LaLiga and an international coalition achieve the closure of an illegal broadcast network

LaLiga, the German soccer league (DFL), NAGRA and Nordic Content Protection have announced on Tuesday the closure of an illegal broadcast network using IPTV based in Spain that offered services to more than two million paying subscribers worldwide, as a result of a criminal lawsuit.

Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) was also involved on behalf of the content industry. The Spanish police led the coordinated operation with international law enforcement, with the support of Europol, the European Union body in charge of fighting crime, and Eurojust, the European Union agency for judicial cooperation between Member States.

The piracy network offered more than 40,000 channels of video and content on demand, all of them now closed. These contents included a wide variety of channels, sporting events, films, documentaries and series, as well as 50 pirate servers located in different countries in Europe.

The network was based in Spain, but oHe worked in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States., and generated benefits of over 15 million euros.

Its IPTV service was offered to distributors, allowing them to offer their own illegal service as a franchise.. Arrests have been made in many European countries, including Spain, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden, and they have been charged with crimes against intellectual property, fraud in the field of communication, money laundering and criminal organization.

“We are very grateful to the National Police and to all those involved in this operation for working together to protect and defend the rights of content owners, “said Melcior Soler, Audiovisual Director of LaLiga.

“Piracy is a global problem and it is essential for the industry as a whole to fight it, share learning and enhance collaboration and anti-piracy technologies to preserve high-quality content for our followers, whether it is sports or other types of entertainment. Together we can make a difference and change the scenario of piracy, “he added.

For his part, Holger Blask, DFL director of audiovisual rights, stressed the importance of the operation being completed just when “the main European championships resume activityTackling piracy from the root is an essential component of fighting large-scale content theft. We are pleased that the industry is increasingly united against piracy. In this case, Both the sports and content industries came together to make this effort a reality.“he indicated.

Meanwhile, Pascal Métral, representative for legal affairs and director of investigation, intelligence and anti-piracy lawsuits at NAGRA, recognized the “leadership” of the National Police in the operation. “These results could not have been achieved without the close collaboration of content owners., government agencies and anti-piracy companies, and is a clear demonstration of the real impact such efforts can have in halting the spread of commercial piracy. We are delighted to support this work through our investigations and our intelligence teams., as well as representing the interests of sport and the content industry in ensuring that their rights are protected, “he said.

“Nordic Content Protection wishes to congratulate the Spanish Police and other national security organizations across Europe that carried out this successful operation. With the confiscation of assets and money worth six million euros from piratesThis is a direct signal to other organizations that IP crimes do not pay off, “said Anders Braf, CEO of Nordic Content Protection.