Videoage International October 2019

12 World October 2019 V I D E O A G E volume estimated at over two million euro per month. The investigation engaged more than 100 officers of Italy’s Special Unit for the Protection of PrivacyandTechnologicalFrauds of the Guardia di Finanza (GdF), a law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. The operationwas coordinated internationally with Europol and European Agencies Eurojust, and had the full cooperation of authorities from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria, and Greece. Operating as Xtream-codes. com, the company behind the software system offered a comprehensive package that allowed people to resell IPTV services to end-users.  The subscription-based system started at around 15 euro per month, going up to 59 euro per month for the powerful “all-in- one” solution. Xtream Codes itself recently reported having more than 5,000 resellers ser- vicing in excess of 50,000,000 end-user clients. The pay-TV black market in- dustry is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion a year worldwide, and North Ameri- ca is not immune. According to a 2018 study published by Waterloo, Canada-based In- ternet management company Sandvine, 5.5 percent of U.S. and Canadian households use pirate IPTV services. The fact that so many people are willing to buy IPTV subscriptions has made it profitable for pirates to invest in Google and Facebook ads. Because some illegal IPTV services look legitimate on the surface, it’s hard to prevent TV pirates from taking advantage of paid ad networks. Pictured above left is a frame of a video showing a GdF officer seizing XtreamCodes’ equipment. T he XtreamCodes, a widely available IPTV platform that was illegally broadcasting pay-TV channels in Europe, was recently seized, resulting in some 700,000 online users being blocked from viewing it. The measure was part of a larger operation that took place last month throughout Europe against the largest organization responsible for the widespread illegal Internet broadcast of pay- TV channels. Xtream Codes is registered as a company in Bulgaria, has a local VAT number, and lists an address in Petrich, a town south of Sofia, on the border with Greece, as its office. According to its now-disappeared website, it was founded by two students. Italian police said that 25 “managers” have been identified. About five million users were involved in Italy alone, with a business Massive IPTV Pirate Pay-TV Platform Shot Down in Europe by Italian Police (Continued from Page 8) AD 1 SEPTEMBER 2019 JUNIOR PAGE _ 7.284”x 9.055” VIDEO AGE www. g r b t v . c om l s a l e s @ g r b t v. c om M I P C O M 2 0 1 9 Boo t h R7 . K 1 7 Genre: Docu-Series Duration: 6 X 30’ Available as Finished Tape Genre: Documentary Duration: 3 X 30’ Available as Finished Tape Genre: Docu-Series Duration: 18 X 60’ Available as Finished Tape Genre: Documentary Duration: 42 X 60’ Available as Finished Tape If the story fits... she’ll make your dreams come true.