Nairobi — Multichoice has said that piracy in the country is killing the local entertainment industry.
The firm’s Managing Director (MD), Nzola Miranda, said that the firm is losing a lot through unscrupulous links that provide exclusive contents.
Miranda added that the vice must be stamped out to salvage the sector.
“Streaming piracy is growing. We shut down hundreds of links. On weekends with English Premier League matches we shut down links of illegal piracy. You will be very shocked at what that translates to. The size is enormous, “he said.
His sentiment comes after a recently released report by the Partners Against Piracy (PAP), a multi-sectoral association formed to combat digital piracy, estimated that online piracy costs the country’s creative economy about Sh92 billion annually, or Sh252 million daily, in gross losses.
Experts cite, for instance, that piracy deprives the music industry of Sh15 billion and TV stations of Sh8 billion annually.
The report revealed that during English Premier League (EPL) matches, thousands of Kenyans resort to illicit streaming websites to access pirated content and follow the live games.
This incorporates cable piracy, which involves the distribution of digital content after tampering with a pay TV cable box–a practice commonly referred to as’sambaza’ in Kenya.
MultiChoice has, however, exuded confidence that the company is racing against time to find better ways of mitigating piracy, a factor they say could easily face out creatives in the industry.
“As piracy evolves, technology to fight piracy evolves. We are at the forefront. We have to win this fight,” added Nzola.
