How many US consumers believe pirating content is acceptable?

Almost one-fourth of US internet households agree that pirating content is acceptable, up from 14% in 2019, according to Parks Associates’ latest consumer data on video habits. The international research firm hosted “Digital Piracy and Distribution” virtually on Thursday, September 22, as part of the fifth annual Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV, and Digital Media.

“Almost half of pirates believe stealing content is acceptable because there are no consequences to the behavior. The session provides insights on piracy behavior and triggers and strategies to balance piracy prevention with subscriber retention and churn motivators. We are excited to bring the industry together to share insights on this important topic,”  said Jennifer Kent, VP of Research at Parks Associates.

Sponsored by Adeia, FPT Software, Quickplay, SymphonyAI Media, Comcast Technology Solutions, Metrological, and Friend MTS, Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV, and Digital Media brings together industry leaders for visionary presentations, interactive panel discussions, and analyst insights.

"We have found that consumers pirate not because they want to but because they are often forced to by an increasingly complex and fragmented streaming landscape that was built for companies, not users,"  commented Tim Cutting, General Manager of Reelgood and one of the panelist of the event.

“Some consumers do not even realize that they are viewing pirated content. There is room for improvement from the industry in several perspectives: education, content security, and product design,”  added Serhad Doken, CTO of Adeia, also one of the panelist of the event.