A new Enders Analysis report accuses Amazon, Google, and Meta of enabling large-scale video piracy, particularly of live sports.
Amazon’s Fire Stick is identified as a major tool for piracy, with 60% of UK users watching pirated content using the device.
The report criticizes the outdated DRM systems like Google’s Widevine, calling for a complete overhaul to combat piracy.
A new Enders Analysis report accuses major tech companies including Amazon, Google, and Meta of enabling massive video piracy, particularly of live sports, through “ambivalence and inertia,” with Amazon’s Fire Stick labeled a key “piracy enabler.” This alleged inaction allows for “industrial scale theft,” threatening broadcaster revenues.
Fire Stick in the crosshairs: Enders Analysis argues that “conflicting incentives” within Big Tech make illegal services easily accessible via low-cost hardware like Amazon’s widely-used Fire Stick. Sky data from Q1 2025, cited by the BBC, indicates that nearly 60% of UK users who watched pirated material on a physical device in the past year used an Amazon Fire product.
DRM decay: The Enders study also slams the “continued depreciation” of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems like Google’s Widevine and Microsoft’s PlayReady, describing them as compromised after two decades with little fundamental change. Enders’ authors assert this failure has given “piracy the upper hand by enabling theft of the highest quality content” and insist on a complete overhaul, noting Big Tech’s “lack of engagement” suggests it’s a low priority.
Industry outcry: Broadcasters echo these concerns, with Sky Group’s COO Nick Herm telling BBC that piracy is “a serious issue for anyone who invests in creating and delivering world-class content.” Sports streamer DAZN’s head of global rights previously termed streaming piracy “almost a crisis for the sports rights industry,” a potent warning as global sports media rights exceed $60 billion.
The bottom line: The Enders report throws down a gauntlet, suggesting that unless companies like Amazon significantly ramp up anti-piracy measures, content owners might be forced to pull support from popular devices, fundamentally altering the streaming hardware landscape.
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