‘Immediate’ Pirate IPTV Shutdowns? No Problem, Please Ask Us Yesterday

In 2023, sports rightsholders and their broadcasting partners had their collective patience tested to the limit.

Coordinated industry-wide action late 2022 placed rising IPTV piracy rates under the spotlight, aiming to put the European Commission under pressure to take immediate action.

Rightsholders wanted new legislation, to compel intermediaries to cooperate with faster takedowns, or even cooperate at all. What they received mid-2023 was a detailed recommendation penned by the European Commission, which urged voluntary collaboration, without the need for new law.

Rightsholders Still Disappointed

On April 30, 2025, the Commission issued a call for evidence to assess the effects of the recommendation after its introduction two years earlier. Rightsholders’ assessments filed over the last couple of weeks vary in tone, but the conclusions are broadly the same. Without a legal ‘incentive’ that leaves intermediaries with no other option, there’s almost no motivation to cooperate voluntarily.

Interestingly, however, LaLiga’s experience bucked the trend. Part of a coalition that felt a potential two-year wait for action was far too long, LaLiga’s submission dated June 4, reports a “positive impact” from enforcement measures it says were “implemented in line with the Commissioner’s Recommendations.”

No names are mentioned in the submission but platforms including Twitch, Vercel, Scaleway, and CDN77, were previously reported as voluntarily cooperating after their IP addresses kept getting blocked as LaLiga aggressively pursued action against pirate sites. As a result of this voluntary cooperation, disruption to their businesses due to site blocking measures seemed to reduce quite quickly.

Unfortunately, those intermediaries processed just 1.33% of LaLiga takedown notices, a fraction of the 138,000 notices sent by LaLiga overall.

’10 Minutes or Less’ Takedown Protocols

LaLiga’s submission cites a report from March 2025 which found that of 10.8 million takedown notices targeting piracy of live events sent in 2024, just 2.7% were actioned inside 30 mins, at least according to the industry-supplied data used as a source.

With the league bemoaning a lack of cooperation from a “significant portion” of intermediaries, many were criticized by LaLiga for the absence of “established protocols for addressing illegal live streaming” or for “[failing] to respond to takedown requests in less than 10 minutes.”

The 30-minute takedown deadline of Italy’s Piracy Shield is a source of real pride for regulator AGCOM, yet the standard cited by LaLiga demands takedowns actioned two-thirds quicker.

No Obvious Sign of Urgency

A submission from Telefonica, which as an ISP partnered with LaLiga to obtain the dynamic injunction that authorized their recent piracy blocking activities, provides interesting context for ’10 mins or less’ takedown demands.

Indeed, the three injunctions signed off by the same Barcelona court appear to envision a much less demanding regime, at least for those making the blocking requests.

While there may be a general perception of extreme urgency verging on panic, batches of IP addresses, sent by way of a list on a particular day of the week, are far from unusual in court-authorized orders. Furiously blocking IP addresses in a live blocking environment may appeal to those who thrive on urgency, but since IP addresses are likely to turn up time and again, more considered approaches are available too.

Need Instant Action Today? Ask Yesterday

While ‘pirate’ IP addresses observed during match time are prime candidates for blocking, preparatory work in the days or weeks before the referee blows his whistle, plays an important role too. Such work can inform intelligent, more effective blocking, while minimizing overblocking by eliminating avoidable blunders.

Since matches are relatively short, anti-piracy specialists monitor pirate IPTV services and related infrastructure when matches aren’t underway, to build actionable intelligence for when it really matters.

Outside the all-important live match/game windows, broadcasts observed during a ‘pre-monitoring’ period are not protected live matches. Yet, courts seem satisfied that, when those broadcasts show sufficient links to the main content that blocking orders aim to protect, there’s a decent chance those same IP addresses, services, and infrastructure, will also appear during the ‘match window’. Once that happens, IP addresses tend to find themselves blocked, accurately.

The scenario above was presented and then tested independently to satisfy a court that blocking could be conducted safely. At no point was there a safety demonstration involving 10 minute blocking or removal of streams. When blocking is based on weekly lists compiled in advance, but blocking is required immediately, why wait until the very last minute to request it?

Perhaps there are concerns that some intermediaries could share that information in the wrong direction. Since not much can be done in less than 10 minutes, a last minute heads-up might be the logical conclusion, since it also paves the way for removing people from the equation altogether.

‘Immediate’ Blocking Universally Requested

Demands for 10 minute blocking appear in numerous submissions, most centered around a call to define “expeditiously” as “immediately” in respect of takedown notices.

A submission from DAZN agrees with the definition but insists that “immediately” shouldn’t mean 10 minutes, it should mean less than five minutes. beIN agrees with the definition, but makes no suggestion on timing.

The Premier League notes that “expeditiously” is so vague timing wise, that sport rightsholders have found it “almost impossible” to enforce their rights.

That raises the not insignificant challenge of complying with takedown notices in less than 5 minutes up to no more than 10. It’s a completely unrealistic timeframe that rules out even the most cursory investigation by design. It may end up carrying more weight than any other issue companies may be facing at the same time.

Of course, should notices begin to disrupt business operations, an automated solution would probably be offered at some point, to lighten the load. How many companies would look forward to rightsholders making complex business decisions on their behalf is unknown, but given the voluntary cooperation now enjoyed by LaLiga, the impossible can never be ruled out, especially given the right “incentive”.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.