Illegal streaming costs UK £1.4bn a year, broadcasters and sports bodies warn

Illegal streaming costs at least £1.4bn in lost revenue across the sports, TV and film industries every year, according to a coalition of broadcasters, sports bodies and law enforcement organisations that are seeking government support to crack down on pirated content.

Almost one in three UK adults — about 16.8mn people — say they have used illegal streaming to access content within the past three months, a report backed by groups including Sky, the BBC, the Premier League and Formula 1 as well as the City of London Police found.

The report is an attempt to put firm numbers on the cost of illegal streaming. Many consumers assume that watching pirated football matches or films via modified Amazon Firesticks, social media feeds and file-sharing services, or VPNs to access overseas content is a victimless crime.

Sir John Whittingdale, MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Intellectual Property, said: “This report should act as a wake-up call: intellectual property theft and illegal streaming is a serious threat and urgent action is needed.”

The Price of Piracy research found that £700mn in revenues was lost every year because of illegal streaming of live sports, with a further £653mn linked to illegal streaming of film and TV. It estimated that this translated to 10,400 fewer jobs in the industry or about £366mn a year in lost tax revenues.

The report, produced by WPI Economics, also challenges the assumption that illegal streaming is mostly an issue for live sports given the widespread use of pirated streams to watch Premier League football in the UK. The research found that almost nine in 10 of the so-called “active pirates” illegally stream film and television shows compared to three in five who illegally stream live sports.

The campaign by BeStreamWise — a group set up to warn consumers about the cyber security, financial and legal risks of piracy — urged the government to work with the industry to help better inform consumers who knowingly use illegal streams and expose themselves to fraud.

Many of the streams and apps also expose users to malicious software. While the practice is illegal, authorities focus their efforts on suppliers and streamers rather than targeting consumers directly.

The group wants a government-backed anti-piracy strategy that would make illegal content harder to access and less readily available, which they argue could significantly impact infringement rates in the UK. It recommends a voluntary, cross-sector framework for platforms, connectivity providers and content services to work together to take action against illegal streaming.

The media industry has taken a number of routes to fight pirated material in the past, with broadcasters such as Sky in particular seeing the impact of people illegally streaming sports such as the Premier League, which has cost the group billions of pounds to secure the rights.

Sky has won High Court orders requiring internet service providers to block illegal streams of linear channels such as Sky Sports and Sky Atlantic. The Premier League also has a court order requiring ISPs to block unauthorised live streams of its matches. Police forces have pursued criminals running illegal streaming networks, which have been linked to organised crime groups.

Matt Hibbert, group director of anti-piracy at Sky, said: “Illegal streaming ... takes money out of the creative economy that would otherwise support investment in British television, film and sport, while exposing consumers to fraud, scams and identity theft.”