Every year, online piracy costs rights holders around the world billions of dollars. In Sweden, the issue has not received much attention until now, with the Swedish government announcing an enquiry into the matter, citing the fact that Sweden is one of the EU countries where the problem is the biggest.

“We want as many people as possible to be able to watch Swedish elite football and it is obviously a problem when some people choose to watch the matches on illegal sites instead of on our rights holder Warner Bros Discovery,” stated Jessica Linnman, commercial manager at Svensk Elitfotboll, the body that represents Sweden’s two top professional leagues.

Every year, Swedes collectively spend a total of 1.25 million SEK on illegal IPTV. Usage has doubled in the last three years. According to Mediavision, 580,000 Swedish households purchase illegal IPTV services annually.

“Matches that are broadcast on various pirate sites are a big problem for us and something that we are actively working to prevent,” said Linnman. “The fact that the issue has been raised at the government level in Sweden and that an investigation has now been set up is a step in the right direction to be able to deal with the problems.”

In Sweden, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) holds the broadcasting rights for the Allsvenskan and Superettan. WBD also welcomes the fact that the issue has been raised at the government level in Sweden and that an investigation has been set up.

“Illegal IPTV is a serious problem for entertainment companies, especially in the Nordics. It poses a threat to users who risk being exposed to both malware and identity theft, it financially hurts the entertainment sector and prevents producers from reinvesting in new and future content. We are actively working to combat these services using both legal means and international cooperation to disrupt their operations. The commitment shown by both the Swedish government and the EU Commission issued encouraging, and we will continue to work with them to protect both consumers, creators and the content they create,” confirmed Christina Sulebakk, EVP, Managing Director of WBD Nordics.

“Money that should have gone to rights holders is going straight into the pockets of criminals. This has consequences, of course, for the entire film and television industry. Unfortunately, Sweden is one of the EU countries where this problem is the biggest,” noted Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand announcing the enquiry.

Other posts by :

1. Russian satellite tumbling out of control
2. FCC boss praises AST SpaceMobile
3. Rakuten makes historic satellite video call
4. Rocket Lab confirms D2C ambitions
5. Turkey establishes satellite production ecosystem
6. Italy joins Germany in IRIS2 alternate thoughts
7. Kazakhstan to create museum at Yuri Gagarin launch site
8. AST SpaceMobile gets $42 or $1500 price target
9. Analyst: GEO bloodbath taking place

Categories: Articles, Business, Content, IPTV, OTT, Piracy, Policy, Regulation, Rights

Tags: Allsvenskan, IPTV, piracy, Superettan, Svensk Elitfotboll, warner bros discovery