Sports broadcast piracy continues to be one of the main challenges facing the sports industry in Europe. Although Italy recorded a slight reduction in the illegal consumption of live events in 2025, the phenomenon continues to affect leagues, federations, clubs, broadcasters, and sponsors that depend on revenue generated through media rights. The decline represents encouraging news for the sector, but it is still far from being a definitive solution to a problem that drives millions of viewers away from official channels.
The latest figures presented by FAPAV and Ipsos Doxa show that sports piracy experienced its first decline since 2021, falling from 15% to 14%. While the reduction may appear modest, it reflects the initial impact of new enforcement tools and stricter legislation against the illegal consumption of content. Even so, millions of users continue to access sporting events through unauthorized platforms, generating economic losses that directly affect the sports ecosystem.
A problem affecting the entire sports industry
Sports broadcasts have become one of the most valuable assets in modern sport. Television contracts finance a significant portion of the operations of clubs, leagues, and sports organizations, enabling investment in infrastructure, talent development, and the organization of competitions. When fans consume events illegally, that value chain is disrupted, reducing the resources available to sustain the sector’s growth.
The report presented in Italy warns that audiovisual piracy generates economic losses amounting to €2.3 billion, while also affecting employment and tax revenues. Although the figures cover different types of content, sport occupies a particularly sensitive position due to the economic importance of live broadcasts. Unlike films or television series, the value of a match or competition is closely linked to its real-time nature, making piracy a direct threat to media rights holders.
Enforcement measures are beginning to show results
The reduction recorded in 2025 represents the first decline in sports piracy in Italy since 2021. Authorities attribute part of this progress to the implementation of new technological tools, including Piracy Shield, designed to block illegal broadcasts more quickly. The goal is to limit access to pirated content during live sporting events, when they generate the greatest commercial value.
Concern over this phenomenon is not limited to Italy. In Spain, for example, LaLiga has intensified its fight against illegal match broadcasts in recent years, securing more than 2,000 convictions against establishments that showed games without authorization. For sports organizations, the battle against piracy is not only about protecting revenue, but also about ensuring the long-term sustainability of competitions and preserving the value of one of professional sport’s most important assets: its media rights.
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