When you pirate, Africa loses: How legal content supports growth

Digital piracy is coming to be recognised as a fundamental threat to content economies across Africa. To fight this threat, there is a concerted campaign to raise awareness about content theft and a drive to investigate and prosecute the theft of original content.

Just as buying a fake football shirt robs a football team of its licensing income, streaming a pirated TV show is stealing from the creators of that content. Pirate streaming robs contributors right across the value chain.

Robbing the creators

In the case of a drama series, pirate streams undermine the business model of the show, which is that the legitimate content platform funding the show will be able to recover its investment through subscriber payments.

When viewers resort to piracy, and subscriber income diminishes, it then becomes unprofitable for the content platform to commission future seasons of the show.

The show then ceases to exist, and the entire value chain behind the show collapses – the screenwriters, make-up artists, camera people, sound technicians, editors, directors and producers – all find themselves out of a job. This is not even to mention the support industries such as equipment hire, catering, transport, accommodation and music production.

Fighting back

Fortunately, there is a movement across the African continent to protect the rights of content creators and rightsholders, and to break up the criminal syndicates behind piracy. MultiChoice, together with Partners Against Piracy from various countries across Africa, have raised awareness of the catastrophic economic and human impacts of piracy, while police and the courts have helped bring pirate syndicates to justice.

Thanks to advances in AI, automation, watermarking and digital tracing, it is now possible to track down and prosecute consumers of pirated content. In Kenya last year, agents from the Kenya Copyright Board raided a premises and broke up a piracy syndicate with 27.6 million unique users worldwide.

In Nigeria, a partnership between the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Film and Video Censors Board is working to combat piracy. Meanwhile, in the UK, operators of an illegal network streaming the English Premier League football were recently jailed for 30 years.

Keeping it legit

These successes are encouraging, but the war on piracy will see true progress when the numerous affected stakeholders understand the benefits of rejecting content piracy. The benefits are compelling.

For fans, using legitimate, legal streaming sites is your way to support your show, your team, your sport and your country. Legal streaming ensures that shows and tournaments will return next season. It also protects you from hacking, malware, viruses, identity theft and adult content – all of which are endemic to pirate streams.

For creators and suppliers, legitimate streams and broadcast platforms ensure your survival. You get paid for the work you do, and your rights to the content are protected.

For governments, it’s important to protect legal content platforms, as secure intellectual property (IP) means more investment, growing GDP, and more jobs for their people. It also safeguards your nation’s cultural integrity.

For internet service providers, platforms and payment services, preventing streaming piracy reduces fraud and abuse on your networks, enhances user trust and encourages a sustainable content ecosystem.

For brands and advertisers, safe, legal content provides a viable audience with clear data to work from, protecting your media investments from fraud and reputational damage.

Fight piracy, fight for Africa

It is beyond dispute that lawful channels support consumer safety and positive business growth. Law-abiding businesses encourage customers and partners to do business with them, and they are well-positioned to help grow their industries and to create opportunities for all.

This is especially true in the content economy. Supporting content piracy hurts Africa in two ways – it undermines African businesses, and it threatens the ability of African creators to express themselves. In both cases, Africa loses.

The fight against content piracy is part of the fight for African cultural sovereignty, economic growth and self-determination. Refuse pirated content; report it wherever you see it. Do not share your credentials, and do not share downloaded videos. Only use legitimate, secure content platforms

To report content piracy, contact Partners Against Piracy on any of these channels: