“Commando operation against IPTV Pirate”: how the Arcom tried to block the classic PSG-OM

This Sunday evening, when Fans of PSG and OM feverishly awaited the start of the classic, Another battle, much less visible but just as intense, was behind the scenes.

In the discreet offices of the Arcom, the French authority responsible for regulating audiovisual communication, a major operation against sports hack was meticulously orchestrated. Objective: strike hard against these clandestine platforms which divert hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.

Sports hacking remains a thorn in the foot of the European leagues, tired of seeing the relative ineffectiveness of current methods. In Italy as in Spain, among the most severe systems in the world were not enough to sustainably stop illegal flows.

France does not escape this reality, with an alarming figure unveiled by Arch: 18 % of sports enthusiasts would have recourse in 2024, causing a damage estimated at 300 million euros. More broadly, the entire audiovisual sector undergoes a vertiginous shortfall of 1.5 billion euros each year.

But this time, Dazn, threatened with losing the rights of Ligue 1wanted to mark the occasion. After a recent showdown with the League concerning his involvement in the fight against pirators, the operator promised a spectacular action during the most awaited match of the season.

Last Wednesday, The team Thus attended the preparations at the very heart of the Arcom, in the 12ᵉ Parisian arrondissement. A “hundred” Pirate services were targeted to be blocked in two separate waves: a first 30 minutes before kick -off, then a second in the middle of the meeting, just to sow confusion in the followers of clandestine streaming.

However, this operation “commando” As named by the Arcom, supposed to surprise fraudsters, quickly lost its discretion. The team revealed, and in detail, the schedules and strategies of the device several days in advance … was it clumsiness, or a subtle attempt to sow doubt among the pirates? Be that as it may, anticipated disclosure posed a serious strategic problem: informed, the indelicate spectators would have largely had time to prepare their alternatives.

But the struggle remains complex. Arcom, despite its massive investment of € 200,000 in “Automated tools” considerably accelerating procedures, recognizes a permanent battle, “Like cat and mouse game”. If the effectiveness of the measures is progressing, their total impermeability remains a myth. The president of the Arcom, Martin Ajdari, assumes it without detour: it is impossible to achieve a final victory, the only one counts perseverance in the discouragement of fraudsters.