"It’s the clone war": The fight against IPTV frustrates operators

Taking into account that piracy exists and that it will hardly be eradicated, the fact that a site or web page closes does not mean the end. It is true that in the United States and Europe the authorities are working hard to put an end to pirated IPTV, but illegal streaming sites manage to rise from the ashes faster than ever.

According to the station beIN, many of these sites, which had been closed, are returning to activity almost immediately after closing and, without going any further, a recent case in Liverpool demonstrates this.

Jonathan Edge, a man who sold pirated television devices, was sentenced to 40 months in prison. His defense tried to portray him as a modern-day Robin Hood, saying he was stealing from the Premier League to help those who couldn’t afford Sky TV. However, his criminal record, which includes convictions for fraud and drug trafficking, did not help him.

Edge wanted to test the Premier League by continuing to post ads on social media about its service, even after receiving clear warnings. The problem was the consequences of this act, as expected. He ended up in jail.

And the users? As long as they can see what they want without problems, they don’t care how many times you change the name of the site

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) They continue to go all out, and have closed more than 200 pirate IPTV services in recent years. However, these small victories do not end up giving them the war.

The WeCima case is another clear case that makes this problem very clear. After MyCima was shut down by authorities in 2023, WeCima quickly emerged as its successor, attracting more than 18 million monthly visits.

How do they do it? Pirates already know perfectly well what strategies to use to break the law. They use multiple domains, constantly changing them to avoid closure. Sites like Laroza and Shahid4u in Egypt have repeatedly returned online, using new domains to continue their operations.

Even when authorities manage to seize primary domains, as happened with Freestreams-live during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the sites simply migrate to new domains and continue operating.

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Tags: Television, Piracy, IPTV