Piracy seems to be giving the CEOs of the big broadcast networks in the MENA region sleepless nights. The CEOs of two of the biggest regional broadcast networks shed their polite demeanour and adopted a more aggressive stance at IBC Content Everywhere MENA to let industry professionals know that they meant business, that they were […]
Piracy seems to be giving the CEOs of the big broadcast networks in the MENA region sleepless nights. The CEOs of two of the biggest regional broadcast networks shed their polite demeanour and adopted a more aggressive stance at IBC Content Everywhere MENA to let industry professionals know that they meant business, that they were no longer going to tolerate TV channels taking their content from under their noses and broadcasting it.
Having paid exorbitant sums to Hollywood studios for the broadcast rights to their content, these CEOs have a genuine concern. Interestingly, an alleged pirate who was broadcasting a lot of content that OSN had the rights to was also on the panel. The gentleman tried to explain that there was no proper list of suppliers to refer to and that he had all the right papers to prove that he had bought the rights to the content.
OSNs David Butorac rightly pointed out to the panellist, who pleaded ignorance, that its easy to know if you are buying content from a dodgy supplier based on the rates they are charging. While there is no denying that offending channels are not really as naive as they make themselves out to be, perhaps it is time to make a list of reputable suppliers to rule out such excuses in the future. The rules are different from country to country and there is no regional authority that can provide a stamp of approval for the content one has bought.
Perhaps it is time to change that.
Should some of the MENA Anti-Piracy Coalitions efforts be spent creating a list of reputable suppliers so that there’s no excuse on that front anymore? Should they campaign with the authorities for a regional entity to whom every channel will have to go for content approval?
Should the coalition adopt a tougher stance with Hollywood studios, forcing them to take legal action against offenders by boycotting their content for a period of time? As the CEOs pointed out, there will be no incentive to invest in content if it is being stolen all the time and no one does anything about it. The stakeholders will come together again a day before CABSAT to discuss more anti-piracy measures. May the force be with them!