AVIA Reports Drop in Streaming Piracy in Indonesia

A survey commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) has found a 55 percent reduction in consumers using piracy websites over the last ten months.

The study, conducted by YouGov, says that 28 percent of online consumers currently use piracy streaming websites or torrent sites to access pirated content, down from the whopping 63 percent reported in September 2019. In addition, there has been an 80 percent drop in the number of consumers who use an illicit streaming device (ISD) when compared to the September 2019 survey.

Indonesia now has the lowest levels of ISD usage when compared to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. It is just behind Singapore in in the percentage of consumers accessing piracy streaming websites or torrent sites.

AVIA says the reduction is a result of the Indonesian regulator (KOMINFO) blocking some 2,300 sites and ISD applications, working alongside the Video Coalition of Indonesia (VCI). The blocks began with the Indonesian-based indoXXi, which was one of the most popular sites in Asia Pacific.

According to the survey, 50 percent of respondents noticed that piracy websites were being continually blocked and they no longer accessed them, and 34 percent stated that they now “only rarely” accessed piracy websites. Plus, 16 percent said they were aware of the government blocking piracy sites and have since subscribed to a paid streaming service. The survey also found that 23 percent are now spending more time viewing AVOD services and 74 percent now predominantly watch AVOD international streaming services.

Neil Gane, the general manager of AVIA’s CAP, noted, “We applaud KOMINFO for their sustained efforts in disrupting piracy website networks which are being monetized by crime syndicates. Consumers who access piracy streaming sites or buy ISDs are not only funding crime groups, but also wasting their time and money when the channels and websites stop working. Piracy services do not come with a ‘service guarantee’, no matter what the ISD seller or website operators may claim.”

A January 2020 Media Partners Asia (MPA) piracy economic damage report, commissioned AVIA’s CAP, found that online piracy deprived the Indonesian TV and online video sectors of approximately $1 billion in revenue in 2019.