In tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Dutch homes, television has gone black after the illegal IPTV service has been dismantled.

Getty Images

The Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) found the servers of an illegal IPTV service in a data center in Den Helder. confiscation. As a result, it turned black for an estimated more than 1 million Europeans who had bought an illegal subscription to the service. Subscriptions were not only sold online: in the Netherlands, subscriptions for cash payment were also offered in phone shops, among others. In the Netherlands, viewing and selling illegal IPTV subscriptions is punishable by law, but buying and watching content via these subscriptions is also not allowed. However, no real trial of the users took place in the Netherlands.

brain

According to copyright observer BREIN, this is the largest action in the Netherlands against copyright infringement. Linear TV channels can be watched through illegal IPTV subscription. In addition, the range of all major streaming services from different countries can be viewed. All this for ten euros a year. Anyone who takes an annual subscription based on full payment in advance can watch a few months for free and pay around a hundred euros.

linear

Some subscribers have used the illegal IPTV subscription as an alternative to the traditional linear subscription from providers such as zygoAnd KPNAnd T-Mobile or Delta. Dutch people abroad can watch Dutch TV and premium channels without a satellite dish, even in places where satellite reception is not possible. But illegal IPTV in general seems to be particularly popular with customers who want to watch channels from abroad that Dutch providers are not allowed to show due to broadcasting rights. For example, commercial channels from Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

flow

This IPTV service has been particularly notable due to almost the entire range of streaming services such as NetflixAnd Disney +And HBO MaxAnd videolandPrime Video and Sky Showtime available. Formula 1, football and darts can also be followed via live broadcast across play. Formula 1 can also be watched on dozens of other foreign channels, for example via various Sky channels in Europe. Images from the cockpit of Formula 1 drivers can be followed through illegal redirection of F1 TV Pro channels. The user of the illegal IPTV service did not have to pay anything extra for all these extras.

lost money

Illegal season pass purchasers permanently forfeit their previously paid subscription amount – subscriptions can be canceled for up to 2 years. FIOD believes that this money has been laundered. So the Investigation Department launched a money laundering investigation. In this context, raids were carried out on many commercial buildings and homes in the Netherlands, including in Amsterdam and The Hague. Luxury goods such as cars and a lot of money were confiscated. Management and computers were also taken over by FIOD, which received assistance in this measure from the European police organization Europol. The illegal IPTV service has been available on the Internet under various names.

brainBRINA FoundationIPTVillegaltelevisionthe televisionConnectedOTTbroadcast servicean actpoliceCourt case