• by Alex Weprin , November 1, 2017

A new report says that 6.5% of North American households access a pirated video stream of a television service every month, potentially costing communications service providers as much as $4 billion in potential revenue.

The study, from network intelligence company Sandvine, collected the data from multiple fixed-access networks.

Live sports, news, and premium TV content were the main drivers of pirated streams. As an example, August’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor MacGregor boxing match accounted for 80% of all pirated video streams on the evening it occurred.

The implications of the study for companies that operate in the TV and video space are significant.

"Continued adoption of pirate video and television streaming services could lead to increased cord-cutting and create 'cord-nevers,' people who never sign up for a standard TV subscription. This will significantly impact CSPs' revenue and profitability, undermining the business models that keep them operating," said Lyndon Cantor, CEO of Sandvine.