MultiChoice sports streaming piracy crackdown
MultiChoice’s cybersecurity subsidiary Irdeto has introduced a high-frequency key cycling feature in its Irdeto Control platform to combat live sports streaming piracy. The feature frequently renews encryption keys at the DRM (Digital Rights Management) level, making typical piracy techniques—such as key extraction and CDN leeching—much harder to succeed. Because it works server-side, it integrates into existing multi-DRM workflows without requiring changes on the user’s video player or platform.
Irdeto Control supports major DRM standards (like Widevine, FairPlay, PlayReady) and includes anti-piracy tools—such as concurrency control, blocking of compromised devices, script/emulator blocking, and geo/VPN restrictions. The company claims that by shortening each key’s exposure window, unauthorized streams will degrade, making piracy less reliable and encouraging users to return to legitimate platforms.
MultiChoice has responded that it will adapt its strategy—focusing more on “high-impact” upstream targets (such as those supplying pirate streams) rather than volume enforcement. In the first half of 2025, MultiChoice initiated 233 anti-piracy court cases, up from 111 during the same period the year before.
On the regulatory front, South Africa’s communications minister, Solly Malatsi, has proposed forming an inter-ministerial committee to strengthen intellectual property protection online. The draft white paper on audiovisual and online safety includes regular reviews of legal protections against piracy and circumvention of protection measures. MultiChoice also argues that intermediaries (like ISPs and VPN services) that knowingly enable access to illegal content should face liability.
