The newly formed Broadcast Satellite Anti-Piracy Coalition has taken some important steps in its battle against the regions vast number of pirate TV channels. Earlier this year key industry players combined forces to raise awareness about the impact of piracy on the regions burgeoning television industry and as a result of the continuous monitoring and […]
The newly formed Broadcast Satellite Anti-Piracy Coalition has taken some important steps in its battle against the regions vast number of pirate TV channels.
Earlier this year key industry players combined forces to raise awareness about the impact of piracy on the regions burgeoning television industry and as a result of the continuous monitoring and reporting of intellectual property infringements the following channels are now off air: Al-Mamnou, Ahl Masar, CDC Cinema, CRT Cinema, Homos TV, I-Movies, Hollywood Stars, Kit Kat, Majestic 2, Mega Cinema, Nessma Al Khadra, QTV, Scope TV Movies, Time Movies and Top Movies. These channels alone were responsible for more than 700 infringements of intellectual property rights for studio owned movies since January of 2014.
Members of the coalition include Arabsat, ART, du, Egyptian Chamber of Cinema, Eutelsat, IAA, JMC, MBC Group, Motion Picture Association of America (MPA), Nilesat, Noorsat, OSN, Rotana, STN, Viewsat and WWE.
Radi Alkhas, JMC CEO, said: At JMC, 300 TV channels are uplinked to different satellites. We always coordinate with our customers for any copy right infringements. Up till now, we have taken down 2 TV channels; Al-Mamnou and Majestic 2.
Sam Barnett, MBC Group CEO, commented: The alliance of industry players is trying to combat thousands of hours of pirated content broadcasted to millions of viewers in the region.
Barnett further added: Pirate channels damage all legitimate producers, actors, production companies and broadcasters. Its essential for the health of the sector across the region, that the pirates are challenged.
On behalf of the International Advertising Association- Global Office, Faris Abouhamad, Chairman and World President said: The IAA along with all of its stakeholders, members, corporate or individual, clients, ad agencies, and media owners, do not support any type of piracy or infringement on the intellectual property rights of any of our industry components. Hence we have asked all stakeholders involved not to support any channel identified by the coalition as an offender. Furthermore the IAA will take measurements to point out such irregularities to its members, especially clients, to safe guard their investments and reputation in the market”.
David Butorac, CEO of OSN, said: The television industrys sustained growth depends on recurring investments made by leading channels and networks to promote talent and create new content. A significant portion of TV channel revenues is in fact reinvested in the business. Illegal operators adversely impact the industry by not only accessing content illegally but also denying up-and-coming creative talent the opportunity to evolve, as TV piracy impacts the potential investments that channels can make.
