Netflix, Disney + or even Canal +, under the banner of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) have just won a first battle against one of the main IPTV sites. Indeed, ACE has put an end to the activities of the Moroccan platform Electro TV, which allowed access to thousands of channels, films and TV series illegally on the web.
The main streaming services and major television groups can slash the champagne. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition that brings together many players in the sector such as Netflix, Disney + or Canal +, have just ended the activities of one of the main pirate IPTV sites.
it’s about the Moroccan platform Electro TV, which via a monthly subscription and a TV box, allowed access to more than 6000 channels and 200,000 films and TV series from the catalogs of 34 ACE members. For only around a hundred euros per year, Electro TV offered access to almost all pay-TV content. This is the first time that an illegal IPTV service of this magnitude has been shut down in Morocco. At the start of 2021, a similar operation carried out by ACE led to the shutdown of IPTV Akfasat, an operator which gave access to more than 3,500 channels continuously.
Netflix, Disney and the rest score major victory against pirates
As the ACE explained in its official statement, the platform was run by two individuals residing in the town of Oudja, in northeastern Morocco. We are talking about significant traffic, with more than 90,000 monthly visitors, mainly from French-speaking countries. “Online content theft is the biggest threat to the global creative community. The closure of Electro TV Sat in North Africa clearly demonstrates the impact that ACE’s global investigative and law enforcement capabilities can have on reducing this threat ”, says Jan Van Voorn, executive vice-president of ACE.
As a reminder, in France alone, illegal streaming represents a shortfall of one billion euros for rights holders. This amount increases to two billion euros if we add Europe to the equation. This is why the major players in the sector are mobilizing to fight against this activity. In September 2021, France adopted a new law against piracy, which notably provides for the creation of ARCOM, the regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication. This body, the product of the merger between HADOPI and the CSA, will have the power to speed up procedures against pirate sites.