The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market for creative content, today announced that Apple TV+ is its newest member and will join its governing board. The addition of Apple’s streaming service further strengthens ACE’s collective approach to disrupting a piracy ecosystem that harms creators.
Apple TV+ is home to award-winning Apple Originals from today’s most imaginative storytellers. Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. Apple Originals have been honored with 113 awards nominations and 31 wins and accolades in 11 months, including a Primetime Emmy Award, Daytime Emmy Awards, a SAG Award, Critics Choice Award, Peabody Award, an NAACP Image Award, and more.
Streaming piracy is a growing problem representing 80% of all piracy today. Unlawful piracy operations put incredible innovation, creativity and investment at risk, to the detriment of creators, innovators and consumers alike. According to the Global Innovation Policy Center, piracy costs as much as $71 billion annually in lost domestic revenues. Additionally, consumers are harmed when accessing illegal content – one-third of pirate sites target consumers with malware that can lead to a range of problems, including identify theft and financial loss, according to a report by Digital Citizens Alliance.
As more people are at home consuming movies and television during the global Coronavirus pandemic, 69% of Americans say they are watching more TV and movies during this time, based on a recent Digital Citizens Alliance survey. Another new Digital Citizens Alliance report estimates that 23 million individuals across nine million U.S. households use a pirate subscription IPTV service.
ACE was founded in 2017 by the Motion Picture Association and 30 of the world’s leading media and technology companies to combine efforts and resources to combat the threat and prevalence of online piracy. ACE’s governing board is comprised of Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and now Apple TV+. Since its creation, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators.
ACE’s members are: Amazon, AMC Networks, Apple TV+, BBC Worldwide, Bell Canada and Bell Media, Canal+ Group, Channel 5, Charter Communications, Comcast, Constantin Film, Discovery, Fox, Foxtel, Grupo Globo, HBO, Hulu, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, SF Studios, Sky, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Star India, Studio Babelsberg, STX Entertainment, Telefe, Telemundo, Televisa, Univision Communications Inc., ViacomCBS, Village Roadshow, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros.
Charles Rivkin is Chairman of ACE and the Motion Picture Association.
