DStv owner hammering pirate streaming services

MutliChoice has been cracking down on illegal IPTV services in recent months, partnering with South African law enforcement to make several arrests to curb the use of platforms such as Waka TV.

Internet Protocol Television, IPTV, or TV over broadband, delivers live television programming services via the Internet.

This is different from traditional TV services delivered using satellite, radio waves, or direct cable elsewhere in the world, which broadcasts all programming simultaneously. This is also known as a multicast format.

IPTV services use a unicast format that sends the end-user only one programme at a time from a video entertainment provider’s servers, usually via a content delivery network.

It is also different from on-demand streaming services, such as Showmax and Netflix, which give subscribers access to a library of video content that they can stream whenever they like.

MultiChoice’s DStv Stream is an example of an IPTV service that allows subscribers to watch its live broadcasting, which would otherwise require a satellite decoder and dish.

Another is Plex, which also gives users free access to several live channels together with on-demand streaming.

However, while there are many examples of legitimate IPTV platforms, the technology is also used to illegally distribute live TV programming, which is a form of content piracy.

In its general sense, content piracy refers to the illegal copying, distribution, and usage of licensed and copyrighted content. Therefore, piracy not only refers to distributing pirated content but also to its consumption.

MultiChoice recently told MyBroadband that its Irdeto anti-piracy department identified IPTV piracy as the fifth most prevalent form of the offence in South Africa.

It was preceded by social media piracy, broadcast piracy, and pirate streaming apps and websites.

Unlike other forms of piracy, which mostly make content available for free, IPTV services often charge users a subscription fee, such as Waka TV, which costs R160 per month or R1,600 annually.

These services also often sell themselves as legitimate.

However, the Waka TV website openly states that it does not claim any rights to the content it provides, including DStv channels.

“WakaTV is not responsible and does not guarantee nor claims any rights to the content. WakaTV is merely reselling the streams as its available from the service provider,” a disclaimer notes at the bottom of its website.

“The service provider is providing the streams of all the content as they are available on the internet, provides these links as a convenience and does not endorse the companies or contents of any such links.”

“WakaTV does not host any servers or own any content available for streaming.”

To combat this type of piracy, Irdeto has partnered with several law enforcement agencies nationwide to conduct raids on suspected piracy operations and apprehend individuals involved.

The most recent of these raids was conducted in Meadowlands, Gauteng, which led to the arrest of an individual allegedly involved in illegally selling “loaded” IPTV boxes and Waka TV codes.

It is important to note that Waka TV states explicitly that it does not accept online payments.

A few weeks earlier, Irdeto assisted in another raid that led to the arrest of a police officer on suspicion of being connected to an illegal Waka TV operation in the Western Cape.

MultiChoice said the police officer was criminally charged and released on bail after legal proceedings.

“Authorities have made significant progress in identifying and disrupting Waka TV’s reseller network, not just in South Africa but across the continent,” MultiChoice said following the raid.

“These enforcement operations send a clear message that content piracy will not be tolerated, and offenders will be held accountable through criminal prosecution and legal consequences.”

MultiChoice’s anti-piracy director, Frikkie Jonker, recently told MyBroadband that South Africans guilty of content piracy could face a fine and jail time.

According to Jonker, the RICA Act 70 of 2002 states in section 45 that anyone found selling or possessing infringing devices, such as illegal streaming boxes, can face a fine of up to R2 million and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Offenders can also be tried according to the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 and Cybercrime Act 19 of 2020, which regulates the interception, possession, transfer, and acquisition of licensed content as well as the software and hardware used for these purposes.