Antipiracy coalition The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) and sports streamer DAZN have forced the closure of Photocall, a website with pirated content hosted from Spain that retransmitted live channels.
Following an investigation conducted by ACE and DAZN, the operator of Photocall was identified and traced to Spain.
ACE, a programme led by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), approached the operator and reached a settlement, resulting in the closure of the service, among other terms.
Photocall had more than 26 million visits in the past year. It provided unauthorised access to 1,127 TV channels from 60 countries, including channels broadcasting live sports content.
Nearly 30% of the site traffic originated from Spain, with over 13% from Mexico, followed by Germany, Italy, and the US at 6% each.
“Content theft harms the entire sports ecosystem,” said Oscar Vilda, CEO of DAZN Iberia. “This illegal service did not offer DAZN channels, but it did redistribute the content of some of our partners – especially MotoGP and Formula 1, as well as Serie A, the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and club channels like Real Madrid TV, Barça TV, and Betis TV.
“Following the coordinated work of DAZN’s anti-piracy team and ACE, we have safeguarded the value of those rights and ensured that fans can continue to enjoy live sports coverage with the highest quality, at an accessible price, and without facing the risks of malware or fraud.”
“Deterrence works, and we will continue pursuing illicit operations that transmit live content illegally,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Content Protection Officer at the MPA. “Our actions are targeted, proportionate, and designed to protect rights-holders and audiences while maintaining the integrity of live sports and access to legitimate services.”
In coordination with sports streamer DAZN, anti-piracy coalition Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has shut down illicit live sports streaming website Calcio. Discover more here.
Macquarie to sell Arqiva stake for £16.5m
Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to the sale of its 26.5% stake in broadcast infrastructure firm Arqiva for £16.5m.
Banijay UK beefs up in-house post operations
Banijay UK will increase its in-house post-production capabilities by launching new facilities in London, doubling capacity in Glasgow, and investing in Manchester.
Spain’s LaLiga agrees €5.25bn football rights with Telefónica and DAZN
Spanish football league LaLiga has agreed a new set of domestic media contracts for more than €5.25bn, with Telefónica and DAZN retaining rights from 2027 to 2032.
BBC remains popular but “must take a firmer grip” in crises, says Ofcom
Despite funding pressures and a rapidly changing media landscape, the BBC remains popular with audiences, with 83% of UK adults using its services weekly, according to media regulator Ofcom.
TikTok and YouTube trigger influencer boom among older audiences
Older internet users are fuelling the growth of influencer videos, according to new research from Ampere Analysis, which shows that half of 55- to 64-year-olds now watch influencer content every week.
