DStv deals blow to major pirate streaming service

MultiChoice-owned Irdeto, together with the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, carried out a raid in Worcester, which resulted in the arrest of an alleged Waka TV reseller.

According to veteran TV journalist Thinus Ferreira, the team captured a man suspected of selling smart TV boxes pre-installed with apps that provide unauthorised access to DStv content.

Authorities confiscated 12 smart TV boxes, a USB drive, and a Huawei P20 smartphone from the premises.

“Our collaborative approach with law enforcement agencies across the continent is yielding positive results in our ongoing fight against piracy,” said Irdeto broadcasting cybersecurity and anti-piracy director, Frikkie Jonker.

“We are not holding back, and we will ensure that we do everything possible to stop piracy and protect intellectual rights of content creators in Africa.”

Irdeto announced its partnership with the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in November 2024.

It said the partnership would allow for a new level of enforcement and dedication to tackling pirate streaming services and protecting the media landscape as a whole.

“The Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit has shown remarkable commitment and support in helping us fight against broadcasting piracy,” said Jonker.

“We are confident that with this new partnership, we will be able to protect our content more effectively and further disrupt illegal streaming networks.”

The cybersecurity and anti-piracy firm wants to dismantle pirate operations and raise awareness of the financial and legal risks involved with using and paying for pirate streaming services.

MultiChoice said its collaboration with law enforcement means it “is confident that meaningful progress will be made in reducing piracy, ultimately ensuring the protection of content creators, viewers, and the broadcasting industry”.

MultiChoice views streaming piracy as a significant threat to its operations and has been cracking down on illegal streaming services in the country.

Its efforts last year included nine raids and 15 arrests of illegal streaming service operators and facilitators in South Africa.

The company recently told MyBroadband that it is ramping up its fight against illegal streaming services this year. With the support of law enforcement, it wants to apprehend and hold accountable those involved in these unlawful acts.

While it hasn’t disclosed figures relating to the adverse financial effects of pirate streaming services, it says these platforms cause significant financial troubles for broadcasters and legal streaming services.

In 2018, MultiChoice estimated that there were around two million active pirate streams, costing the local broadcasting sector billions in revenue.

The company’s interim results for the first half of 2024/25 revealed that it took on 233 anti-piracy cases between April and September 2024 — a 109% increase from the 111 cases it undertook in the same period the year before.

In October 2024, Jonker revealed how Irdeto identifies individuals behind pirate streaming platforms and warned that MultiChoice could come after pirate streaming viewers.

He said authorities know who the end-users of pirate streaming services are and said MultiChoice would consider legal proceedings against them once criminal proceedings against operators have been finalised.

“When we get to the point where criminal proceedings have been finalised, then we know who the users of these illegal services are, and then we will consider going after them as well,” he said.

“We want to go after everybody.”

Jonker explained that the MultiChoice Group uses identification tools to find and shut down DStv accounts connected to illegal streaming platforms.

He said the tools enable it to determine which DStv account is streaming DStv channels illegally.

“By analysing it, we can say that the stream is using account number 123, and then we take that account down,” said Jonker.