Streaming Piracy on the Rise with Amazon Fire Sticks at the Forefront
Amazon Fire Sticks are facilitating “billions of dollars” worth of streaming piracy, according to a recent report from Enders Analysis, a media and entertainment research firm. The report, titled “Video piracy: Big tech is clearly unwilling to address the problem,” highlights how various technologies from major conglomerates like Microsoft, Google, and Facebook are enabling what the authors describe as an “industrial scale of theft” in the streaming industry.
The Enders Analysis report focuses primarily on the European market but notes the global growth of streaming piracy as services increasingly acquire rights to live programs such as sporting events. The BBC reports that the study points to the availability of multiple simultaneous illegal streams for major events, drawing tens of thousands of pirate viewers. The report specifically criticizes Facebook for displaying advertisements for access to illegal streams, while Google and Microsoft are blamed for the alleged “continued depreciation” of their digital rights management (DRM) systems, Widevine and PlayReady, respectively.
Streaming piracy is becoming a significant concern for the sports rights industry, with DAZN’s head of global rights, Tom Burrows, describing it as “almost a crisis” at The Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in February. Nick Herm, COO of Sky Group, estimated that piracy was costing his company “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue. Enders co-founder Claire Enders noted that pirating sporting events accounts for “about 50 percent of most markets.”
The Enders report identifies Fire Sticks as a significant contributor to streaming piracy, labeling the hardware a “piracy enabler.” The report highlights security risks faced by pirate viewers, including exposure to phishing and malware from providing financial information to unknown entities. While reports of such incidents are currently limited, the potential for harm remains significant.
In response to the allegations, an Amazon spokesperson stated that pirated content violates their policies and compromises customer security. Amazon claims to work with industry partners and authorities to combat piracy and protect customers. The company has assisted law enforcement efforts, including working with the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit in London and the UK IP Crime Group.
The report also criticizes the DRM systems of Google and Microsoft, stating that they are “in steep decline” and in need of a complete overhaul. Google’s Widevine and Microsoft’s PlayReady have not received significant updates recently, with Microsoft’s last major update to PlayReady (version 4.6) occurring in December 2022.
As streaming continues to grow, particularly for live events, the challenge of combating online piracy intensifies. The distribution of sports rights across multiple platforms often requires fans to subscribe to several services, leading some to seek illegal streams. Anti-piracy advocates warn that this could result in higher subscription fees for legitimate services. As legislation and rights holders become more stringent, tech providers and law enforcement are likely to increase efforts to block piracy, while hackers seek new methods to enable illegal streams.
