Football and other premium TVs are stolen on “industrial scale”

A new report says the large tech companies are under-movement in order to make “industrial-scale theft” of advanced video services, especially on-site sports.

The Enders Analysis research accused Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft of saying on a question that “contradictions and inertia”, which said it lost broadcasters’ revenues and put users at higher risk of cybercrime.

Gareth Sutcliffe and Ollie Meir, who wrote the research, described the Amazon Fire Stick – a device they believe is used by many to access illegal streams – as “pirated promoters.”

Amazon told BBC News that it is still “to keep our efforts to combat piracy”.

Sports broadcasting is a large business, with the total value of global media rights exceeding last year’s $60 billion (£4.4 billion).

The increase in entitlement costs lead to higher prices for fans at home, especially when they choose to pay for a variety of services to watch team games.

To address this, some people resort to illegal activities.

Enders said there are usually multiple personal events, such as high-profile football matches, with tens of thousands watching them.

The bosses of power holders Sky and Dazn have previously warned that piracy is causing a financial crisis in the broadcasting industry.

Sky Group Chief Operating Officer Nick Herm said Enders Research “highlights the huge scale and impact of piracy, especially on advanced live sports.”

“This is a serious problem for anyone who invests in creating and delivering world-class content,” he added.

“We want to see faster, more joint actions from major technology platforms and governments to address this issue and help protect the UK’s creative industry.”

Users also have risks.

Enders reports that for example, fans who watch football games through illegal streams often provide information such as credit card details and email addresses, leaving them vulnerable to malware and phishing scams.

However, many proponents believe that reducing the cost of legitimate streaming movements will be the most effective way to minimize this risk.

The researchers looked at the European market and focused on Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft.

While Facebook owner Meta has been criticized for becoming the source of advertising for illegal streams, the other three technologies are accused of increasing piracy.

Amazon fire rods are the main cause of the problem, the report said.

The device plugs into the TV and provides viewers with thousands of options for watching legal service programs, including BBC iPlayer and Netflix.

They are also used to access illegal streams, especially live sports.

Last November, a Liverpool man sold his reconfigured fire stick device to allow people to illegally play Premier League football games.

He advertised on Facebook after uploading unauthorized services on Amazon products.

Another man from Liverpool was sentenced to two years of probation last year after modifying the Firebar and selling them on Facebook and WhatsApp.

Sky provided to Enders, with 59% of the UK saying they watched pirated materials while using physical devices, saying they used Amazon fire products.

Enders reported that fire rods made “billions of dollars in piracy” overall.

Amazon’s spokesperson, a sports rights holder, told BBC News: “Piracy is a violation of our policy on intellectual property rights and harms the security and privacy of our customers.”

They said Amazon strives to protect customers from risks associated with piracy and warns customers about installing or using apps from “unknown sources.”

They added that Amazon has also made changes to its firefighting equipment to make it harder for people to stream pirated content.

Mehta did not comment.

The researchers also pointed out the role of “continuous depreciation” (DRM) systems, especially those of Google and Microsoft.

This technology enables high-quality flow of advanced content to the device. Two of the big players are Microsoft’s Playready and Google’s Widevine.

The authors argue that DRM’s architecture has largely remained unchanged, and that due to the lack of maintenance by large tech companies, Playready and Windvine are now compromised at all levels of security.”

This “has a huge impact across the industry and ultimately prevails by stealing the highest quality content”, said Sutcliffe and Meir.

They added: “The DRM solutions offered by Google and Microsoft have been in a sharp decline in the past two decades since their launch.

“There is a need for a comprehensive overhaul of the technical architecture, licensing and support model. The lack of engagement with content owners shows that this is prioritized.”

Google highlights many of the measures it has done to protect content, noting that it takes “the evolving challenges of copyright infringement” seriously.

Microsoft has no comment.