Irdeto Releases Data on Illegal Social Media Streaming Platforms Ahead of Ch. League

[Len]

• Anti-piracy firm Irdeto revealed data on the rise of illegal streams in social media platforms including Twitch, Facebook, and Periscope.
• A large number of Champions League streams have been identified on the platforms with more than 5,000 illegal streams already being available during the knockout stages.
• According to the research firm, social media platforms often beat the viewership of traditional pirate stream websites despite hosting a lesser number of streams.

The UEFA Champions League is set to be the biggest sports event of 2018, and football fans all around are turning to illegal streams on social media platforms. According to security firm Irdeto, over 5,000 streams have been published on websites like Twitch, Facebook, and Periscope during the knock-out stages which were viewed by millions of people. With the Champions League final drawing the attention of hundreds of millions of people across the world, the number of pirate streams is going to be much higher than the knockout stages as Liverpool face Real Madrid.

According to Irdeto, over 40% of pirated streams were on social media platforms that raked in millions of viewers. When it comes to the world of pirated streams outside social media platforms, most people choose to view content either on web-based streams or through illegal Kodi addons.

The Premier League has been very strict against piracy and has taken numerous steps to individuals and entities enabling users to view matches for free to justices. However, the UEFA has not done anything about the illegal streams of the Champions League to date. High profile European football matches bring in hundreds of millions of views legally and several million views through piracy-enabled platforms. Individuals and entities who enable viewers to get access to pirated content have no regard for cybercrime and the risks involved.

Real Madrid was the most viewed team in the Champions League through illegal social media streams with 2,856,011 people watching the streams during the knockout phase. Irdeto wants to take action against such pirate sites and will be looking to strike a partnership with the UEFA for protecting its Champions League broadcasts from being pirated all over the globe.