DAZN Partners with Videocites to Crack Down on Piracy, Hopes to Eliminate 98% of Illegal Streams
Theft of intellectual property is a big deal for streamers. There’s a huge market for streams of content that users don’t have to pay for, especially when it comes to live sports that usually require a pay-TV or live TV streaming subscription to see. One survey from April indicated that by 2028, streamers could lose $113 billion to piracy.
That’s why platforms like DAZN are trying to fight back. DAZN is the world’s largest live sports streamer, and has announced a new partnership with tech firm Videocites in order to combat piracy of its streams on social media sites. Thanks to AI-based algorithms, the streamer estimates it will be able to shut down 98% of illegal streams within minutes of their creation.
“By swiftly removing pirated streams from social media platforms, we disrupt the viewing experience, which in turn demotivates consumers from accessing them in the future and encourages them to seek a legitimate service”, DAZN chief technology officer Sandeep Tiku said. “Ultimately, this will deter intellectual property theft and maintain a fair and sustainable digital environment, safeguarding the interests of broadcasters, rights owners, and athletes. The potential upside is remarkable.”
DAZN specializes in offering combat sports in the United States, but in Europe, its portfolio is much broader. On that continent, DAZN holds the rights to NBA basketball, NFL football, UEFA Champions League and LaLiga soccer, and much more. With all of those big names counting on DAZN to keep their IP safe, it’s no wonder that the company turned to a firm like Videocites to keep illegal streams off the web.
“Personal streaming has significantly increased the scale of social piracy, which is no match to the current manual solutions,” Videocites co-founder and CEO Eyal Arad said. “Videocites uses its Video-AI capabilities to combat the rising tide of social piracy with scalable, immediate, and resilient detection and enforcement. We are proud to have a valuable contribution to a leading innovative streaming platform like DAZN and support their global growth.”
DAZN hopes to become one of the first live TV streaming platforms to achieve profitability this year, which explains the timing of its deal with Videocites. With the goal of turning a profit so close, DAZN wants to do whatever it can to ensure it is pulling in the maximum amount of revenue, which will be easier to do if thousands of users aren’t watching its content for free.
If DAZN manages to achieve its stated goal of shutting down 98% of illegal streams, other companies may start partnering with Videocite as well. Proving to sports leagues that they have solutions to stop illegal streaming will be key for streaming providers as they try to convince leagues to leave broadcast TV behind. Obviously, platforms like Prime Video and ESPN+ already try to stop illegal streams from popping up, but none have achieved the success necessary to keep illegal streams off the internet.
DAZN
DAZN is a live sports subscription streaming service that offers 80+ fights a year from Matchroom USA, Bellator, Golden Boy Promotions, World Boxing Super Series, and Combate Americas. All plans include UEFA Women’s Champions League, darts, and documentaries.