Film and TV piracy in France dropped in 2017, but still cost €1.18 billion in lost tax revenue and industry earnings according to a new report from EY.
The report says the number of people accessing illegal content in France each month fell by eight per cent to 10.6 million in 2017, down from 11.6 million in 2016.
The amount of pirated content accessed each month fell by four per cent from 17.4 items to 16.8 items in 2017.
According to EY, the French state missed out on €408 million in tax revenue in 2017, compared to €430 million in 2016.
EY said SVoD platforms saw a €151 million loss, while pay-TV operators lost €331 million.
France has seen IPTV piracy, using devices such as the KODI box, double over the past year.
Overall, streaming was the most common way in which pirates accessed illegal content, accounting for 35 per cent of the illegal market, followed by DDL (16 per cent), P2P (11 per cent), IPTV (13 per cent), and card-sharing (six per cent). In total, 6.6 million consumers accessed illegal content via a streaming site in 2017, compared to 6.8 million in 2016.
Feature films were the most popular form of content to be pirated, with 94 per cent of those questioned saying they had illegally downloaded a feature.
The most popular illegally watched TV series was Game of Thrones, which is released in France 24 hours after it airs in the US.
“This points to the importance the pirates attach to having immediate access to works,” said the report.
