Streaming services were once seen as the solution to media piracy, granting easy access to entertainment at a reasonable price. However, with soaring prices, fewer ad-free options and content spread out across a growing list of platforms, consumers seem to be returning to piracy.
When YouTube TV launched in 2017, it cost $35 a month. Now, it’s reached $82.99 monthly. Over the last 13 years, the standard monthly subscription for an ad-free Netflix subscription has jumped from $7.99 to $17.99. As a result, piracy has been on the rise, with pirated videos receiving over 230 billion views in 2024 — more than 80% of which are part of illegal streaming services.
To combat piracy, Netflix employs digital watermarking techniques to trace the source of any leaked content, and several major studios won $30 million in a 2023 lawsuit against illegal streaming sites. While the entertainment industry has continuously waged war against piracy, it’s also fueling its growth. By prioritizing profits over customer satisfaction, streaming services are creating conditions that made piracy appealing for consumers in the first place.
With the increasing number of subscription streaming services, the fragmentation of content has fueled intense competition. As each platform seeks to differentiate itself, each one has to fight for exclusive rights to popular shows and movies.
This has led more consumers to pirate their favorite content that might not be available on the services they subscribe to. If someone wants to watch “Squid Game,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Office,” they are forced to subscribe to three separate streaming services, or they could resort to illegal streaming platforms that offer all of them in one place.
One choice seems obviously simpler than the other.
A 2023 survey found that 54% of Americans think there are too many streaming services. If the entertainment industry wants to reduce piracy rather than perpetuate it, it’s essential that they rethink their approach to streaming.
While it may not be feasible to have a single, all-in-one subscription service, the industry can focus its efforts on bundling services, such as what companies like Disney+ are doing by integrating content from other services like Hulu. Seventy-seven percent of Americans support the idea of combining services into one platform for easier access to their favorite content, and 66% said they would pay more for a streaming service that combines different platforms.
The entertainment industry needs to acknowledge the solution to pirating isn’t to spend resources on reducing the availability of illegal content — it’s to meet the needs and expectations of consumers through more accessible, legal options.
