Broadcasting
Content piracy: A complex web of causes
By Frikkie Jonker, director of broadcast cybersecurity and anti-piracy at Irdeto, a partner of Multichoice Africa.
Content piracy is acknowledged as having enormously negative social impacts. It is a type of global organised crime that undermines the creative sector. However, what is not often discussed is what drives content piracy. What leads people to steal content?
Frikkie Jonker
Unfortunately, the African continent is something of a global dumping ground for inferior products. This is practised in the area of legitimate trade, but also in the criminal underworld. Outdated regulations, inefficient law enforcement, bribery and corruption all play a role in this.
Despite this, African authorities are doing a heroic job fighting cybercrime and content piracy. There have been huge successes in the prosecution of content piracy operations.
Criminal risk assessments
To understand why Africa becomes a target for piracy, it is useful to look at things from the perspective of a global criminal syndicate. They will often follow the path of least resistance – and for better or worse, Africa is attractive territory.
When it comes to content piracy, Africa has low barriers to entry, and an almost limitless demand for cheap content.
In terms of penetration success – circumventing cybersecurity measures – they may achieve a success rate of 70%, which compares favourably with other territories. This – coupled with Africa’s billion-strong population – is a key supply driver of content piracy.
From the demand side, a potential user of content piracy will do a similar assessment. There would be the risk of possible prosecution. Of being named and shamed. A risk of downloading viruses and malware onto their devices… However, despite all of this, they may choose to take that risk.
There may be a sense that content piracy is a relatively minor crime, compared to crimes such as murder, rape and grand corruption. In reality, though, content piracy is not a minor crime.
Changing attitudes
Unfortunately, where there are few consequences, the barriers to using stolen content are so much lower.
Changing people’s attitude to the crime of content piracy has to be an industry-wide campaign. The creative industry must unite and address the issue collectively – as they have done through pan-African initiatives like Partners Against Piracy.
Government attitudes, too, are critically important. Where a government sees content piracy as an insignificant issue, they are allowing the sabotage of their own country’s creative and entertainment sector.
But there are further impacts. When leading content businesses consider entering the African market, they need the reassurance that their content rights will be protected. Where a country is unable to provide such guarantees, the investments do not materialise.
Hi-tech enforcement
Fortunately, thanks to recent advances in AI, automation, watermarking and digital tracing capabilities, it is now possible to track down and prosecute consumers of pirated content rapidly, accurately and at scale.
In the UK, for example, police recently arrested as many as 2 000 people who were illegally viewing streams of English Premier League football matches. Similar cases are being pursued in Africa.
Piracy is often a multi-level operation, with global and regional headquarters, as well as regional resellers. It is now also possible for content owners and police to identify criminals at every level of these operations, as well as those who consume pirated content.
Economic impacts
Many people believe they simply cannot afford to pay for content. Entertainment often takes a back seat behind the need to put food on the table.
To some extent, premium content is a luxury, so one can understand this perception. However, pricing innovation by content platforms has led to entertainment packages at almost every price point. Financial difficulty is no longer an excuse for content piracy.
Prosecuting content piracy is not simply a harsh clampdown that spoils everyone’s fun. The war on content piracy has very real benefits – for everyone.
It protects the livelihoods of creators, producers and rightsholders, ensuring that there can be more content in the future.
A content sector such as pay-TV has extremely tight margins. Up to 80% of revenue generated goes into producing and securing content. Given these margins, any content theft threatens the viability of the entire industry.
Major productions across Africa – in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and many other countries – sustain thousands of jobs – in production, performance, set and costume design, all the way through to catering, transport and accommodation. The war on piracy is a war to protect these jobs.
In the case of sports events, it is largely the legitimate allocation of broadcast rights that ensures modern professional sport can exist in the first place.
Another benefit of stopping piracy is that it preserves the support ecosystem that maintains trust in content platforms and their ongoing viability. In the legal economy, people invest in people – in their entertainment, their livelihoods and their peace of mind. Enriching their lives. By subscribing to legal content, legal users support this ecosystem.
The reasons for content piracy are complex. But the benefits of a creative economy free of piracy are plain to see. Content entertains, it nurtures, it captures society’s imagination. It helps build local culture. Hence the battle against piracy: to preserve and grow this remarkable industry.
MTN Group has begun rolling out MTN One TV, a new entertainment proposition designed to make digital video content more accessible, relevant, and flexible for customers across African markets.
Introduced in line with MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, MTN One TV brings together local storytelling, live channels, international programming, and market-specific viewing options tailored to how customers across the continent access and pay for digital entertainment.
The proposition is designed to give customers greater choice in how they watch content, with viewing models that may vary by market and can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded experiences, pay-as-you-watch access, and subscription offerings.
Depending on local availability, customers may also be able to pay through airtime, Mobile Money, and other locally supported payment methods, helping to reduce common barriers to streaming access.
Beyond enhancing customer experiences, MTN One TV creates new opportunities for African creators, broadcasters, advertisers, and ecosystem partners by helping connect content to wider audiences through MTN’s scale across connectivity, payments, and digital services.
By bringing together a broad mix of content experiences under a single proposition, MTN aims to support greater content discovery, broader audience reach, and sustainable growth across Africa’s digital entertainment ecosystem.
Anchored in MTN’s strategic platforms of Connectivity, Fintech, and Digital Infrastructure, MTN One TV forms part of the Group’s broader ambition to build digital experiences that create value for customers while enabling participation and growth across Africa’s digital economy.
“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation,” said Selorm Adadevoh, MTN group chief commercial, strategy and transformation officer.
“Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies. This is aligned with our ambition to deliver digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”
MTN One TV is being introduced progressively across MTN markets through a phased rollout approach that reflects local market needs, existing services, and partnership opportunities.
Over time, MTN will bring together a combination of video capabilities, content partnerships, and customer experiences under the MTN One TV brand to create a more consistent and scalable entertainment proposition across its footprint.
Through MTN One TV, MTN continues to extend its role beyond connectivity by combining entertainment, payments, and digital services to deliver experiences tailored to the needs of African consumers.
The rollout supports MTN’s Ambition 2030 vision of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress while expanding access to digital entertainment across the continent.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified Nigeria as one of the most expensive countries in the world for airline operations, citing high taxes, charges and operational costs that continue to weigh heavily on local carriers.
IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, disclosed this during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Rio de Janeiro.
Al-Awadhi said that although Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had been pursuing reforms aimed at improving the aviation sector, airlines operating in the country still faced enormous cost pressures.
According to him, the high-cost operating environment has continued to affect the profitability and competitiveness of Nigerian airlines, making it difficult for the industry to realise its full potential.
He noted that excessive taxes, regulatory charges and other operating expenses remained major obstacles to airline growth across the region, with Nigeria ranking among the most challenging markets from a cost perspective.
Al-Awadhi urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States to adopt a proposed 25 per cent reduction in aviation taxes and charges to ease the burden on airlines and passengers.
According to him, lowering taxes and charges would reduce airfares, stimulate passenger traffic and strengthen the competitiveness of carriers operating within West Africa.
He stressed that a more supportive policy environment was critical to unlocking the economic benefits of aviation, including increased trade, tourism and regional integration.
Industry stakeholders have consistently advocated lower taxes and regulatory fees, arguing that the current cost structure makes air travel less affordable and limits the growth of the sector.
IATA’s latest remarks add to calls for governments in West Africa to implement policies that will promote a more sustainable and competitive aviation industry across the region.
Broadcasting
NASENI Trains 50 Women in Kano on Renewable Energy Technologies Under She-Powers Initiative
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, has trained 50 women in Kano State on inverter and battery technologies through its She-Powers Energy Initiative.
The three-day programme, held at the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano which ended yesterday, was designed to equip participants with practical renewable energy skills, promote women-led enterprises, and enhance sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative forms part of NASENI’s broader commitment to empowering women, creating economic opportunities, and expanding participation in Nigeria’s growing clean energy sector. It also aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by supporting job creation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic development.
Through targeted interventions such as the She-Powers Energy Initiative, NASENI continues to demonstrate its commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to improve lives and drive sustainable development across the country.
Photos: Participants at the She-Powers Energy Initiative training organised by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) held at the the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano yesterday.
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