Television piracy is on the rise. New data shared by monitoring company MUSO shows that the number of visits to TV piracy sites has increased by 30% compared to last year. While copyright holders are working hard to address the problem, subscription fatigue and hit shows like Squid Game continue to drive demand.
There is no doubt that, for many people, streaming services have become the standard for watching television shows.
This is not a surprise, as subscription streaming services are among the best and most convenient alternatives to hacking right now.
However, the appeal of the streaming model is diluted when there are too many 'Netflix'. Most people are happy to sign up for a streaming service or two, but more than a handful is a bridge too far for many.
This risk of "subscription fatigue" makes piracy relevant. But does this mean that traffic to pirate sites is also growing? According to the new data, released by the British piracy tracking firm MUSO, it is.
Television piracy is on the rise
Muzzle continuously monitors the number of visits to pirated sites in various categories. According to their data, TV pirate visits increased significantly during the first three quarters of 2021.
"MUSO has measured more than 64.9 billion visits to TV-specific piracy websites between January and September 2021, equivalent to a 30% year-on-year increase compared to the same period in 2020," notes the company.
This increase is even more impressive because piracy already reached new highs last year when the coronavirus pandemic began. This initial push was only temporary, but new data shows that TV piracy continued to grow this year.
The MUSO numbers do not explain why television piracy increased. One reason could be the aforementioned subscription fatigue, as people are unable or unwilling to pay for access to a wide variety of streaming services.
America first
When we look at the countries where most of the TV pirates come from, the United States ranks first, with more than double the number of views compared to runner-up Russia. This is partly due to the relatively large population, but it also surpasses China and India, which have more Internet users.
Needless to say, availability is not an issue in the United States, where most television shows are available, albeit at a cost. The same cannot be said for China, which ranks third in absolute piracy figures.
Squid Game Impact
Squid Game, possibly the most popular television title of the year, is not legally available in China. While a imitation appears To have been in the works, many Chinese chose to hack the Korean Netflix show. The same goes for other people who were unable or unwilling to pay for a Netflix subscription.
MUSO specifically mentions Squid Game as one of the reasons for the rise in TV piracy, but other shows like Loki and Wandavison also had an impact. These are all titles that require access to Netflix or Disney +.
Apple exclusives also tend to work well on pirated sites. In a detailed measurement of BitTorrent traffic conducted during the last week of October, Ted Lasso, See, and The Morning Show were in the top ten. Netflix's Squid Game was still in the lead, with Loki as runner-up.
In 2021, the vast majority of TV show piracy takes place through streaming sites. This percentage has skyrocketed to nearly 95% in recent years, and that excludes IPTV and broadcast box viewers, which are also popular broadcast options.
Threats and opportunities
Copyright holders will use these figures to increase enforcement efforts, but there are also opportunities. According to MUSO, piracy traffic can detect potential hit series before they break through.
"MUSO data has previously identified South Korean titles such as Hotel Del Luna S1 2019, Mr Queen S1 2020, and True Beauty S1 2020 as hits with piracy audiences long before they became mainstream," writes the company.
In the recent sample, the first season of The Veil is listed as the third most pirated TV show. This could herald the worldwide success of that title, notes MUSO.
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