The digital content market has rapidly become less regional for piracy not to be prevented, even in parts of Africa where the distribution in such format is maturing.
Globally there’s been a shift from traditional media and content industries to new digital media technologies. This has changed the distribution and consumption of creative content with the emergence of new digital platforms like Netflix and iROKOtv.
“In Africa, there is a demand for US and European content, and when distribution rights don’t keep up with demands, it fuels piracy,” says G-J van Rooyen, CEO of Custos Media Technologies in South Africa via email. “Similarly, the African diaspora has led to a demand for locally-produced content on other continents, giving rise to services like iROKOtv, which streams African content to viewers across the globe.”
According to Custos, which came up with a new way to use Bitcoin and its blockchain technology to make media owners keep recipients from redistributing copyrighted content, a conservative estimate for digital piracy on the Western movie industry (i.e. mostly Hollywood) will be about US$22 billion annually.
Adapted from ITWeb
