The operators of several illegal streaming television products based in the United States have agreed to shut down their services after a Hollywood film and TV industry group uncovered their identities.
As part of the wind-down of their illegal services, the operators of at least five pirate streaming websites have also agreed to pay $2 million to the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) after the organization threatened to pursue legal action against them.
ACE is a part of the Motion Picture Association, the largest trade group representing major film and TV studios. In a statement on Wednesday, officials with ACE said they worked with various studio members to begin pursuing the pirate TV operators last year.
It wasn’t clear how the identities of the services were uncovered, but at least one of the websites included an affiliate link to a product called IP Vanish, which is owned by Ziff Davis. Affiliate partnerships allow website owners to receive commissions from sales of certain goods or products; those partnerships are typically arranged through an intermediary, which requires website owners to furnish tax information before commissions are paid out.
ACE says the operators of the pirate services “collectively had thousands of subscribers and received hundreds of thousands of domain visits annually.” In addition to shutting down their websites and agreeing to forfeit $2 million to the group, ACE says the unnamed operators are also transferring control of five domains associated with their scheme. That transfer appears to have been completed sometime this week, as the web addresses now resolve to a portal operated by ACE that encourages users to stream content legally.
“These landmark settlements should serve as a warning to illegal streaming operators about the severe penalties they will face for breaking copyright law, including legal actions, substantial financial settlements and fines, and jail time,” said Larissa Knapp, the Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the Motion Picture Association. “Although the multimillion-dollar settlements may seem significant, this figure still represents only a fraction of the losses caused by copyright infringement. The theft of digital content harms both local and foreign economies, threatens jobs, undermines investment, reduces tax contributions to governments, and stifles creativity.”
Less clear is whether the operators of the websites will face any criminal charges in connection with their schemes.
