Illegal streaming: spectacular fall of a pirate IPTV colossus with 26 million annual visitors

There IPTV platform Photocall closed its doors on November 20, ending a service that illegally provided access to more than 1,100 television channels from 60 countries. The closure was the result of an investigation by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and sports broadcaster DAZN.

Spanish operator agrees to amicable settlement

Investigators managed to identify the main administrator and locate him in Spain. Rather than take legal action, ACE and DAZN negotiated directly with him. The operator agreed to immediately shut down the platform and transfer all domain names to ACE. The old addresses now redirect to a legal consumption awareness page.

The site primarily attracted a Spanish-speaking audience, with 30% of traffic from Spain and 13% from Mexico. Oscar Vilda, Managing Director of DAZN Iberia, highlighted the impact of this type of service: “Content theft harms the entire sports ecosystem. This illegal service redistributed content from some of our partners, including MotoGP and Formula 1, as well as Serie A, NFL, NHL, WTA and club channels like Real Madrid TV, Barça TV and Betis TV.”

The ACE, a coalition bringing together more than 50 major entertainment groups, is intensifying its actions. Larissa Knapp, director of content protection at the Motion Picture Association which manages ACE, confirmed this strategy: “The deterrent is working, and we will continue to pursue illicit operations that illegally transmit live content.”

This closure takes place in a context where the cost of IPTV piracy is estimated at 400 million euros annuallywhile in France, Arcom recently brings down over 300 illegal sports streaming sites.

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