A widespread pirate Live Television network, which had in excess of one million subscribers, was targeted by the Dutch Police.
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According to reports from the Dutch Police (FIOD), a substantial operation led to the significant closure of one of the largest Live Television networks in Europe, reportedly serving over a million users.
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Although the name of the Live Television network remains undisclosed by the authorities, it was reported to be significant in scale.
This undisclosed pirate Live Television network charged a monthly subscription fee of about 10 euros and provided access to over 10,000 television channels.
In addition to these channels, the network offered a vast library of 15,000 on-demand movies and TV series, sourced from popular platforms such as Disney+ and Netflix. This wide-ranging unauthorized access has resulted in considerable financial loss.
BREIN disclosed that several hundred thousand households were impacted by the operation, leading to a disruption of their television services.
Authorities confiscated over 1,200 servers from a data center. This data center, named “GLOBE,” hosted IPTV-related domains including:
- nextiptv.org
- iptvextrema.com
- mercuryiptv.com
The names of the services and companies involved have not been disclosed, but BREIN, a local anti-piracy organization, reported that the targeted organization provided access through third-party sellers.
During the police raids, four individuals were detained, and searches were carried out at multiple business and residential locations.
As a consequence of these searches, vehicles, computers, bank accounts, and substantial amounts of cash were seized.
This operation spanned various cities in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Almere, Enschede, The Hague, and Den Helder.
TIM Kuik, the director of BREIN, lauded this operation as the most extensive criminal investigation into digital piracy in the Netherlands ever conducted by the Dutch fiscal police. Kuik made the following statement:
“This is the largest criminal investigation by FIOD and the Public Prosecution Service into digital piracy in the Netherlands ever. Illegal Live Television is the most serious threat to the legal supply of films, series, television, and sports broadcasts. In this instance, it involves a criminal organization behind the large-scale sale of illegal Live Television subscriptions in, among others, the Netherlands. This involves tens of millions of euros in damage in the Netherlands alone.”
Research by Bournemouth University discovered that in 2021, over 8% of the Netherlands population, or more than 1 million users, were subscribed to illegal Live Television for an average price of 5.35 euros per month. This amounts to a total of 68.7 million euros.
Despite these crackdowns, other Live Television networks continue to emerge, capitalizing on the potential revenue of one billion euros per year. However, as demonstrated by this recent operation, the risks tied to such activities are far from theoretical.
Following this operation, numerous Live Television-related domains and IP addresses are said to have gone offline. As investigations continue and potential prosecutions loom, more details are anticipated.
For further details on this story, you can refer to the report on TorrentFreak and the original press release on the Dutch Police FIOD website.
You can also check out the video below.
Notable Live Television networks have encountered legal challenges or closures before. Some of the instances include:
- Pirate Live Television Reseller Sentenced to 5 Years in Jail
- Top Piracy Threats Reported to US Government
- Marvel Streams Live Television Operator Arrested
- Smooth Streams Shut Down by ACE
- Iconic Streams Shut Down by ACE
Legal Live Television Streaming Options
Iptv Knowledge cannot confirm whether unverified Live Television services, apps, websites, or add-ons hold the appropriate licensing.
If and when a Live Television service is deemed illegal, we promptly notify our users and update reports on our website to reflect that information.
To summarize, the end-user is accountable for all content accessed through free Live Television apps and paid services.
For more details and a comprehensive understanding of the legality of Live Television, refer to our detailed guide below.
Is Live Television Legal? Read This
For 100% verified and legal Live Television providers, explore the options listed below:
fuboTV
fuboTV is one of the most popular paid legal Live Television providers among cord-cutters worldwide, particularly for sports enthusiasts.