Friend MTS is proud to highlight the impactful work of Adam Leventhal from The Athletic in his latest podcast, 'The Underground World of Illegal Streaming'. This documentary offers a crucial look at what drives content piracy and its deep, disturbing links to organised crime.
Our dedicated Investigations team collaborated closely with Adam, conducting a covert surveillance operation to shed light on how illegal pirate operations operate. The findings underscore the severity and scale of the problem, revealing far-reaching implications beyond simple copyright infringement.
As Dave Gilmore, VP of Intelligence, notes in the accompanying New York Times article*, what they uncovered was "just the tip of the iceberg." He shares a striking insight into the financial scale of this activity: “We’ve seen, in our own investigations, £38m-£41.8m worth of Bitcoin sitting in some accounts, and that’s only one form of currency. That’s the landscape we’re operating in.”
The podcast also references a commissioned YouGov Sport poll*, which highlights a concerning trend: 4.7 million people are consuming pirated sports content in the UK alone. This demonstrates the critical need for robust content protection to safeguard rights holders' investments.
At Friend MTS, we remain committed to combating illegal streaming with advanced covert intelligence and enforcement services that directly counter the tactics outlined in the podcast.
Download the podcast or head over to The Athletic* to listen and find out more.
If you want to learn more about our Piracy Investigation Services, contact us today.
* (Some of these links are for NYT subscribers only)
