Downloading illegal content is the modus operandi of too many users even today. Accessing books, movies or music by circumventing intellectual property rights is sometimes seen as an act of roguery, getting a product for free while others pay for it. That mistaken idea of being the smartest in the class.
Sports are no exception to the piracy norm. Neither does football. Illegal sports broadcasts increased by 30% from 2021 to 2022 in Europe, where France and Spain represent more than a third of the total of this type of illicit consumption (34%), according to a report published in September 2023 by the Property Office Intellectual Council of the European Union (Euipo).
The key elements to combat this practice are several. “The first is education. In our country I have the feeling that, due to a lack of pedagogy, people who consume piratedly are less aware that what they do is not correct. This does not happen in England, for example,” Movistar Sports Director Enric Rojas explains to La Vanguardia. The executive analyzes the situation and exemplifies that “in the days of video stores, when you entered a store, stole a DVD and left, the police chased you. In the digital world it amounts to the same thing.”
The second rationale is the “immediacy of performance” in live broadcasts. Spanish jurisprudence today allows Movistar and LaLiga, the owner and manager of Spanish professional football, to block pirate domains on a weekly basis. A reaction time shorter than that of Italy, whose Parliament approved a law last July that allows the removal of illegitimate content in less than 30 minutes from the moment it is notified of an illegal transmission.
“That half hour is absolutely basic,” says Rojas about the transalpine norm. “The action and help of the Government is essential to regulate in a way that allows us to stop a transmission immediately,” he adds. In total, more than 1,300,000 YouTube and social media videos, 75,000 Google websites and 800 mobile applications, which were used to watch events irregularly, were removed by LaLiga's technological subsidiary, Sportian, in the 2021 season alone. 2022, according to the football association.
Rojas points out that another of the obstacles to address are illegal emissions in bars. These locations are an alternative for users who cannot contract a rate on their own. “Some establishments broadcast matches with an individual, residence contract. That is also piracy. In a house two or three people watch it and in a bar, 40, 50 or whoever."
The latest figures recorded by the German company Gfk, dedicated to the global analysis of the consumer goods market, record that the volume of illegal digital accesses due to football in our country has decreased in recent years. Specifically, 30.3% from 2016 to 2022. It should be noted that a consumer may have connected more than once to one of the websites that offer a match in an unauthorized manner. Hence, the number of illegal views may exceed the total of the Spanish population (more than 48 million inhabitants during the third quarter of 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics).
This downward trend is also manifested in the loss of profits in the football industry, that is, in the profits or income that are no longer obtained as a result of harm. Data also published by Gfk confirm that the latest losses recorded in the State due to the non-consensual broadcast of the beautiful sport online were 170 million euros in 2022. Minor damages compared to 2020 or 2021.
“When package prices are raised, piracy levels rise. People have a payment ceiling,” says Joan Corbella, professor at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona and expert in the analysis of communication policies, to this newspaper. “We have the challenge of finding the balance between what people are willing to spend and what it costs the company to obtain the rights,” he reflects.
However, Enric Rojas affirms that the offers are not “a scientific issue” and believes that “if there were fewer hacks, which would allow us to grow more and better, we could probably offer cheaper commercial proposals.” “Perhaps it is more expensive than we would like, because we have to try to make the content as profitable as possible,” he says.
Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (TAD), parent company of Movistar, bought all European football licenses until the 2026-2027 season for 960 million euros last August. On the international scene, the Premier League sold its television rights in December for 7.8 billion for the period between 2025-2026 and 2028-2029. The British channel Sky Sports will broadcast 215 matches, more than ever in the history of English television, compared to the 52 that TNT Sports will broadcast.
As a consequence of the expense involved in being the holder of permits to broadcast football, operators and OTTs (internet broadcast services) are choosing to create “smaller batches of offers to ensure maximum competitiveness and that the public can choose.” different proposals according to their interests,” says Corbella.
The teacher in turn affirms that “the audience is still large in the sports sector,” but that “the younger generations are not as fond of football as the previous ones have been” is another factor that “does not help companies.” to amplify your product.
The general director of DAZN Spain, Bosco Aranguren, explains to La Vanguardia that different variables are required to attract the public accustomed to not paying for sports content. “Offering additional value with an excellent user experience and flexibility in choosing products and the price of the service” are some of the factors to take into account, he says. “It is important to be aware of customer trends and needs to continually adapt the strategy,” clarifies Aranguren.
In the audiovisual world there are doubts about what business model to follow to make policies that bring together the majority of possible content and consumers. “Reestablishing advertising as a financing engine could be one of the solutions to make sport more accessible to the population and try to reduce the incidence of piracy in Spain,” proposes Pompeu Fabra professor Joan Corbella, in reference to recover more broadcasts for free-to-air television.
However, Enric Rojas believes that the application of this proposal “would not change much” the current panorama. The executive believes that the “pillars” to combat piracy are “education, social awareness and government and judicial action.” Furthermore, he warns that "either we fix this problem or the time may come when the consumer stops watching football, because we will not be able to make an investment profitable." Meanwhile, the main actors involved in this problem are looking for solutions to reduce computer fraud as much as possible. From the sports industry, leagues, federations or owners of audiovisual rights to payment platforms, the Government or State institutions.
However, Rojas is aware that “it is impossible to reduce piracy to zero.” “These criminals are often ahead of us. Something new always comes out,” he laments.
