“With an increasingly fragmented content landscape as content owners range direct-to-consumer services, piracy is soaring. Ultimately, consumers are looking for content, so we all need to focus on the best, aggregated approaches to allow this to happen,” said Sebastian Kramer, SVP Product Management, NAGRA.
Why it matters
Recognition of piracy has evolved over time, and the solutions form an ecosystem that extends from initial broadcasts and during the creation process for produced TV and theatrical content, through distribution, to end-user devices, and beyond the “outermost” point of legitimate distribution, the consumer.
Piracy awareness within the Media and Entertainment industry has become well recognized and more of a public discussion. The heavy lifting comes in stopping it, while keeping consumers happy and loyal.
Notes: While companies mentioned in this article are present or past sponsors, Piracy Monitor does not make endorsements. Piracy Monitor’s Managing Director is in the process of developing a 2022 update to the 2019 report “Video Piracy: Ecosystem, Risks, and Impact”, published by Parks Associates.
