DAZN complains about IPTV coming from Morocco

DAZN, the new broadcaster of the French championship, and the Professional Football League (LFP) are struggling to overcome Telegram or certain IPTV services, some of which are located in Morocco. These illicit broadcast channels are at the origin of the explosion of Ligue 1 piracy.

While DAZN announced that it was aiming for 1.5 million “legal” subscribers, piracy on the first day of Ligue 1 exploded. As proof, the number of viewers who followed the curtain raiser of the 2024-2025 season in a roundabout way via Telegram, IPTV or even a VPN would have reached one million, reports The Parisian. DAZN and the Professional Football League (LFP) are having enormous difficulty eradicating the phenomenon. It is difficult for it to block Telegram. “We have a discussion group with Telegram. We notify them of the illicit channels that we have identified on the platform. Then, it is the Telegram moderators who have to close the streaming channels,” explains a cybersecurity company that collaborates with several entities in the world of sport. But the collaboration is proving ineffective. “The problem is that at the time of the first alert from Telegram, the hacker is aware that he has been identified. He has time to create a new streaming link and we start from scratch. It’s endless, warns Hervé Lemaire, head of LeakID (Forward group), an SME specializing in the protection of rights holders such as the Premier League. Telegram is not cooperative at all.” He adds: “We are forced to go through this discussion channel. We have no direct contact with the moderators or even a Telegram employee. Until we have close cooperation with them, the problem will not be solved.”