A study by Grant Thornton recorded over 10.8 million unauthorized re-broadcasts of live events in 2024, and over 81% were never suspended. Now LaLiga, the Spanish football league that hosts the most-watched club matches in the world, is deploying artificial intelligence to bridge that gap in real time.
Piracy is estimated to cost LaLiga approximately $700 million to $800 million per year, and this includes subscription losses, reduced broadcast revenue, and impact on income used for transfers, payroll, and investments.
Among its clubs, LaLiga includes Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, some of the most watched football clubs in the world. It is this huge fan base that has given rise to the existence of such pirated streams, as it has high demand and quick recovery by pirates after the sites are shut down.
For years, IP blocking was the default tool against illegal streams. The method is clear: restrict access to known objectionable addresses. But pirate services adapt quickly, moving to new addresses within minutes and often returning before a major match ends.
Research by Grant Thornton found that only 2.7% of unauthorized streams were removed within the first 30 minutes of detection in 2024. That window is important; Most view spikes occur in the early stages of the match, meaning that delayed removal does little to protect the broadcast value of the event.
How are LaLiga and Fastly using AI differently?
LaLiga is working with infrastructure firm Fastly on a system that targets content signals rather than IP ranges. Instead of blanket network blocks, the technology identifies patterns in the stream associated with copyrighted broadcast content, allowing faster, more accurate flagging.
“Unlike alternative methods based on regional blocking, our strategy focuses on accuracy, allowing fans to enjoy the game while protecting content from misuse by criminals,” said Kelly Shortridge, Chief Product Officer of Fastly.
The idea is to greatly limit the period from detection to removal. The sooner piracy is detected, the less time it will take for the stream to generate viewers, resulting in less advertising revenue for pirates and less losses for legal broadcasters.
According to LaLiga president Javier Tebas, the league managed to reduce piracy of its Spanish streams by 60% throughout the 2024/25 season as a result of a combination of legal, educational and technological activities, which included entering into a partnership with Fastly.
However, LaLiga is not the only club that has recently decided to fight online piracy of sporting events. Rights-holders across Europe are revising their approach due to changing viewing patterns and the availability of new technologies. In Britain alone, approximately four million people use unauthorized means to watch live broadcasts.
