Illegal IPTV services cost legitimate pay-TV providers an estimated US$6.5 billion in potential revenue across the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland in 2025, according to a new economic study commissioned by the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA). The report also finds that illicit IPTV use roughly doubled between 2021 and 2025, underlining the growing commercial challenge facing broadcasters and rights holders.
Published in October 2026, Illicit IPTV in Europe and North Africa – Economic Report examines 38 economies, including the EU, the UK, Switzerland, five Western Balkan countries, Türkiye and three North African markets: Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. The geographical scope brings North African markets into a wider economic assessment of unauthorised television distribution.
Across the EU, UK and Switzerland, the study estimates that 34.4 million people accessed illegal IPTV services in 2025. These services generated approximately US$2.9 billion in revenue for unauthorised providers, while the potential revenue losses to legitimate pay-TV operators were estimated at US$6.5 billion. The report’s headline loss figure applies to these European markets, rather than the entire 38-economy study area.
For pay-TV businesses, the findings offer an economic basis for assessing piracy beyond individual enforcement cases. Unauthorised subscription-style services compete with licensed operators for audiences seeking live sports, films and television channels, potentially undermining subscription income and the value of content rights. The report also examines broader consequences for employment and public finances.
The findings are relevant to African markets, where broadcasters and regulators continue to confront signal theft and illegal retransmission. North Africa’s inclusion provides a regional evidence base for Algeria, Egypt and Morocco, although the study’s European revenue-loss estimate should not be treated as a measure of losses across Africa as a whole.
The issue is also prompting more coordinated industry responses. In Switzerland, broadcasters, telecommunications operators, technology providers and sports organisations have launched StreamSafe, a campaign designed to highlight the financial and consumer-security risks associated with illegal streaming. Participants include UEFA, major football leagues, Canal+, Sky and DAZN.
For African broadcasters, rights holders and regulators, the emerging lesson is commercial as well as legal: reliable estimates of piracy’s impact can help inform enforcement priorities, investment in anti-piracy technology and cooperation across the media value chain. The next challenge is to develop comparable local evidence that can quantify the scale of losses in individual African markets.
