Piracy is becoming A Menace in Country, Business of Piracy Reaches Rs 224 Billion, Illegal Movie And OTT Content Increasing Rapidly

A partnership between consultancy firm EY and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Report According to , last year the business of piracy increased to approximately Rs 224 billion. Of this, approximately Rs 137 billion was found from pirated movie theater content and Rs 87 billion from illegal OTT platform content. The demand for pirated content is increasing rapidly. Streaming platforms are a big source for illegal content. Their share in pirated content is about 63 percent. This is followed by mobile apps (about 16 percent) and torrents and social media (about 21 percent).

About 51 percent of media consumers in the country are using pirated sources. Of these, more than 75 percent are in the 19-34 age group. Generally, men like old movies and women like OTT content more. Hindi and English are the two biggest languages ​​in terms of piracy. They have 40 percent and 31 percent share in pirated content respectively. There are many reasons behind the increase in the use of pirated content. These include high subscription fees, difficulty in managing multiple accounts and non-availability of exclusive content online. Many people also prefer pirated content to avoid paying for movie tickets or OTT services.

Rohit Jain, chairman of IAMAI’s digital entertainment committee, warned that the prospects for the country’s entertainment industry were being harmed by piracy. Mukul Shrivastava, Partner, Forensic & Integrity Services at EY, pointed out the need for stricter enforcement and implementing technological solutions to combat piracy. He has also asked the stakeholders of this industry to unite in this fight. The bulk of pirated content is consumed in tier two cities. Low income and limited access to legitimate content are the main reasons behind this.