Illegal ‘IPTV’ use up 16% Nordics-wide; used by 14% of households in Sweden alone

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In Sweden, 2.3 million individual users aged 15-74 watch movies, series, or sports via illegal sources every month. This corresponds to 30% of the population, said the analysis company Mediavision, which annually measures piracy in the Nordic countries through consumer surveys.

The use of illegal IPTV remains high, and it is now estimated that 640,000 Swedish households pay for illegal IPTV services. This is projected to generate a staggering 1.4 billion SEK annually for criminals. In the age groups 15-34 years, more than half are using illegal sources. Most pirates are men.

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“Payment providers and search engines such as Google can also do more to make it harder for criminals,” says Alma Shawwaf from the Swedish Rights Alliance

An estimated 30% of the Swedish population is watching streaming video illegally. Source: Mediavision

640,000 is equivalent to 14% of Swedish households. Despite an increase in illegal IPTV usage also in the past year (the figure for 2024 was 13%), the sharp rise seen in recent years now appears to have stabilized for the first time. A peak last autumn showed that as many as 700,000 households (16%) were using illegal IPTV, but it is too early to determine whether this is merely a dip or a trend reversal.

Region-wide problem

More than 1.5 million households across the Nordic region have access to illegal IPTV services in spring 2025. This represents an increase of 200,000 households, or +16 percent, compared with spring 2024.

Its household penetration is lower in Finland compared to the rest of the Nordics. In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, uptake among households is equally high.

Further reading

Piracy continues to increase.  Article. May 23, 2025. Rättighetsalliansen (Swedish Rights Alliance

Mediavision: Over 1.5 million Nordic households have access to illegal IPTV.  Press release. May 28, 2025. Mediavision.

Why it matters

1.4 billion SEK directly from Swedish households into the criminal economy is unacceptable. Organized crime is fueled, and the damages to rights holders are much bigger than this.

“Piracy continues to pose a serious threat to the industry (across the Nordic region), especially regarding illegal IPTV,” comments Adrian Grande, Senior Analyst at Mediavision, a Swedish analyst company. “As illegal IPTV keeps growing, it is encouraging that the issue is on the agenda, but it is also clear that action is needed to tackle the problem.”

Mediavision noted that the Swedish government has appointed a commission to develop proposals for how illegal IPTV can be countered, but believes that more can be done by increasing resources and enhancing expertise among police and prosecutors.

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