AAPA: €3.21 Billion in Revenue Losses from Piracy in Europe

December 15, 2022 Kristin Brzoznowski Analysis, Top Stories

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) estimates that nearly 17.1 million individuals—4.5 percent of the European population over the age of 27—were using illicit IPTV services last year.

The proportion is even higher among younger Europeans: 11.8 percent of people aged 16 to 24 accessed unauthorized IPTV, representing nearly 5.9 million young individuals engaging in the use of unlawful IPTV in Europe.

In the Netherlands, 8.2 percent of the population use illicit IPTV: the highest share in EU27+UK market. Economies where IPTV piracy is high (ranging from 6 percent up to 8 percent) include Luxembourg (7.9 percent), Ireland (7.2 percent), Sweden (7.2 percent), Malta (7 percent), Denmark (6.8 percent), Finland (6.6 percent), the U.K. (6.6 percent), Cyprus (6.5 percent), Slovenia (6.2 percent) and Spain (6 percent).

The lowest rate of IPTV piracy is discovered in Romania (0.8 percent), Poland (1.5 percent), Bulgaria (1.7 percent) and Greece (1.7). Other countries with below-average engagement in the illicit use of IPTV services are Italy (2.5 percent), Latvia (3.2 percent), Croatia (3.2 percent), Slovakia (3.4 percent) and Portugal (3.7 percent).

The AAPA report estimates that €1.06 billion of unlawful revenue was generated by copyright-infringing IPTV providers in Europe in 2021—a 12.5 percent increase over three years.

The U.K., Germany, France, and Spain are the countries that generate the highest revenue for the providers of illicit IPTV subscriptions. Together these four economies generated almost €647 million (nearly 50 percent) of the income earned by illicit IPTV providers. Countries with relatively smaller populations, such as Malta, Cyprus, Estonia and Latvia, generate less income for illicit IPTV providers.

Spending to access illicit IPTV is estimated to average €5.22 per month, accruing to €62.64 annual expenditure per individual in Europe in 2021.

Due to IPTV piracy alone, legitimate pay-TV providers in Europe suffer losses that potentially reach €3.21 billion in annual revenue in 2021.