Revenues lost to online piracy will nearly double to $51.6 billion between 2016 and 2022, according the latest report from Digital TV Research.
‘Online TV Piracy Forecasts’ predicted Asia Pacific will become the largest region for online piracy in 2017 – overtaking the US.
The region will account for $20 billion of the total losses, with the top five countries representing 63 per cent of the 2016 total. This proportion, said Digital TV Research, will fall to 55 per cent by 2022, with eight countries recording revenue losses of more thatn $1 billion in the same year.
The US will remain the largest country for revenue losses, up by $2.6 billion (30 per cent) by 2022.
China, said Digital TV, has taken measures to combat piracy, but it is still a major problem. Its revenue losses will climb by $5.5 billion between 2016 and 2022 to $9.8 billion. However, China’s gap between legitimate revenues versus piracy losses will improve from a deficit of $1.2 billion in 2016 to a surplus of $2.4 billion in 2022.
Simon Murray, principal analyst, Digital TV Research, said: “Piracy will never be eradicated. However, it is not all bad news. Piracy growth rates will decelerate as more effective government action is taken and as the benefits of legal choices become more apparent.
“Legitimate revenues from OTT TV episodes and movie overtook online piracy losses as far back as 2013. The gap between the two measures is widening.”
