Lenka Hrivnáková, Author at The Association of Commercial Television

ACE CONTINUES GLOBAL EXPANSION, WELCOMES CME AS NEWEST MEMBER

European Media Company’s Commitment to ACE Emphasizes Shared Commitment to Protecting IP and Supporting Creative Economy

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition, today announced that Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has joined the coalition, strengthening ACE’s global network. CME, a leading media and entertainment company operating across Central and Eastern Europe, brings to ACE a strong track record of investment in local content, trusted news programming, and responsible broadcasting. CME’s membership in ACE underscores a shared commitment to safeguarding intellectual property, supporting creative industries, and ensuring that audiences have access to legitimate, high-quality content.

“ACE welcomes CME into a global network dedicated to protecting creative content and strengthening the fight against piracy,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer with the Motion Picture Association. “Piracy has long been a cross border challenge, but today’s threat is more sophisticated, more coordinated, and more complex. With every new member, ACE grows stronger, broadens its collective expertise, and reinforces its ability to protect content from criminal piracy networks and support lawful distribution of creative content.”

As policymakers and regulators across Europe continue to prioritize digital market integrity, CME’s participation in ACE reinforces the importance of public-private collaboration in addressing piracy. By joining ACE, CME aligns with a global coalition that partners with law enforcement, regulatory authorities, and industry stakeholders to disrupt illegal distribution networks and promote lawful consumption of content. “Joining ACE reflects CME’s commitment to protecting creativity and ensuring a fair, predictable and sustainable media environment,” said Klára Brachtlová, Deputy CEO & Chief External Affairs, CME. “By working with ACE and its members, we aim to strengthen collective efforts to safeguard Europe’s creative industries and uphold the integrity of the audiovisual market.” ACE’s global network includes more than 50 members, ranging from major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms to regional broadcasters and content creators. Together, ACE members leverage collective expertise, technological innovation, and coordinated enforcement actions to combat piracy at scale.

CME’s membership is particularly significant given the evolving regulatory landscape in Central and Eastern Europe, where governments are increasingly focused on strengthening intellectual property protections, supporting domestic creative sectors, and ensuring fair competition in digital markets. Through ACE, CME will contribute to – and benefit from – international best practices, intelligence sharing, and coordinated anti-piracy initiatives.

About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the legal creative market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation, and cease-and-desist
operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and unauthorized content sources and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world—including sports channels and associations—and reinforced by the Motion Picture Association’s content protection operations, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board
members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE.

About CME

CME operates television stations in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania & Moldova, Slovakia and Slovenia, and is one of the leading media and entertainment companies in Central and Eastern Europe. CME broadcasts 47 television channels, both free-to-air and paid, and reaches a total of 49 million viewers. CME also owns and operates the Voyo SVOD platform and new over-the-top service Oneplay.

ACE Media Contact:

Pamela Corante
pamela_corante@motionpictures.org

CME Media Contact:

Martin Civrny
Martin.civrny@cme.net

DFL AND DAZN TAKE DOWN MAJOR PIRACY HUB LIVETV.SX

German football association DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and sports streaming service DAZN have obtained a court injunction ordering the blocking of illegal streaming site livetv.sx in Germany.

The ruling targets what the parties call the largest illegal sports streaming platform in the German market, active for more than 13 years and responsible for a significant share of illicit viewing across the DACH region. The order requires internet service providers to block the site, with further legal steps against related mirror domains currently being assessed.

The case was coordinated through CUII, Germany’s clearing body for internet piracy, with both the DFL and DAZN contributing data and analysis to support the proceedings. The decision is positioned as a breakthrough in efforts to curb organised piracy networks that have historically relied on non-compliant hosting providers, content delivery networks and domain registrars to evade enforcement.

According to the organisations, the outcome underscores the importance of collaboration between platforms, leagues, and enforcement bodies to disrupt illegal streaming operations and sends a clear signal that piracy will not be tolerated.

“This court decision is a turning point in the fight against content theft in Germany. Livetv.sx has operated at scale for more than a decade, undermining rights holders and the wider sports ecosystem. By working through CUII and collaborating with partners such as the DFL, DAZN is demonstrating that coordinated enforcement can deliver meaningful results. This ruling protects the value of sport and creates a fairer, more sustainable market,”

said Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group.

Steffen Merkel, CEO of DFL, added:

“This decision is of great significance for the protection of rights, an area in which the Bundesliga has invested heavily for many years. We can now take more effective action than ever before against illegal streaming networks, in collaboration with international organisations such as CUII, law enforcement authorities and our partners. We thank all parties involved for their close cooperation and determined action in this case.”

DFL and DAZN stress that they will continue to invest in legal, technical, and industry led measures to combat piracy across the markets in which it operates, as part of its commitment to safeguard premium sports content worldwide for all legitimate parties in the sports ecosystem.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

SPANISH POLICE DISMANTLE KODISPAIN PIRACY NETWORK

Spain’s Guardia Civil has dismantled Kodispain, one of the main platforms accused of providing unauthorised access to live LaLiga football matches.

The operation followed a complaint from LaLiga and Telefónica, as the Spanish authorities continue to take enforcement action against illegal sports streaming. According to the Guardia Civil, the network distributed instructions, manuals and links to live Spanish First and Second Division matches through a messaging channel with more than 26,000 active followers. One man is under investigation over alleged offences against intellectual property and consumers.

Investigators analysed more than 91,000 files and around 25,000 lines of code to reconstruct the system and identify its operational structure.

Authorities also warned that installing unknown software linked to piracy services could expose users to malware, data theft and unauthorised access to their devices.

The Guardia Civil said the takedown was made possible through cooperation between the rightsholders and specialist public bodies.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISIONS HAS ENTERED ITS TENTH YEAR OF EXISTENCE; MAREK SINGER REMAINS AS PRESIDENT

This spring marked the ninth anniversary of the Association of Commercial Television, which, during its existence, has become a respected voice for commercial broadcasters and a reliable partner in both professional and legislative debates. The AKTV continues to participate in key legislative processes that affect the operations of commercial television, is actively involved in the fight against internet piracy, and promotes awareness of television as a trustworthy and effective advertising medium. Marek Singer remains at the helm of the Association of Commercial Television, which brings together the Nova, Prima and Óčko television groups, for another year.

The main focus of AKTV’s activities this year will be copyright protection, with a particular emphasis on public education. The cornerstone of AKTV’s preventive and awareness-raising activities is the launch of the information website NormalneLegalne.cz, which offers a catalogue of legal content sources as well as education on copyright issues. The aim of the project is to explain clearly why respect for copyright is important and how viewers can easily and safely access legal content. This year, we anticipate the involvement of further partners from among rights holders, the preparation of comprehensive educational materials and, last but not least, an information campaign.

“Over the past few years, we have been very active in combating the piracy of our protected content, which remains one of our priorities this year as well. However, we would like to complement our successful legal actions with preventive measures. Piracy services are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it can be difficult for ordinary viewers to distinguish them from legitimate services. That is why we want to focus more on education this year,”

says Marek Singer, President of AKTV.

In addition to copyright protection, the Association of Commercial Television Stations systematically promotes television as an effective and safe advertising medium that has long enjoyed high levels of attention and trust from viewers. Through the ScreenVoice.cz website, it regularly publishes interesting news, research findings and information on trends in television advertising and the world of total video, covering both the Czech market and international developments.

About ScreenVoice ( www.ScreenVoice.cz)

On the ScreenVoice.cz website, readers will find inspiration, trends, research and news about developments in the world of television in the Czech Republic and abroad. Each month is dedicated to a single theme, for which original content is prepared. Readers can look forward to magazine-style articles on the very first television advert, Christmas or Valentine’s Day advertising specials, or reflections on advertising during the Covid pandemic or the war in Ukraine. The theme of the month is complemented by a calendar of industry events, a glossary of terms from the world of total video, and the popular ‘Myths and Facts about TV’ section, which provides a range of data refuting the most common myths about television. A separate category is the AKTV events archive, where visitors can find all recordings of speakers’ presentations from the last six years.

About Normálně legálně ( www.NormalneLegalne.cz)

The Normálnělegálně.cz website is an information portal that helps users navigate the range of legal online services for watching films and TV series, listening to music or reading books in the Czech Republic, whilst also raising awareness of copyright protection. In addition to an overview of legal content, it also offers news, answers to frequently asked questions, a glossary of terms and further explanatory information on copyright and the impacts of internet piracy.

SPANISH COURT STRIKES RECORD BLOW TO MAJOR ILLEGAL IPTV NETWORK

One of Europe’s largest illegal IPTV operations has been dealt a major blow after Spain’s National Court convicted the operators of an international piracy network that distributed films, TV channels and live football.

The ruling includes prison terms, multi-million euro fines and compensation, and has been described by rightsholders as one of the biggest anti-piracy judgments yet seen in Spain.

According to LaLiga and other parties involved in the case, the network served more than a million paying users globally, operated through close to 1,000 websites and generated more than €15 million in illegal revenue. Spanish business daily Cinco Días reported that the operation worked through brands including RapidIPTV and relied on infrastructure spread across 13 countries.

The alleged ringleader accepted a 23-month prison sentence, an €8.7 million fine and confiscation of seized assets, while the court also ordered around €12 million in compensation for affected rightsholders. The total financial impact of the ruling has been put at more than €43 million once fines and damages are combined.

The case dates back to a 2020 investigation and takedown, but the latest court decision closes what ACE, LaLiga and other complainants say has been a landmark prosecution. The coalition behind the action included ACE, LaLiga, Telefónica, Mediapro, Sky, EGEDA and Nagravision, with the investigation led by Spain’s National Police and supported by Europol and Eurojust.

“Collaboration between the Spanish National Police and the private sector is central to ACE’s strategy to detect, deter, and dismantle digital piracy networks,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer at the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “This case shows that when we work together, major illegal operations can be disrupted and those responsible are held accountable.”

José Luis Gómez Pidal, Chief Inspector of the Spanish National Police (UDEV), added,

“this is a landmark ruling against one of the largest international criminal organizations dedicated to audiovisual piracy. The investigation has been groundbreaking in exposing the inner workings of these structures and introducing new technological methods to the Spanish judicial system. At the same time, the case has revealed how digital piracy is intertwined with complex money laundering networks in various countries, using multiple channels to support and divert the enormous profits generated.”

The judgment is significant not only because of the scale of the network, but because it underlines the growing willingness of Spanish courts to impose severe financial penalties in large-scale piracy cases. It also comes just days after Spain moved to intensify real-time blocking of illegal sports streams, highlighting how anti-piracy enforcement in the market is becoming both more aggressive and more coordinated.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

THE NUMBER OF CYBERCRIME CASES HAS RISEN BY A RECORD 37 PER CENT YEAR-ON-YEAR

The number of cybercrime cases rose by 37 per cent year-on-year in March. Investigators recorded a record 2,533 cases in March, Ondřej Moravčík, a spokesperson for the Czech Police Headquarters, told ČTK today. For internet users, the greatest risk comes from fraudulent bankers or police officers. Since the start of the year, they have caused losses amounting to 322 million crowns. Women are the most frequent victims. The average age of victims is 46. Perpetrators most often carry out attacks via mobile phones, the police stated on the X network.

“We have a sad record here. This March is the worst month in history in terms of cybercrime,” the police headquarters reported. “At this rate, we will reach last year’s figures by mid-October,” police officers added on the X network.

Since the start of the year, criminal investigators have recorded 6,322 cases of cybercrime. In the first three months of 2025, fraudsters committed 4,766 criminal offences online. Last year, there were 21,137 cases of cybercrime online.

According to a spokesperson, the majority of cases involve various types of fraud, with around 3,500 committed since the start of the year. Of these, fake bankers and police officers committed 728 frauds. The highest loss in a single case amounted to 24 million crowns. The average loss per victim is 721,546 CZK.

According to criminal investigators, the most risky tool is the mobile phone. “Please do not disclose your card details to anyone, do not send any money to police officers or bankers over the phone, and hang up immediately on any suspicious calls,” they warned today on the X network.

According to the police, cybercrime is criminal activity committed in the field of information and communication technologies, including computer networks. It includes, among other things, hacking, which is unauthorised access to a computer system; various types of fraud targeting individuals, companies and their employees; fraudulent online shops; copyright infringement; sexual offences, including procuring and human trafficking; and blackmail and stalking.

Source: ceskenoviny.cz

IT WILL SOON BE MANDATORY IN THE EU TO LABEL CONTENT GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

New rules on the transparency of so-called artificial intelligence will come into force in the European Union on 2 August this year. It will be necessary to label content generated by large language models (LLMs), provide information about deepfakes, and alert users that they are communicating with AI. The aim is to reduce the risk of misuse of this technology, manipulation, misleading content, fraud and so on.

The new measures form part of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). Its individual provisions are coming into force gradually; thanks in part to the Czech Republic’s efforts, some sectionshave beenmitigated or postponed.

Jana Vorlíček Soukupová from the law firm Dentons summarised the situation as follows:

The new rules primarily concern generative artificial intelligence, i.e. systems that create text, images, audio or video content. They are intended to ensure that it is clearly distinguishable when content has been created by a human and when by an algorithm. AI is capable of creating content that is almost indistinguishable from reality. The regulation therefore introduces a simple principle – people have the right to know when content has been created by artificial intelligence or when they are communicating with AI rather than a human.

Under the new rules, providers of AI systems (such as OpenAI) must ensure that all outputs – text, images, audio or video – containa machine-readable label indicating that they were created or modified by artificial intelligence. Typically, this will involve metadata, digital watermarks, cryptographic tags or other technical identifiers embedded directly into the file. Technical labelling is key. It will enable social media platforms, search engines, content verification tools, the media and other digital platforms to automatically recognise that content has been created by artificial intelligence.

In addition to technical labelling, a requirement for visible labelling of outputs for end-users will also be introduced from August 2026. Certain entities deploying AI systems will be required to label these outputs properly, clearly and recognisably. This applies in particular to so-called deepfakes – imitations of real people or events created by artificial intelligence – as well as to content intended to inform the public. The rules on how to label content are currently being finalised, but it is expected that this will involve visual icons, text labels, verbal warnings, or messages in captions.

Another change will affect interactive systems such as chatbots and virtual assistants. If a person is communicating with an AI system, they must be clearly informed of this from the very first interaction. Transparency is a fundamental prerequisite for trust in the digital environment. A user should never find themselves in a situation where they believe they are communicating with a human, but are in fact being responded to by an algorithm.

The obligation of transparency is imposed on developers, suppliers and operators of AI systems by Article 50 of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), adopted in 2024. Rules for the detection and identification of AI-generated content, including deepfakes and communication with chatbots, will come into force at the beginning of August 2026. The European Commission is therefore preparing a Code of Practice on the transparency of AI-generated content, which is intended to help fulfil these obligations in practice and is due to be finalised in June 2026.

The second draft of the code, published in mid-March, defines, among other things, technical standards for labelling AI content, such as metadata or digital watermarks. The Code consists of two parts. The first contains rules for providers of AI systems regarding the detection and labelling of AI-generated content. The second part then sets out guidelines for labelling deepfakes, addressed to entities implementing AI systems.

One of the fundamental principles of the code is multi-layered labelling of AI-generated content for AI system providers, i.e. the use of multiple techniques in combination. In addition, providers should make tools available to users for detecting AI-generated or manipulated content. For the labelling of deepfake content, the code proposes the introduction of an “AI” icon.

Source: lupa.cz

FASTLY AND LALIGA PARTNER ON AI ANTI-PIRACY SOLUTION

Fastly and LaLiga have teamed up to develop new technology aimed at tackling illegal streaming of live sports.

The collaboration focuses on real-time detection and removal of pirated streams, with LaLiga estimating piracy costs its clubs between $700 million (€645 million) and $800 million (€735 million) annually.

The two companies began working together in 2025, responding to the scale of illegal streaming activity, with numerous unauthorised streams appearing during matchdays. As part of the partnership, Fastly has developed an AI-driven detection system that uses proprietary content signals to identify illegal streams as they occur.

The move comes as the industry continues to grapple with the scale of live sports piracy. A 2025 study by Grant Thornton found at least 10.8 million unauthorised retransmissions of live events in 2024, with more than 81% never taken down and only 2.7% addressed within the first 30 minutes.

Fastly said its approach enables platforms to remove illegal content with greater precision, reducing the time pirated streams remain available while avoiding broader measures such as regional blocking.

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, said the league had already reduced piracy of its streams in Spain by 60% during the 2024/25 season through a combination of legal, educational and technological measures, supported by partners including Fastly.

Kelly Shortridge, chief product officer at Fastly, said the company’s strategy is designed to protect content without disrupting legitimate viewing, adding that the partnership reflects a broader effort to develop scalable anti-piracy solutions with industry stakeholders.

Fastly and LaLiga said they are also working with other technology providers, publishers and regulators to develop best practices and software tools that can detect and disable illegal streams while preserving legitimate traffic.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

ON THE MEDIA IN TURBULENT TIMES. THE 21ST ANNUAL DIGIMEDIA CONFERENCE WILL TAKE PLACE IN PRAGUE IN JUNE

Will the government abolish licence fees and introduce a new funding model for Czech Television and Czech Radio? To what extent do streaming services threaten traditional television broadcasting? How does artificial intelligence help the media? And how are the new radio stations faring two years after the auction of frequencies for digital broadcasting? These are the main questions of the 21st edition of the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference on media, advertising and digitalisation, which will take place on Wednesday 3 June 2026 in the Congress Hall of Czech Television in Prague’s Kavčí Hory district.

The conference is organised by the Association of Czech Advertising Agencies and Marketing Communication (AČRA MK) with the support of partners and under the patronage of Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček, Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř, the Czech Telecommunications Office, the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Czech Television. “We have decided to open this year’s event with a session dedicated to the funding of public service media, moderated by Daniel Stach. This is a topic that affects society as a whole,” says Pavel Brabec, President of AČRA MK.

Finnish experience with public service media funding

In addition to representatives from Czech Television and Czech Radio, the discussion on the future of public service media will also be attended by Marit af Björkesten, Director General of the Finnish public broadcaster Yleisradio (YLE). Invited to the discussion are Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř (Motoristé sobě), his predecessor Martin Baxa (ODS), Patrik Nacher (Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies), Ondřej Babka (ANO), Deputy Chair of the Chamber of Deputies’ Media Committee, and David Smoljak, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Media.

Representatives of the commercial media have also been invited: Marek Singer, President of the Association of Commercial Television Stations, and Jiří Hrabák, Chairman of the Association of Private Broadcasters. Marek Maďarič, former Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, will share his experience with the introduction of the so-called ‘plug-in law’. “The DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference is taking place at a time when the government is preparing an amendment to the law that will fundamentally transform the funding of public service media. There has been no wider public debate on this proposal so far. We want to change that,” adds Pavel Brabec.

Does Oneplay rule them all? How streaming is transforming the television market

The session on television broadcasting and streaming services will focus on the transformation of distribution platforms. IPTV has already overtaken traditional antenna reception in the Czech Republic. What does this mean for network operators and television station operators? The conference will also address the issue of the concentration of sports rights, following the move of most premium sports content to the Oneplay service, which is both a competitor and a partner to television broadcasters.

Discussions will also focus on the future of linear television in the era of video-on-demand and the advent of 5G Broadcast technology. Will a viable business model be found for it? Attention will also be given to the topic of audience measurement, which this year has expanded to include viewing outside the home. What impact does this have on the television advertising market? Is measurement shifting from people meters to big data?

AI and digital radio

A separate session will focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on media houses. Some European media groups have already announced extensive restructuring. Is this the beginning of a deeper transformation of the entire sector? How is AI changing media strategies? How can content be protected against unauthorised use? And are we facing a fundamental transformation of the internet as we know it today? The conference will also highlight specific examples of AI usage, such as in the fight against fraud, and will explore the impact of AI on media security, infrastructure and the economy.

Two years after the auction of frequencies for digital radio, the market is gradually changing. What impact are the new networks having on the market structure and its economy? The discussion will also focus on audience measurement, which now utilises audio matching via mobile apps. Is this a fundamental shift, or a source of further uncertainty? Currently, only one in five households has digital radio. How can this trend be reversed, and what will the future of radio broadcasting look like in the face of competition from streaming services?

The partners of the 21st DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference are Czech Television, Czech Radio, the Czech Telecommunications Office, České Radiokomunikace, the Association of Mobile Network Operators, the Association of Communication Agencies and others. The media partners are Averia, Marketing & Media magazine and the websites MediaGuru.cz and Televizniweb.cz.

A detailed programme, list of speakers and registration are available at www.acra-mk.cz.

Source: mam.cz

EUROPEAN BROADCASTING ASSOCIATIONS’ STATEMENT ON CONNECTED TVs & VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS

Dear Executive Vice-President Ribera,

As the European Commission prepares for the upcoming review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the undersigned organisations wish to reiterate their request to designate relevant connected TV operating systems and virtual assistant platform operators as gatekeepers to better reflect their increasingly significant role as well as evolving market realities.

To date, these categories of services have received limited regulatory attention. However, in its summary of responses to the 2025 DMA consultation, the Commission acknowledged that espondents called for “the designation of more services such as operating systems for connected TVs, virtual assistants and further messaging services”.

Connected TV (CTVs) Operating Systems (OS)

The EU connected TV operating system market is becoming more concentrated around large ecosystem platforms.

From 2019 to 2024:

Android TV increased its market share from 16% to 23%
Amazon Fire OS rose from 5% to 12%, driven by a dual model combining proprietary devices and licensing to third-party TV manufacturers
Samsung’s Tizen OS maintained a 24% market share1

A limited number of operators are therefore gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution.

With the future viability of many European TV broadcasters at stake, and with millions of EU businesses and consumers relying on CTVs to promote and access an expanding range of content via TV applications, it is crucial that the Commission designate major TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensure adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and contestability. While CTVs can offer significant opportunities for European businesses to develop and compete—not only in audiovisual content, but also in gaming, health and other applications—these opportunities risk being undermined by entrenched gatekeeping practices.

CTVs assume a central intermediary role between media providers and end-users and can therefore exercise significant influence over the discoverability, accessibility and use of media services. CTV OS providers may have incentives to retain end-users within their own ecosystem and to contractually or technically restrict linking or redirection, e.g. from one media application to another media application. Such restrictions may adversely affect the distribution models of media providers, hinder customary forms of cooperation within the sector — in particular recommendations by aggregating media platforms — and limit functional interoperability between media services.

—

1 For more information see Keystone report on ‘Connected TV platforms: Android TV OS quantitative designation submission under the Digital Markets Act’ prepared for MFE-MEDIAFOREUROPE N.V. and published on 18 March 2025 EUROPEAN BROADCASTING ASSOCIATIONS’ STATEMENT ON CONNECTED TVs & VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS – MARCH 23 2026

—

The definition of a Core Platform Service should not depend on the device through which a service is provided. Recital 14 of the DMA explicitly clarifies that CPSs may be offered on or through various devices, including CTVs and embedded digital services. A fragmented, device-based approach to operating systems risks inconsistent application of Articles 5 and 6, allowing gatekeepers to maintain harmful practices on certain devices and thereby undermining effective enforcement of the DMA.

Virtual assistants (VAs)

Another category of services that exercises gatekeeping power in the media sector are Virtual Assistants. Although listed as a category of core platform services in the DMA, none have been designated to this date.

The deployment of virtual assistants is a rapidly developing phenomenon, increasingly so with the integration of generative AI systems in the form of chatbots and AI agents. These developments mean that virtual assistants are constantly evolving, taking on new functions that might not have been fully anticipated when the DMA was drafted. The lack of designation of virtual assistants creates a regulatory void, allowing powerful AI assistants to become de facto gatekeepers for media content through mobile phones, smart speakers and in-car radio infotainment services, without being subject to DMA obligations. This is due to a restrictive definition of quantitative thresholds and an underestimation of virtual assistants’ scale.

The DMA considers that business users of virtual assistant services can only qualify as such if they have developed a virtual assistant software application (or functionality). This significantly limits the business users’ base in the meaning of the DMA. It also gives virtual assistant providers – who control the terms and methods of interoperability with their platforms – the power to unilaterally alter whether a business user is covered by the DMA, even if the underlying commercial relationship remains unchanged.

Our call

The DMA must remain forward-looking and sufficiently responsive to emerging risks. Experience in adjacent platform markets shows that once gatekeepers and harmful practices become entrenched, restoring competition and consumer choice proves extremely difficult. Where users become accustomed to a closed or biased presentation of services, reversing those effects is challenging. The Commission therefore has a unique opportunity to act in this sector before such entrenchment occurs.

We call on the European Commission to:

Designate major connected TV OS and virtual assistant providers as gatekeepers.
If allegedly none of them meet the quantitative thresholds, to open a market investigation on the basis of the qualitative thresholds (Article 3(8)).
Review the definition of “business users” for the purpose of designating VAs as gatekeepers, in the context of the ongoing review of the DMA. The definition must be interpreted broadly, applied in a technology-neutral manner, and encompass all entities that significantly rely on the VAplatform to reach end users.

We stand ready to support the Commission’s work with data, insights and technical expertise, and would welcome the opportunity to meet to discuss next steps.

Yours sincerely,

Signatories (in alphabetical order)
1. Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT)
2. Association of European Radios (AER)
3. Asociace komerčních televizí (AKTV)
4. Slovak Television Broadcasters’ Association (ATVS)
5. Asociația Română de Comunicații Audiovizuale (ARCA)
6. Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV)
7. European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
8. European association of television and radio sales houses (egta)
9. Televisión Comercial en Abierto (UTECA)
10. Verband Privater Medien (VAUNET)
11. Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (VOP)

ILLEGAL LIVE SPORTS STREAMING FLOURISHING DESPITE INDUSTRY CRACKDOWNS

Ahead of next month’s Super Bowl LX, which NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service hopes will be its largest-ever live viewership (along with the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy), there is growing concern about the rise in streaming sites offering illegal access to live sports.

A 2025 study found that 69% of sports fans in the United States and Europe have turned to illegal streams as the subscription cost of their platforms rise. In the United Kingdom, approximately 4.7 million adults (9%) confessed to using illegal streams for sports.

Worse still, 58% of sports fans in the United Kingdom now consider illegal streaming to be “socially acceptable,” according to new data from Nielsen — viewing it as a response to an overpriced and complicated legal market to access their favorite teams.

Illegal sites in the United Kingdom, which showcase soccer, boxing, tennis, cricket, as well as movies and TV shows, reportedly attracted 1.6 billion views in the first half of 2025. Analysts contend the trend could see sports leagues worldwide lose upwards of $28 billion annually in revenue due to piracy.

In addition to revenue loss, illegal live streams pose a risk to the end user. A study by OpenText Security Solutions found that nearly every illegal streaming service exposed users to malicious or misleading content, including malware, spyware, phishing, junk security software, explicit content, fake operating systems and related online scams.

The NFL, NBA and UFC have urged the U.S. government to update the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). They argue that live sports are uniquely vulnerable because their value depreciates instantly after the event ends, requiring faster, “real-time” takedown powers.

In 2023, Peacock and EverPass, a media platform distributing live sports and entertainment content to commercial businesses, created Peacock Sports Pass to discourage individual third party subscribers from using personal subscriptions at commercial businesses.

“Accessing ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ and Peacock sports content in commercial establishments such as bars, restaurants, and other businesses through unauthorized channels and residential subscription services (a Peacock subscription) or other unauthorized third-party platforms is unlawful,”

EverPass wrote in a post.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), whose members includes Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, last month hailed the shutdown of the pirate site Streameast, calling it a “resounding victory” for the entire live sports ecosystem.

“Piracy isn’t a harmless shortcut as it exposes consumers to real risks and drains resources from India’s creative economy,” Larissa Knapp, EVP and chief content protection officer at the Motion Picture Association, said in a statement. “Our actions make clear that ACE will relentlessly pursue and dismantle illegal operations so audiences and creators can benefit from a secure, sustainable marketplace.”

X, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok all say that they remove illegal content streams from their platforms as soon as they are made aware of it.

Source: mediaplaynews.com