Illegal streaming is declining in France… but 7.7 million internet users continue to use it

While piracy of sports and cultural content remains deeply entrenched in digital habits, the latest figures show a notable shift.

Indeed, between regulatory pressure, technical obstacles, and the mobilization of rights holders, particularly with massive action last year, the struggle undertaken in recent years seems to be producing measurable effects, without, however, making the phenomenon disappear…

A decrease driven by the strengthening of obstacles

According to the Arcom's latest report, illegal streaming and downloads have declined by 4% in 2025. Over a longer period, between 2021 and 2025, the decrease even reaches 34%, reflecting a fundamental trend. In terms of volume, this still represents 7.7 million internet users affected, compared to 11.7 million four years earlier. This increase is largely explained by the strengthening of anti-piracy measures, as since 2022, more than 12,600 domain names linked to the illegal broadcasting of sporting events have been blocked, with more than half of them blocked in 2025 alone. This acceleration illustrates the growing power of legal and technical mechanisms. The same logic applies to cultural content, with 2,583 mirror sites blocked since 2022. These platforms, designed to circumvent bans by duplicating already sanctioned sites, are now in the regulator's crosshairs. Here again, nearly half of the blocks were implemented in 2025…

IPTV and VPNs: Uses that complicate the fight

Despite this overall decrease, piracy continues to evolve, particularly with the rise of IPTV services and VPNs, which allow users to more easily bypass restrictions. These technologies, initially designed for legitimate uses, are now being massively misused to access illegal content.

Faced with these developments, Arcom is advocating for the strengthening of existing tools, and a proposed law specifically envisions the implementation of dynamic, real-time blocking of services that illegally broadcast sporting events. The goal would then be to intervene directly on IP addresses, in addition to blocking domain names, in order to reduce response times.

Rights holders, like Canal+, also play a leading role in this strategy, by multiplying legal actions to protect their content.

A still massive loss of revenue…

Sport, the first victim of piracy?

– Source: Arcom

While the indicators are trending downwards, the economic consequences remain considerable. Piracy still represents an estimated loss of €1.5 billion for the cultural and sports sectors, and sports alone accounts for approximately €300 million in losses.

For broadcasters and platforms, the issue goes beyond simply audience figures, as it also involves preserving a business model based on broadcasting rights, which are increasingly expensive to acquire in a competitive environment.

Thus, the decline observed in 2025 appears more as an encouraging sign than a definitive turning point. The fight against piracy is entering a new phase, more technical and more reactive, in the face of constantly evolving usage patterns…