The European Commission has published its assessment of the 2023 Recommendation on combating the online piracy of sports and other live events. While it acknowledges certain positive developments, such as the expanded use of dynamic blocking orders in several Member States and enhanced cooperation among national authorities through the network of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Commission concludes that overall piracy levels have remained largely unchanged following the non-binding Recommendation.
The assessment highlights persistent challenges, particularly that many service providers—whether hosting or non-hosting—continue to respond to less than 10% of notifications during live transmissions. In addition, it records the continued rise of IPTV and app-based piracy across the EU. Dynamic blocking orders are recognised as an effective tool, with minimal reports of impact on lawful content.
Given the lack of substantial progress and following numerous calls from stakeholders, including the Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC), the Commission will now consider potential additional EU-level measures to strengthen enforcement, improve cooperation with intermediaries, and ensure a more consistent implementation of blocking mechanisms across Member States.
See more and the full text of the assessment here.