MultiChoice cracking down on piracy in South Africa

South Africa is one of the biggest contributors to content piracy on the African continent, only behind Kenya in the number of visits from Internet users to the top ten online piracy sites.

MultiChoice highlighted this in its attempt to convey the impact of content piracy on the local production industry.

The DStv owner also pointed to the effect that piracy has on the sports broadcasting industry, with competitions losing millions every year.

It said that the English Premier League loses roughly £1 million (R24 million) every match, while half of online UEFA Champions League streams are illegal.

Similarly, Formula 1 loses $45 million (R798 million) per race weekend, and the UFC, NFL, and NBA a combined loss of $28 billion (R496 billion) in annual revenue.

While MultiChoice did not provide a figure for the revenue it loses to piracy, it noted that it produced over 2,763 hours of local content in 2024, comprising 50% of its entertainment budget.

If this content is pirated, it will affect not only the broadcaster’s ability to continue producing content but also all those involved in the supply chain.

Citing Copyright Coalition of South Africa chairperson Chola Makgamathe, MultiChoice said that South Africa’s creative industries contribute 3% of the country’s GDP, similar to the agricultural sector.

“From actors and screenwriters to lighting technicians and set designers, every piece of stolen content chips away at an entire ecosystem that thrives on stories born of African soil,” MultiChoice said.

The broadcasting giant argues that there is a misconception amongst the public that accessing pirated content may be a victimless crime, which helps to perpetuate it.

“Piracy doesn’t just steal money. It takes food off tables. It silences African voices and devalues our culture,” said MultiChoice head of corporate affairs Litlhare Moteetee-Murendo.

MultiChoice says that outdated legal frameworks have also allowed the crime to prevail, as South Africa only adopted the Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill in 2024.

MultiChoice fighting back

However, MultiChoice says it has made numerous strides in combating piracy on the continent thanks to its subsidiary Irdeto and partnerships with local law enforcement.

The broadcaster said Irdeto has enabled it to deploy a multi-layered anti-piracy strategy that uses AI to flag suspicious content patterns and a ranking algorithm to prioritise takedown targets.

MultiChoice said Irdeto’s systems can embed watermarks in its content and detect and remove illegal sports streams before they go viral.

The broadcaster added that its subsidiary also works alongside payment platforms to take down pirate platforms that pose as legitimate businesses.

One of these businesses that Irdeto has targeted for some time is illegal IPTV provider Waka TV.

IPTV piracy refers to subscription-based pirate services that often sell themselves as legitimate and offer illicit access to live and on-demand content.

Earlier this year, Irdeto partnered with the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit to conduct a raid that led to the arrest of a police sergeant.

The police officer was allegedly linked to an illegal Waka TV pirate operation in Paarl, Western Cape.

MultiChoice’s anti-piracy director, Frikkie Jonker, recently told MyBroadband that South Africans found guilty of content piracy can face a fine of up to R2 million and a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

IPTV piracy is the fifth most prevalent form of illegally distributing copyrighted content, according to recent feedback from Irdeto.

Social media platforms were identified as the most common means of facilitating content piracy.

In this case, accounts share and livestream copyrighted material on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Broadcast piracy, where unauthorised cable or satellite channels illegally redistribute content without the owner’s consent, was identified as the second-most prominent means of sharing copyrighted material.