The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has released its 2025 annual report, detailing its efforts to combat copyright infringement through illegal streaming services. A key focus has been increased automation in detecting and removing illegal content, alongside legal actions against hosting and streaming providers.

IBCAP, a U.S.-based coalition of international broadcasters,content owners,and distributors,represents over 220 television stations from North America,Europe,the Middle East,South Asia,Japan,and Brazil. The organization supports its members by monitoring, gathering evidence, and pursuing legal procedures against unauthorized video services.

New Members Join IBCAP to Combat Piracy

During the past year, IBCAP welcomed three new members. In June 2024,Japanese public broadcaster NHK joined to protect Japanese-language content. In March 2025, U.S. video distribution company DirectV followed suit, signaling IBCAP’s strengthened efforts against mainstream content piracy in the U.S. market. The Italian state broadcaster Rai, known for internationally popular programs like Rai Uno and Rai Italia, became the third new member in spring 2025. IBCAP will now provide monitoring and takedown services for RAI content.

“IBCAP is now able to react to new streams within a few minutes and to enforce deletion.”

Automated Monitoring of VoD Content Expanded

A significant technological focus has been the continued progress of automated systems for detecting and removing copyrighted content. IBCAP’s technology lab has created new software for automatically monitoring video-on-demand content on set-top boxes and IPTV platforms.This software is designed to automatically record copyright infringements, document them, and send takedown notices to hosting services or Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). This has enabled the removal of significant amounts of infringing content worldwide, and IBCAP plans to make the system available to third parties, including non-members.

Legal Actions Against Hosting Providers

IBCAP is actively pursuing legal measures against hosting service providers allegedly involved in distributing illegal content. In October 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Virtual Systems, accused of providing server capacity used to spread copyrighted content belonging to IBCAP members. The complaint alleges that the provider ignored over 500 warnings and openly advertised its disregard for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

In May 2025, another lawsuit targeted innetra PC, which is allegedly responsible for approximately 15 percent of the illegal streams identified in the first quarter of 2025 via IPTV and set-top box services.The lawsuits seek $41 million in damages from Virtual Systems and $25 million from Innetra. IBCAP is also seeking preliminary injunctions to permanently prevent these companies from hosting copyright-infringing content.

Focus on Sports Broadcast Piracy

the report highlights efforts to combat the distribution of unlicensed sports broadcasts, particularly those related to cricket. During the IPL tournament in 2024, IBCAP identified 6,723 illegal streams, which garnered over 2.1 million views worldwide on platforms like Facebook. Real-time action by analysts in the U.S. and India resulted in blocking rates of up to 100 percent on social networks and mobile apps.

Illegal streams were also removed during the Cricket T20 World Cup,with over 2,800 violations identified on set-top boxes and IPTV services and a 77 percent removal success rate. The removal rate for web live streams was 70 percent. IBCAP emphasizes its ability to react to new streams within minutes and enforce their deletion.

Lawsuit Against Lemo TV and Kemo IPTV

In April 2025,IBCAP initiated legal action against Lemo TV and Kemo IPTV.Despite repeated takedown requests, these services allegedly continued to distribute content from IBCAP members without authorization.According to IBCAP, these providers accounted for about 30 percent of all illegal streams on set-top boxes and IPTV platforms in the first quarter of 2025.

The lawsuit seeks over $25 million in damages, as well as the publication of profits from copyright exploitation. IBCAP is also seeking an injunction to prevent future copyright violations, the transfer of the domains used, and reimbursement of legal and court costs.

International Cooperation and Law Enforcement

IBCAP emphasizes the importance of international cooperation in combating piracy, coordinating with U.S. authorities and international law enforcement centers.This includes collecting and forwarding evidence, reporting alleged violations, and supporting investigative and criminal proceedings against responsible individuals or companies.

As a U.S.-based non-profit, IBCAP focuses on multicultural content, which is frequently enough disproportionately affected by piracy.Along with legal measures, the organization relies on preventive measures and supports its members in the technical and legal defense of their content.