LOS ANGELES – The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading antipiracy coalition, and DAZN, the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, today announced that the operator of Photocall – a website with pirated content hosted from Spain that retransmitted live channels – has agreed to shutter the illicit operation.
Following an investigation conducted by ACE and DAZN, the operator of Photocall was identified and traced to Spain. ACE, a program led by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), approached the operator and reached a settlement, resulting in the immediate closure of the service, among other terms.
Logging more than 26 million visits in the past year, Photocall provided unauthorized access to 1,127 TV channels from 60 countries, including channels broadcasting live sports content.
“Content theft harms the entire sports ecosystem,” said Oscar Vilda, CEO of DAZN Iberia. “This illegal service did not offer DAZN channels, but it did redistribute the content of some of our partners – especially MotoGP and Formula 1, as well as Serie A, the NFL (National Football League), the NHL (National Hockey League), and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and club channels like Real Madrid TV, Barça TV, and Betis TV. Following the coordinated work of DAZN’s anti-piracy team and ACE, we have safeguarded the value of those rights and ensured that fans can continue to enjoy live sports coverage with the highest quality, at an accessible price, and without facing the risks of malware or fraud.”
Nearly 30% of the site traffic originated from Spain, with over 13% from Mexico, followed by Germany, Italy, and the U.S. at 6% each.
“Deterrence works, and we will continue pursuing illicit operations that transmit live content illegally,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer at the MPA. “Our actions are targeted, proportionate, and designed to protect rights-holders and audiences while maintaining the integrity of live sports and access to legitimate services.”
All sites will redirect to the ACE “Watch Legally” page.
About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the legal creative market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation, and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and unauthorized content sources and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world—including sports channels and associations—and reinforced by the Motion Picture Association’s content protection operations, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE.
Media Contact - ACE
Pamela Corante
pa************@************es.org
About DAZN
DAZN, the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, streams more than 110,000 live events annually and is available in over 200 markets worldwide. DAZN is the home of European football, women’s football, boxing and MMA, as well as the NFL Game Pass and NHL.TV internationally. The platform features the biggest sports and leagues from around the world – Bundesliga, Serie A, LALIGA, Ligue 1, Formula 1, NBA, Moto GP, and many more.
DAZN is transforming the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, play, buy, and connect. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN. The company partners with leading pay-TV operators, ISPs and Telcos worldwide to maximise sports exposure to a broad audience.
DAZN is a global, privately-owned company, founded in 2016, with more than 4,000 employees. For more information on DAZN, visit www.dazngroup.com
Media Contact – DAZN
Sofya Grebenkina
