Ahead of the start of the 2023/24 football season, broadcasters and regulators are targeting illegal streaming services.
In Italy, regulator Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), has announced it will block pirated websites within 30 minutes of the start of a programme.
AGCOM said it intends to block the DNS resolution of domain names as well as the routing of network traffic to unique IP addresses.
Meanwhile, in the UK Sky has reportedly won a High Court order to force internet service providers to block pirate sites from being able to illegally stream both its sports content and entertainment shows.
According to the FT, the order requires online platforms to block viewers from illegally accessing linear channels at a specific time, eg at the start of a Premier League match.
Sky will be able to shut down individual pirate sites at a specific time, says the report. A third-party vendor will identify the source of the illegal stream via IP address or dedicated servers, it adds.
The information will then be passed on to ISPs who will block viewers accessing those locations via their network.
“Blocking has been shown to be an extremely effective tool in tackling content piracy and is just one of a range of measures we take to protect our content and our business,” a Sky spokesperson told the FT.
