IPTV in South Africa
IPTV in South Africa Pirated content on Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which is available around the world, can affect streaming providers and, in South Africa, even lead to prison time.
Internet piracy convictions iptv in South Africa can result in a R5,000 fine or three years of jail time. Repeat offenders may face a R10,000 fine or five years in jail.
IPTV is a modern, standard form of Internet Piracy. It has emerged in the era of streaming.
Multimedia services include video, audio, text, graphics, and data, and they are delivered via IP-based networks.
Many IPTV in South Africa services offer pirated video content. This is often a result of piracy from other streaming services.
Copyright Act views the sale and use of these services as a crime.
It reads: “Any device used for bypassing subscription services or accessing copyrighted contents such as movies or series, or sporting events, is in violation of our law, and as such a criminal offense.”
Chola Makgamathe is the chairperson of the South African copyright coalition and a member of the Partner Against Piracy. She told MyBroadband that piracy and password-sharing are still significant problems for streaming services worldwide.
Makgamathe said that “broadcasters and streaming services are facing the challenge of password-sharing and pirate viewing.”
Streaming providers around the world face the same problem.
She added, “The result has a devastating impact on the growth in the entertainment industry as well as the South African economy.”
Makgamathe said that as a result, streaming providers have cracked down on password-sharing and taken steps to combat piracy.
She said, “Our goal as Partners Against Piracy was to raise awareness about the scourge that is piracy. We also wanted to educate the public on the harmful effects of consuming illegal material.”
Selling pirated content has negative ramifications, directly affecting the livelihoods of thousands of broadcasters and creatives and local economies.
Convictions
Makgamathe highlighted the successful convictions of people who sold IPTV services in South Africa.
Makgamathe said that in the last year, Irdeto (Lee Whaley) and MultiChoice (Jordan Lee Mott ), who were both guilty of pirating content, had been convicted.
Detectives from the Provincial Commercial Unit arrested Lee Whaley for selling Android TV Boxes, IPTV in South Africa subscriptions and IPTV in December 2019.
The Android TV Box subscription and IPTV subscriptions allow access to copyrighted premium content, including DStv.
Iptv In South Africa, offenders can face fines between R5,000 and R10,000 or prison sentences of up to five years. However, punishments in overseas countries are often much more severe.
The Chesterfield Justice Centre in the UK sentenced five men to a combined 30 years of jail time on May 20, 2023.
The men created the Flawless IPTV in South Africa service. It had over 50,000 subscribers and a revenue of PS4.6 million, with PS3.7 million being profit.
Six people split the profit unequally: Mark Gould (Steven Gordon), Peter Jolley (Christopher Felvus), William Brown and Za Smith.
Below is a summary of the punishment and amount of profit that each of the five defendants received.
- Mark Gould – received a profit of PS1.7 million. Mark Gould was sentenced to 11 years on two counts of conspiracy and contempt of Court.
- Steven Gordon — profit of 1 million pounds sterling. Steven Gordon — received a profit of PS1 million.
- Peter Jolley – PS773,000 profit Sentenced for five years and two months on two counts of conspiracy and money laundering
- Christopher Felvus – PS164,500 Profit. Two counts of conspiracy to cheat were punished with three years and eleven months in jail.
- William Brown—Profit of PS15,000. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to four years and nine months for two counts of conspiracy.
Zak Smith did not appear in Court, so an arrest warrant was issued.