The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) today announced that DirecTV, as its newest member, signaling a significant expansion in its anti-piracy mission. While IBCAP has long focused on protecting multicultural video content, DirecTV’s inclusion ushers in a broader scope, aiming to tackle the rising piracy of mainstream American programming, including general entertainment, sports, and video-on-demand (VOD). T comes as illicit streaming platforms increasingly target U.S. channels, a trend IBCAP’s advanced lab has been tracking closely. One of these main efforts is to scan social media to stop privacy. Something that has been successful recently as many social media services now ban popular privacy terms automatically.
Brooke Mallette, DirecTV’s senior vice president of legal, highlighted the urgency: “As technology advances, it is becoming easier for pirates to stream hundreds, sometimes thousands, of channels on a single service, with many of these illicit platforms growing bolder by offering American channels and sports.” She emphasized that DirecTV joined IBCAP to tap into its proven expertise in piracy detection and legal enforcement. As a first step, IBCAP will pinpoint pirate services mirroring DirecTV’s channel lineup, while DirecTV ramps up collaboration with programmers and channel providers to pressure hosting providers into shutting down unauthorized streams—a strategy that could disrupt the $28 billion annual piracy drain on global sports alone, as noted in a January 2025 report by the Independent Film & Television Alliance.
IBCAP’s state-of-the-art lab, equipped with Nagra technology, monitors over 100 set-top box variants, hundreds of websites, and numerous social media and mobile apps, identifying pirated content with industry-leading automation. Chris Kuelling, IBCAP’s executive director, stated, “The addition of DirecTV to IBCAP broadens our ecosystem to strengthen our fight against piracy by taking on pirates who are illegally streaming content that DirecTV also distributes.” The lab’s recent findings underscore a surge in piracy of mainstream American content, an area DirecTV is keen to see better protected, especially as 141 billion visits to unlicensed video sites were logged globally in 2023, per a Kearney and Muso study.
This partnership arrives amid a broader anti-piracy push—Naver Webtoon joined the MPA’s ACE coalition on March 26, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act (introduced January 2025) aims to block foreign piracy sites. Yet, the battle isn’t without controversy; past U.S. efforts like SOPA failed over free speech concerns, potentially impacting legitimate platforms. With streaming at 43.5% of U.S. TV viewing (February 2025) IBCAP and DirecTV’s alliance—representing over 200 channels—marks a pivotal step in curbing piracy, though its long-term impact on digital freedom remains a point of debate.
Please follow us on Facebook and X for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help. You can find Luke on X HERE.