Online piracy is rising again: why it happened and what it means

23 October 2025

Paul Francis

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After a decade in which legal streaming cut piracy rates, recent data suggest online piracy is on the rise again. The causes are complex: rising subscription costs, fragmentation of content across multiple services, the explosion of easy live streams for sport, and more sophisticated pirate tools. This article explains what changed, who is affected, which piracy formats are growing, and what rights holders and regulators are doing in response.

Computer screens display a pirate-themed website with neon graphics. A person types on a keyboard at a wooden desk, phone nearby.

How streaming briefly won the battle against piracy

In the 2010s and early 2020s, the growth of affordable, convenient streaming services helped reduce piracy. A single subscription gave users safe, high-quality access to large catalogues of film, TV and music, and the model undercut the old incentives to download or torrent. Music piracy fell particularly sharply after Spotify and similar services reached scale. The relative convenience and low friction of legal services made piracy less attractive for many users.

Why piracy is rising again

There is no single cause. Several trends converged to make piracy attractive once more.

1. Rising subscription costs and stacked services:

Streaming prices have climbed in recent years, and many households now subscribe to several platforms to watch everything they want. That perceived loss of value has nudged some viewers back to illegal sources, especially in a tighter economic climate. Industry commentators and analysts have explicitly linked price rises and subscription complexity to growing piracy traffic.

2. Fragmentation and exclusive rights:

Producers increasingly sell shows and sports rights to different platforms. A single season may be split across services or geo-locked to particular markets. For viewers, that means multiple subscriptions to follow a single show or live event. When the content you want appears behind an additional paywall, some viewers turn to pirate feeds instead. Research and reporting identify limited legal access as a key driver of piracy in several markets.

3. Live sports and real-time streaming:

Live sport is especially vulnerable. Rights holders spend billions to secure live broadcast deals, but analysts now describe pirated sports streams as being of “industrial scale”, with illegal feeds drawing tens of thousands of viewers each for major fixtures. That problem is acute because live streams provide a near-perfect substitution for the authorised broadcast and are very hard to police in real time. Reports by media analysts and industry bodies have highlighted the huge scale and financial impact.

4. New distribution methods and cheap tools:

Pirates are not limited to P2P torrents. A shift towards instant streaming, rebuilt indexing sites, “stream-host” platforms, pirate apps and modified streaming devices now enables easy, low-latency access to new releases and live events. These methods tend to lower the technical barrier for casual users who would once have avoided torrents. Monitoring firms report that while classic torrent downloads fell in some categories, streaming-centric piracy has grown.

What the numbers say

Industry tracking firms show a mixed picture but a worrying trend overall. MUSO, a large piracy monitoring firm, recorded hundreds of billions of visits to piracy sites in recent years and noted that while some year-to-year figures fluctuate, the long-term trend is upwards for certain formats and regions.

Independent analysis and consultancy reports that track user behaviour have also linked the recent upward movement in piracy traffic to consumer frustration around cost and access. One recent industry summary concluded that price rises at major streaming services have contributed materially to renewed piracy growth.

For live sports specifically, Enders Analysis and reporting in the Financial Times have shown that pirated feeds are now a significant share of consumption for some high-profile events. The industry talks in terms of “industrial scale theft” when describing these one-to-many illegal streams.

Popular piracy hubs and formats

For context, piracy today is enabled by a variety of sites and platforms. Reporting and monitoring outlets list a mixture of legacy torrent sites, new indexers, stream-hosting portals and modified app ecosystems. Examples frequently cited in industry and trade reporting include established torrent indexes and trackers such as YTS, 1337x, The Pirate Bay, and NYAA; streaming and link-aggregation sites that host or index illegal live and on-demand streams; and apps or “add-ons” for open platforms that facilitate access on cheap set-top devices. These names appear in regular lists of the most trafficked piracy services, though exact rankings change frequently.

Note: this piece names popular services where they are already widely reported, but it does not offer instructions on how to access them or advice that would facilitate infringement.

Who is harmed and how

Rights holders such as studios, broadcasters and sports leagues see direct financial impact from piracy, particularly when live audiences and subscription sales are lost. Broadcasters arguing for higher rights fees are concerned that widespread unauthorised viewing reduces the commercial case for expensive exclusive deals. Advertisers and platforms also argue that piracy undermines the incentives that fund original production.

Consumers face risks too. Many pirate feeds carry malware, poor-quality streams, or surprise charges. Modified devices and unofficial apps often expose users to security and privacy threats, and they can breach the terms of service of legitimate platform providers. Reports from industry bodies emphasise the security danger to users of jailbroken set-top boxes and pirating apps.

What rights holders and governments are doing

The response has multiple strands:

Enforcement and takedowns. Industry coalitions and enforcement groups continue to pursue legal action, takedowns and domain seizures. The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) and other organisations publish regular reports and action lists showing recent lawsuits and takedowns.
Technical countermeasures. Rights holders employ watermarking, automated detection, and “war rooms” to identify and terminate pirate feeds in real time, particularly for high-value live events.
Industry pressure on platforms. Broadcasters have urged platform providers and marketplaces to do more to block the distribution of pirating apps and to remove listings for illicit devices. Some calls have focused on vendors of popular streaming hardware where jailbroken apps are distributed.
Policy and legislation. In some jurisdictions, courts and regulators are enabling faster blocking and takedown orders, and some governments have strengthened penalties for commercial piracy operations. Efforts to increase platform accountability are under discussion in multiple markets, though progress varies.

Why enforcement alone will not solve it

Experience shows enforcement is necessary but not sufficient. Pirates adapt quickly, and takedowns often produce short-term disruption only for new mirrors, indexes or hosting arrangements to appear. Industry bodies increasingly argue that platform design, supply chains for illicit devices, and the economics of access must be addressed alongside enforcement. In some markets, La Liga’s technical and legal measures to block IPs in real time have reduced particular forms of piracy, suggesting that a mix of legal and technical responses can work when applied at scale. Still, these measures can be controversial when they risk collateral blocking of legitimate services.

What might reduce piracy again?

The evidence points to an integrated approach:

Make lawful access easier and more valuable. When content is simple to find and affordable to access, piracy falls. Bundling, fair regional licensing and more consumer-friendly pricing models will help.
Improve platform and marketplace controls. Tech platforms and device retailers can do more to stop the sale and distribution of modified devices and unauthorised apps.
Rapid technical detection for live streams. Investing in real-time detection and disruption for live event piracy reduces the immediate incentive to watch illegal feeds.
Public information and safer alternatives. Educating consumers about the security risks of pirate streams and offering attractive, legal short-duration passes for premium events would reduce demand.

Piracy has not returned to its early 2000s peak, but recent trends show it is adapting and, in some areas, growing again. The reasons are economic and structural: higher and fragmented subscription costs, stronger incentives to pirate live sports, new distribution channels and persistent regional access barriers. Rights holders, platforms and policymakers face a moving target. Reducing piracy sustainably will require pragmatic pricing, better legal access, technical measures and more cooperation between industry and tech platforms. The alternative is an escalation in enforcement action that risks being expensive, inconsistent and ultimately only partially effective.

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The Birth of Home Gaming Console: Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

Release Year: 1972
Estimated Cost: $100, equivalent to about $699 in 2022
Games Released: Approximately 28 games

Our voyage begins in 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey, the pioneer of home gaming. Costing around $100, this groundbreaking console introduced gamers to simple delights like Pong and Table Tennis. With approximately 28 games available, it laid the foundation for the gaming industry we know today.

Atari 2600: The Iconic Cartridge Era (1977)

An Atari 2600 four-switch "wood veneer" version, dating from 1980-1982. Shown with standard joystic — Picture from Wikipedia

Release Year: 1977
Estimated Cost: £199, equivalent to over £1000 in 2022
Games Released: Over 500 games

Fast forward to 1977, and the Atari 2600 enters the stage. Priced at £199, it boasted a library of over 500 games, setting the standard for cartridge-based systems. Classics like Space Invaders and Pac-Man captured the hearts of gamers, solidifying the role of consoles in living rooms worldwide.

Nintendo Takes the Lead: NES and SNES (1985, 1990)

Old Snes Games — Photo by Marlon Medau on Unsplash

NES Release Year: 1985 (North America)
NES Estimated Cost: £179, equivalent to about £400 in 2022
SNES Release Year: 1990 (North America)
SNES Estimated Cost: £150, equivalent to about £320in 2022
NES Games Released: Over 700 games
SNES Games Released: Over 700 games

In 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emerged, bringing iconic franchises like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Priced at £179, the NES dominated the market. Its successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), continued the legacy in 1990 with hits like Super Mario World and Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The 3D Revolution: PlayStation and Nintendo 64 (1994, 1996)

Nintendo 64 Game console with two controllers. — Photo by Pat Moin on Unsplash

PlayStation Release Year: 1994
PlayStation Estimated Cost: £299, equivalent to over £550 in 2022
Nintendo 64 Release Year: 1996
Nintendo 64 Estimated Cost: £320, equivalent to over £600 in 2022
PlayStation Games Released: Over 7,000 games
Nintendo 64 Games Released: Over 300 games

Sony entered the scene in 1994 with the PlayStation, costing £299. Boasting a game library of over 7,000 titles, it revolutionized gaming with CD-ROMs and memorable franchises. Nintendo followed suit in 1996 with the Nintendo 64, introducing 3D graphics and classics like Super Mario 64.

Sega's Swan Song: Dreamcast (1998)

Sega Dreamcast on a shelf — Photo by Taylor R on Unsplash

Release Year: 1998 (Japan), 1999 (North America)
Estimated Cost: £199, equivalent to about £340 in 2022
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The Multimedia Experience: PS2, Xbox, and GameCube (2000, 2001)

Sony Playstation 2 Launch Edition Black Console — Photo by Nikita Kostrykin on Unsplash

PS2 Release Year: 2000 (North America)
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Xbox Release Year: 2001
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GameCube Release Year: 2001
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Xbox Games Released: Over 1,200 games
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Motion Controls and Online Gaming: Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 (2006)

Xbox controller — Photo by Chris Hardy on Unsplash

Wii Release Year: 2006
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Xbox 360 Games Released: Over 1,200 games

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Next-Gen Powerhouses: PS4, Xbox One, and Switch (2013, 2017)

PS4 Release Year: 2013
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Xbox One Release Year: 2013
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Switch Release Year: 2017
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The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S: A New Era (2020)

New PS5 Console — Photo by Charles Sims on Unsplash

PS5 Release Year: 2020
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Xbox Series X/S Release Year: 2020
Xbox Series X/S Estimated Cost: £249 (Series S), £449 (Series X)
PS5 Games Released: Expanding Library
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From the humble beginnings of the Magnavox Odyssey to the high-tech realms of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, each gaming console has left an indelible mark on the industry. The evolution of technology, changing consumer preferences, and global events continue to shape the trajectory of gaming consoles. As we eagerly anticipate the future, one thing remains certain – the history of gaming consoles is a testament to the ever-evolving nature of interactive entertainment.