INDUSTRY-WIDE CALL FOR EU TO ACT ON REAL-TIME PIRACY
Some of Europe’s biggest sports leagues, broadcasters and live event operators are urging Brussels to introduce new EU rules to tackle real-time piracy of live content, warning that current measures are failing to protect revenues, audiences and public services.
In a joint letter sent to the European Commission in October, 36 organisations – including the Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga, Sky, Canal+, DAZN, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, TF1, Disney and RTL – say piracy of live sport, entertainment and cultural events has reached “scales that can no longer be ignored” and is now driven by “organised criminal enterprises”.
The group is calling for binding legislation forcing platforms and intermediaries to take down illegal live streams within 30 minutes of notification, backed by EU-wide “live dynamic blocking orders” that can be used to block mirror sites and new domains as they appear. It also wants tougher ‘know your business customer’ checks on infrastructure providers such as hosting platforms, VPNs, CDNs and app stores, so that large-scale pirate IPTV operations cannot hide behind anonymous registrations.
The companies argue that voluntary efforts and private enforcement have been outpaced by industrialised piracy, particularly around IPTV subscriptions and streaming devices. They cite 2024 data showing that 81% of millions of detected illegal live streams in Europe were never suspended, and that fewer than 3% were removed within 30 minutes of a takedown notice. They say data from the first half of 2025 shows “no improvement”.
They also set out the economic hit. According to the signatories, estimated annual losses to rightsholders are €2.2 billion in Italy, €1.8 billion in Germany and €1.5 billion in France. The letter argues that piracy drains tax revenues and exposes viewers to malware, data theft and inappropriate content – often without parental controls.
The appeal is addressed to Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Internal Market Commissioner Glenn Micallef, as the Commission considers its next move after a 2023 Recommendation on combating online piracy of live sports and other events. That Recommendation pushed for faster removals and better coordination but was non-binding. The group says implementation “has yet to deliver tangible results” and is now asking for legislation.
Specifically, they want three measures written into EU law:
- A hard deadline for removals: illegal live streams should be taken down “as near to immediately as is possible and in all cases within a maximum time frame of 30 minutes”, arguing that most of the commercial value of sport and live events is in-the-moment and that faster takedown is technically possible.
- EU-wide dynamic blocking orders, including IP blocking, available in every Member State to act quickly against mirror and successor sites.
- Mandatory and enforced Know Your Business Customer rules for intermediaries.
They are also calling for stricter enforcement of the Digital Services Act, and for national Digital Services Coordinators to grant “Trusted Flagger” status to industry bodies so that pirate streams can be escalated and removed more quickly.
The signatories – spanning football leagues, pan-European competitions, pay TV groups, streaming platforms, venue operators, anti-piracy vendors and unions – frame the issue as more than a pay TV problem. They say live piracy now threatens jobs, grassroots sport investment, production funding and future rights values across Europe, and warn that rightsholders “must not be left to confront the growing threat of live piracy on their own”.
Source: broadbandtvnews.com
