The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), whose mission is to take down video pirates, says it has shuttered Extreme-down, France’s second-largest illegal video-streaming site.
According to DataProt figures in a January 2023 report, pirated videos are viewed a staggering 230 billion times per year, and illegal streaming accounts for 80% of global online piracy.
ACE suggested the site went down without a fight. The alliance said it identified the pirate, operating out of Tunisia, approached it and it stopped and turned over its domains. It had been drawing more than 14 million visitors per month to over 40,000 movies and TV series episodes, ACE said.
ACE said it got an assist in the takedown from French premium channel Canal Plus and broadcaster France Télévisions, which obviously had a big stake in driving a stake into its illegal video competition.
“The damaging effects of piracy cannot be overstated, especially for a global public-service media company like ours,” Nathalie Bobineau, senior VP of international development at France Télévisions, said following the takedown.
ACE partners include Amazon, Apple TV, Netflix and Sony. It is chaired by Motion Picture Association chairman Charles Rivkin. ■
