IPTV has been enjoying growing popularity for a while now, especially among sports fans. But be careful, you risk a lot by using pirate services that illegally broadcast protected content!
In recent years, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) has become a popular solution for many users wishing to access a wide range of television content via the Internet. However, behind this technology lies a complex legal reality that can lead to serious consequences for users. As Arcom steps up its blocking actions against illegal content delivery platforms, it is essential to understand what IPTV is, the risks involved and the potential sanctions for users of illegal services.
IPTV: a perfectly legal technology
Before coming to its illegal use and the dangers and sanctions that result from it, it is appropriate to recall some important points about this technology.
As its full name indicates, IPTV (for Internet Protocol Television) refers to a technology for broadcasting audiovisual content via the Internet. It is this streaming technique (continuous flow) that allows you to watch films, series and all kinds of videos via an Internet connection, without going through terrestrial networks (TNT), cable or satellite. In itself, this technology is completely legal. It has also been used for years by Internet service providers (ISPs such as SFR, Free, Orange or Bouygues Telecom) to offer television, replay and video on demand services to their subscribers through their boxes, but also by all streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Molotov, and Amazon Prime Video.
IPTV can be enjoyed in various ways, provided of course that you are connected to the Internet, wired or wireless: with a web browser or a dedicated application on a computer or mobile (tablet or smartphone), with a decoder or a multimedia player associated with an Internet box (Android TV box, Apple TV box, Google Chromecast key, Fire TV stick, etc.) or even directly on a connected television (smart TV).
Some IPTV services are free (Pluto TV, Rakuten TV, FranceTV, Arte, TF1+, M6+, etc.), others are included in Internet box and mobile plan offers (Oqee at Free, for example), and others are paid via subscriptions (Netflix, Disney+, Canal+, etc.). And it is obviously the latter that pose a problem, by generating a real parallel market exploited by many pirate services.
Pirate IPTV: a plethora of offers with unbeatable prices
Indeed, alongside perfectly legal services, IPTV is used to broadcast content without the authorization of rights holders. Illegal IPTVs allow access to thousands of television channels, films, series and sports broadcasts without paying the corresponding licenses. These services are often sold at attractive prices, often a few euros per month, thus offering a much cheaper alternative than legal subscriptions. And this is precisely what attracts many viewers, and in particular sports fans (especially football!) who do not want to pay a fortune to watch matches. Consider that you can enjoy real packages with many pay channels (Canal+, RMC Sport, Bein Sport, DAZN, etc.), in high quality (Full HD and even 4K) for less than 100 euros per year!
And the illegal offer is plentiful! A simple Google search allows you to find dozens of pirate services such as PremierIptv, Abopremium, BestIPTVStable, Avis IPTV, TVsmarters, IPTV Pro Infinity, Majestic IPTV, VikingIPTV, M-IPTV or TV Supreme which offers subscriptions to all kinds of content at unbeatable prices, starting at 5 euros per month or 40 euros for a year. All very easily accessible, in French, with smart professional-looking sites and regular promotions, 24/7 support and payments by credit card or PayPal. Everything is so “clean” and “public” that the uninitiated can subscribe without realizing that these are perfectly illegal offers. Especially since you can find IPTV-stamped boxes for a few dozen euros on large online stores like Amazon, Cdiscount or AliExpress…
Pirate IPTV: Arcom at war against illegal services
Moreover, the number of IPTV users in France has recently increased significantly, particularly because of the 40 euro per month subscription plan offered by DAZN to watch all Ligue 1 matches (French Football Championship). Some sports fans, who felt that the subscription amount was too expensive, have in fact preferred to buy an illegal IPTV to watch the matches. According to a survey conducted by Odoxa, 65% of French respondents indicated that the price of the DAZN subscription encouraged them to turn to IPTV or streaming. In a recent article published in Le Parisien, we also learned that nearly 800,000 fans watched the Le Havre-PSG match, broadcast on August 16 on DAZN, on IPTV. A record for a championship match.
As you might expect, this new trend has not escaped the attention of the authorities and rights holders who have gone to war against pirate IPTV services. Thus, last weekend, Arcom, the regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, struck hard by ordering the closure of around a hundred illegal sites that were broadcasting Ligue 1 matches without authorization. Since the start of the 2024-2025 football season, 174 domain names have already been blocked by Arcom. This action is part of a broader strategy aimed at combating the piracy of sports content, a phenomenon that is growing rapidly with the arrival of new broadcasters such as DAZN, whose subscriptions are considered expensive by some football fans.
Arcom’s measures are far from anecdotal. On Friday, August 30, 2024, a few minutes before the kickoff of the Lyon-Strasbourg match, many users of pirate IPTV services found that their access was suddenly interrupted. This blockage caused panic among these users, who had opted for illegal subscriptions in order to avoid paying the approximately 40 euros per month requested by DAZN to watch Ligue 1 matches.
Illegal IPTV: Legal Sanctions and Scams
As convenient and attractive as they may be, all these illegal services expose their users to numerous risks and fairly heavy penalties.
First of all, it is important to clarify that French law is able to sanction suppliers, but also customers. As recalled ALPA (Association de Lutte contre la Piracy Audiovisuelle), users can be accused of complicity in copyright infringement. In this sense, they incur the same sanctions as providers, namely a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros. Article L335-2 of the Intellectual Property Code even provides for up to five years of imprisonment and 500,000 euros if the offence is committed by an organised gang. Despite everything, the justice system prefers to concentrate its research on blocking sites and dismantling the suppliers’ sales networks.
In recent years, several police raids have taken place in Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy, dismantling networks used by 500,000 and 900,000 customers each. The police had thus discovered no fewer than thirty servers hosted throughout Europe, including in France. For their part, IPTV users, who represent around 5% of the French population, are very rarely sanctioned. The authorities are therefore relying on prevention campaigns to raise public awareness.
Unfortunately, there are other risks that could dissuade viewers from using pirate IPTV. Some providers go even further in illegality and resell their customers’ personal data. By subscribing to an IPTV offer, customers provide several sensitive pieces of information such as their identity, address, but also their banking data. Because, yes, IPTV often works with subscription packages, and therefore regular payments by direct debit. Pirate providers can therefore collect this data in order to use it illegally or resell it to other malicious people.
Customers are therefore exposed to significant risks since pirate suppliers or malicious individuals who have purchased this information can use it for identity theft, phishing attempts or simply theft. “Personal data is resold on the internet (dark web, editor’s note), but above all, with banking data, cross-referenced with other hacked personal data (copy of identity card, proof of address, bank statements, etc.), people can have online credits taken out in their name”explained Jérémy Oustric, lawyer at the Montpellier bar, to Actu.fr.
So, if you are tempted by the amazing offers of pirate IPTV services, think carefully about the consequences before signing up for a subscription: even at a very attractive price, it could cost you a lot!