As a leading organisation in the fight against piracy, LaLiga’s shift in strategy over recent months towards a more collaborative approach on the issue has significant implications for the industry at large.
For years, discussions over the piracy problem have been dominated by headline-grabbing disputes between rights-holders and some of the biggest names in technology.
However, LaLiga, which organises Spain’s top two football divisions, is now keen for the conversations surrounding the contentious issue to be rooted in collaboration rather than acrimony, with the aim of driving even greater change.
Strategic shift
According to internal assessments, audiovisual piracy causes losses of between €600m and €700m a year for clubs in LaLiga. As well as direct revenue leakage from illegal streaming, this figure includes the erosion of rights value as broadcasters and media platforms become less willing to pay a premium in piracy-heavy markets.
This year, though, LaLiga’s approach has evolved, with the organisation acknowledging that the issue can no longer be pinned on isolated illegal streaming. LaLiga is instead treating piracy as an “industrial-scale operation” powered by organised criminal networks – and is responding accordingly.
“Yes, we have indeed taken a significant strategic step this year, not by altering our commitment to fighting piracy – which remains unwavering – but by recognising that we can no longer rely solely on unilateral enforcement,” says LaLiga’s antifraud team. “The scale, global nature, and sophistication of piracy today demands something more:deep, sustained collaboration across the industry, including with leagues, broadcasters, tech platforms, governments and law enforcement bodies.
“For more than a decade, LaLiga has built one of the most advanced antipiracy operations in world sport, achieving major wins – from real-time dynamic IP blocking under court authority in Spain to the deactivation of high-volume IPTV platforms like DuckVision. But we’ve reached the point where greater impact requires alignment – across rights-holders, service providers, and regulators.
“The strategic decision is not to step back from leading enforcement, but to elevate our influence and scale by becoming a hub for collaboration, so that others can benefit from what we’ve built and, together, we can respond faster and more effectively than pirates do.”
LaLiga believes this collaborative approach will allow it to share intelligence and forensic data across territories, enabling a clearer view of the global piracy infrastructure. Whether it be with technology companies, media platforms, or even other leagues, LaLiga is open to sharing resources and expertise to crack down on an issue that plagues the sports industry.
“Our approach is twofold,” the antifraud team says. “On one hand, Javier Tebas has made this a presidential priority and has been very vocal at the international level, including with regulators, media and other leagues. On the other hand, our legal, operations, technology, communication and institutional teams proactively reach out to platforms, agencies and rights-holders to explore shared initiatives.”
LaLiga ‘willing to work with anyone’
LaLiga is now working alongside major technology firms in an attempt to accelerate efforts to clamp down on piracy.
LaLiga lists CDN77, Akamai, Scaleway, OVH, Vercel, Gcore and CDNetworks among its collaborators, along with leading players in the sector such as Twitch, Meta, TikTok and Amazon Web Services.
Each company plays a different role depending on its position in the infrastructure chain. CDN77, Scaleway, OVH and Akamai, for example, have worked with LaLiga to establish technical workflows to identify and block IPs and domains in real time.
“Their willingness to engage with our technical teams allows us to execute surgical, non-disruptive interventions,” the league’s antifraud team adds. “These are companies that understand the importance of rights protection and have made it a strategic priority, rather than an afterthought.”
Nearer the top of the infrastructure chain, Twitch, Meta and TikTok are working with LaLiga to remove unauthorised content swiftly. LaLiga’s relationship with cloud and content delivery network (CDN) providers such as CDNetworks, AWS and Gcore focuses on rapid responses to misuse of their platforms, preventing recurrence.
However, others are still lacking in their efforts, according to LaLiga. Indeed, LaLiga president Javier Tebas has been outspoken in his criticism of the likes of Google and Cloudflare for their apparent failure to deal with the issue for some time.
“Regrettably, we have not seen the level of engagement or responsibility we expect from some of the most powerful players in the digital ecosystem,” the antifraud team adds. “Cloudflare continues to be one of the primary examples of this. Their services are routinely used by pirate operators to conceal their infrastructure, evade takedown actions and delay enforcement, all under the guise of technical neutrality.”
Google, similarly, has not provided any efficient protocol to remove illegal live content using its cloud services, according to the antifraud team. Google also enables piracy apps such as IPTVExtreme on Android devices.
“Our position remains firm: we are willing to work with anyone who takes this issue seriously but will not stay silent when inaction sustains criminal business models. Fortunately, other tech providers have adopted a far more collaborative stance.”
Broadcasters and ISPs’ key role in the fight
LaLiga’s long-term rights holder in the Middle East and North Africa, beIN Sports, has proven to be a key ally in the organisation’s fight against piracy.
BeIN has held rights in the region since 2003 and last year struck a new four-year agreement running until the end of the 2027-28 season. The broadcaster has become a “cornerstone” in the fight against piracy, according to LaLiga’s antifraud team.
Together, they share intelligence, coordinate enforcement strategies, and advocate for regulatory reforms that enable real-time blocking of illegal streams.
“Beyond detection and takedowns, our joint efforts with beIN also focus on institutional engagement, helping shape public policy and raising awareness among both users and intermediaries about the risks and consequences of pirating live sports content,” the antifraud team adds. “It’s a strategic relationship built on trust, technical expertise and shared long-term goals.”
LaLiga works on this issue with a variety of rights partners, including traditional broadcasters and emerging regional media stakeholders. In this context, another country where substantial progress is being made is Argentina, where a series of raids recently took place following the issuing of arrest warrants targeting MagisTV, one of the most widespread IPTV networks in Latin America.
Among the targets were two retail stores belonging to UV Mundo Digital, an internet service provider which sold devices with access to MagisTV, promoting them in its retail stores and on social media. LaLiga has welcomed a landmark court ruling that forced Google to remove MagisTV from Android devices.
“Our work also extends to training workshops with local prosecutors, partnerships with regional broadcasters, and support for government-led cybercrime initiatives,” says the antifraud team. “Latin America is a high-priority region for LaLiga not only because of its audience scale, but because of the growing technological sophistication of piracy networks, which makes sustained local cooperation essential.
“We see tremendous potential in aligning enforcement strategies, and we remain open to cooperation with any rights-holder facing the same piracy challenges – whether in Europe, MENA, the US or elsewhere. The message is clear: piracy is not a localised problem, and our strategy relies on building bridges with responsible media companies that share our commitment to protecting live content. These partnerships – legal, technical, and operational – are essential to delivering meaningful, cross-border results.”
Cross-league collaboration
LaLiga is also putting natural rivalries aside to work closely with other leagues in Europe that have recognised that piracy is not a “marginal problem” but instead poses a “structural threat” to governing bodies.
Among LaLiga’s active partners are the English Premier League and France’s Ligue 1. LaLiga also works with several other properties across the sports sector, sharing technical intelligence, legal coordination and strategy alignment, particularly in cases involving infrastructure providers that serve multiple competitions.
LaLiga also collaborates with platforms such as the Sports Rights Owners Coalition and Live Content Coalition to maintain regular dialogue with other European leagues and federations, sharing evidence, coordinating enforcement practices and aligning advocacy efforts with policymakers in Brussels.
However, LaLiga is calling for more leagues and rights-holders to step up to the challenge, as it believes that “only a handful of actors” are leading the response. “We are calling for a more united industry stance, particularly when it comes to applying pressure on technology providers like Cloudflare, whose services are systematically used to facilitate piracy and evade enforcement,” says the antifraud team.
“The pirates are already global, organised and interconnected. Our response must reflect that same scale. LaLiga has laid the groundwork, but we need others to match that commitment – not just in words, but through coordinated legal actions, political pressure, and public messaging. Without unity, piracy will continue to exploit our fragmentation.”
From a law-enforcement perspective, LaLiga has established a strong working relationship with Europol through joint operations such as Operation Kratos, where the league’s technical team supported the dismantling of a piracy network that reached more than 22 million users.
Other collaborators include the Argentinian Specialised Cybercrime Prosecution Unit and, domestically, the Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil and Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office. LaLiga also maintains a dialogue with the European Commission.
Beyond broadcasters, tech platforms and enforcement agencies, LaLiga also works with industry bodies such as DigitalES – the Spanish association for digitalisation – and the global Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
“What’s been encouraging is that in recent months, we’re increasingly being approached by other organisations that have taken notice of our legal victories and technical capability,” the antifraud team adds. “There’s growing interest in replicating our model in other markets – and we’re open to supporting that, as long as it reinforces the broader goal.”
Importance of fan education and awareness
Above all other collaborators, the most important player in the continued struggle against piracy is the fan.
LaLiga is focusing on educating supporters, who they pinpoint as a “critical stakeholder” in the process, through credible, fact-based messaging on piracy. LaLiga is keen to communicate that piracy does not just impact leagues but can also expose fans to malware, data theft, fraud, and even identity compromise.
“It is essential to explain that piracy funds organised crime – as proven in Europol operations – and erodes the value that supports player development, club infrastructure, and grassroots sports,” says the antifraud team. “We’re not here to lecture fans. We’re here to protect them and empower them to make safer choices. The more they understand, the more they’ll join the fight.”
LaLiga is embarking on a new business-to-consumer approach to make fans aware of the underlying risks relating to consuming illegal content. The approach focuses on education and awareness of the fact that piracy is not a victimless act, as it harms clubs, players and competitions.
“We want to shift the mindset: from viewing piracy as ‘just watching a match’ to recognising it as a gateway to digital risk and a threat to the future of the sport,” the antifraud team explains.
“The approach focuses on three key aspects. Firstly, piracy exposes users to malware, scams, and data theft, often via apps and websites that request dangerous permissions such as camera access, contacts and bank credentials.
“Secondly, platforms that offer pirated content are often connected to organised crime, as shown in investigations like Operation Kratos. Money laundering is involved in every piracy scheme. Thirdly, the damage isn’t just to LaLiga; it’s to grassroots football, all stages of sport, and community development, which rely on revenue from audiovisual rights.”
Looking ahead, LaLiga’s next step is to scale the collaborative model it has built by engaging with new partners across other sports and media verticals, and by strengthening the legal and regulatory framework that supports real-time enforcement.
Specifically, LaLiga is looking to collaborate with digital service providers, CDN providers and hosting intermediaries to remove or block infringing content. Other areas of focus include dynamic blocking, app enforcement, cybersecurity measures, intelligence fusion and legal harmonisation.
LaLiga cites cooperations with Movistar in Spain, beIN in the Middle East and Europol at a continental level as examples of this strategic collaboration, which do not represent one-offs but models to replicate and scale globally.
“We will continue to push for joint legal actions targeting repeat offenders and their facilitators,” says the antifraud team. “But we also need to move beyond soft coordination. Specifically, we are calling on the European Commission to go further than non-binding recommendations, and to adopt a binding legislative instrument that imposes enforceable obligations on intermediaries.
“Until these measures are mandatory, companies like Cloudflare will continue to disregard notices and resist enforcement, even when courts have ruled against them. Collaboration, in this next phase, must not be passive. It must be strategic, structured and binding – both in terms of regulation and commitment from all actors.”
