The Nordic TV industry strikes back at TV piracy

Anti-piracy organisation Nordic Content Protection (NCP) is promoting an increased awareness of illegal streaming services and their connection to more serious crimes. "Illegal TV services affect more players than the TV and streaming industry. Ultimately, it affects all of society. We need to take joint action and fight this from different perspectives and with various means," said Stian Løland, Head of Nordic Content Protection.

Piracy has been an issue for the Nordic media market for several years. Despite efforts to limit piracy, the illegal consumption of both films and series, as well as live sports, is growing in most Nordic markets. In addition, an increasing number of households are paying for access to illegal TV services, so-called illegal IPTV.

On 3 September, the NCP, joined by TV 2 Denmark, Viaplay Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Allente, launched a Danish anti-piracy campaign, while an equivalent Swedish campaign was introduced in early summer. The campaigns are headed by Swedish and Danish TV personalities to intensify the focus on the issue. The campaign is scheduled to run on TV throughout 2024.

TV piracy may not be breaking news, but this time the TV community is directing extra attention to a link between pirate streaming services and organised crime. "Calling attention to the connection between illegal IPTV and organised crime is not unheard of; it has been highlighted in international studies in the past. We focus on this connection, as we believe that current and potential users of illegal TV services are unaware of it,” Security Manager Michael Lund, Nordic Content Protection, told NFTVF.

“The overall objective is to inform the public that the money paid for illegal television services travels into organised crime, and it comes with a risk,” Lund said.

According to NCP, illegal services are frequently professionally designed, but rarely identified as unlawful. Using illegal TV services can not only lead to legal consequences, but also attract malware and exposure to GDPR violations, while paying for a service that can be shut down at any time, NCP said.

Today, 25% of 15–74-year-olds in the Nordic region have downloaded or illegally streamed films, series, or live sports the last month, according to the Swedish Mediavision’s latest survey of Nordic piracy. The survey is based on data from consumer online surveys in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The respondents were between 15 and 74 years old, with a total number of respondents at 4,700.

"Piracy is still a problem in the Nordic region. Deteriorating household finances and increased prices for legal alternatives have probably contributed to continued growth in this area," Senior Analyst Natalia Borelius, Mediavision, said.

In addition, more households are choosing to subscribe to illegal TV services, so-called illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). There are approximately 1.3 million households in the Nordic region that pay to access TV channels and streaming services via illegal IPTV, an increase of 16 per cent compared to last year.

Viaplay Group's Danish CEO, Lars Bo Jeppesen, estimates that 300,000 Danes can access TV channels or SVOD content via piracy. "We are losing money on piracy, but more importantly, piracy is run by ringleaders who use the money for trafficking, drugs. It is illegal to use and offer, and communicating this has been unsuccessful,” Jeppesen told MediaWatch.

While legislation is similar across the Nordics, making the sale of TV access outside legitimate channels illegal, the NCP’s goal is to generate more political attention and action. "There is a need for legislative changes and general political attention in the area of copyright and protection," Lund told NFTVF. "In Denmark and Norway, the law specifically forbids buying access to illegal TV services, but the legislation is unclear in Sweden. So, we are working to improve the law, making it clear that buying illegal TV services is illegal." An additional campaign goal is to prompt all TV viewers to reconsider their priorities. “There is a need for a general change of attitude among citizens concerning the purchase and use of illegal TV services,” Lund said.

Norway is considering introducing new measures to limit the number of people using illegal IPTV services, after Viaplay's Norwegian manager, Kenneth Andresen, sounded the alarm about illegal streaming. One action mentioned is a payment ban for IPTV services, like the one introduced for customers of foreign gambling companies. More than 200,000 households subscribe to an illegal IPTV service, according to Mediavision’s latest Nordic Piracy report.

“We have received input from players that they would like a payment intermediary ban linked to illegal IPTV services, like the one we have in the gambling area. This is now under consideration,” the Ministry of Culture told Nettavisen.

There is some Nordic legislation in place that should discourage piracy. According to Swedish legislation, to produce, import, offer/sell, install, support, etc. piracy equipment to give unauthorised access to the content of an encoded radio or TV programme, is a breach of the law on the prohibition against illegal equipment. Danish legislation states that it is illegal to manufacture, import, sell, own, or change decoding equipment to provide unauthorised access to the content of an encoded radio or TV programme.