DAZN, one of the world’s leading live-sports streaming services, has joined the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the largest and most effective global anti-piracy coalition, to tackle the piracy operations that threaten the sports broadcasting and streaming industry.
In welcoming DAZN, the coalition is launching the ACE Sports Piracy Task Force. The task force will further enhance and coordinate ACE’s efforts to target sports piracy operations and, working with law enforcement and other partners, pursue enforcement actions that disrupt and shut them down.
The task force so far includes DAZN and beIN Media Group, a leading international sports broadcaster that joined ACE last year. Working with beIN, ACE has targeted several sports piracy rings in the past year, including the successful shutdown of a notorious Morocco-based operation just days before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, for which beIN was the official broadcaster in the Middle East, North Africa and France.
Adding DAZN and creating the task force expands the coalition’s focus on the growing threat that large-scale piracy operations pose to live sports broadcasters, distributors and leagues. According to a study from Synamedia/Ampere,1 addressing global sports piracy could amount to an additional $28 billion USD of annual revenue for the industry.
DAZN becomes the 53rd company to join ACE since the coalition was formed in 2017; more companies in the media, entertainment and sports broadcasting sectors are expected to join in the coming months.
“Intellectual property theft of live sports content is an industry issue, negatively impacting all sports and sports fans, and it needs a global concerted effort to meaningfully tackle it. ACE is the natural home for the Sports Piracy Task Force, given their track record, reputation, and experience in delivering effective programs of action,” said Shay Segev, DAZN Group CEO.
“Working with ACE, beIN, and other broadcasters and rights holders, the task force will pursue the criminal operators who are damaging sport at all levels, often using fans’ credit cards and data illegal purposes. DAZN stands with ACE in the fight to eradicate the global theft of content,” said Ed McCarthy, DAZN Chief Operations Officer.
Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE, said the coalition is proud to welcome DAZN and to launch the ACE Sports Piracy Task Force.
“With every new member, ACE grows stronger and better equipped to protect the global ecosystem of content creators and broadcasters,” Rivkin said. “By joining ACE, DAZN affirms that this is the most effective way to protect their business and worldwide customer base from the threat posed by live sports piracy.”
“The addition of DAZN and the creation of the ACE Sports Piracy Task Force marks a turning point for ACE and confirms yet again that we are the essential partner to anyone who recognizes the threat of piracy to their business,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the MPA and Head of ACE. “With every new member, our global network becomes more powerful and more effective at targeting and shutting down the piracy operators that threaten the media, entertainment and live sports economy and consumers.”
ACE is powered by a network of experts operating in high-tech investigations and law enforcement, in partnership with local governments and international organizations like Interpol and Europol, to take on the full supply chain of pirated content.
1 “Pricing Piracy: The value of action: The real revenue opportunity for the sports industry.” Synamedia. Mar 14, 2021.
About DAZN
DAZN is the largest global sports streaming platform in the world. The service launched in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016, Canada in 2017, Italy and U.S. in 2018 and Spain and Brazil in 2019. In 2020, DAZN expanded to more than 200 countries and territories, serving sports fans worldwide with a breadth of live world championship boxing and on-demand original programming. DAZN is available on a variety of platforms, including Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, iOS, Android, Xbox, Playstation, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari browsers via DAZN.com.
About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world and reinforced by the content protection operations of the Motion Picture Association, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drive the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix Studios LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE. For more information, please visit www.alliance4creativity.com.
Featured Image: L-R: Patricia Ernst, Morrison Foerster; Cherrie S. Daniels, Cultural Attaché U.S. Embassy Berlin; Christiane Stuetzle, Morrison Foerster; Charles Rivkin, MPA; Anja Dihrberg-Siebler, Casting Director; Euzhan Palcy, Director, Screenwriter, Producer; Sabine Henssler, MPA EMEA; Jennifer Sobol, Warner Bros. Discovery; Gudny Hummelvoll, Producer, Hummelfilm, European Producers Club; John Gibson, MPA
This article was first published on Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment