Chief put front and center at his speech, touting the ongoing rise in the entertainment sector, but noting that gains will always be ruined when intellectual property continues to fall.
Thousands of cinema owners at the Las Vegas convention spoke together, showing the organization that installs the most famous studios in the United States this year, and turns 100 this year, and theatrical content slowly returns to pre-pandemic levels.
"Piracy's dramatic evolution, and our equally dramatic response, is a compelling drama, with all the international intrigue and high-stakes action you'd see in any marquee movie. The difference is that the perpetrators, and the threat they pose to our industry, are very real," Rivkin said. "We have no illusions about the scope and the scope of the problem."
For us to have any significant impact, many things must continue to fall into place, including working with governments around the world to strengthen our pirate site-blocking efforts, and, more broadly, causing a sea change in consumer culture that understands why piracy harms us all.
Piracy is a long-term problem, but recent theater owners and the theatrical community have observed it ratcheting up and becoming more pernicious with the expansion of streaming as windows shrink and clean digital copies of film are available immediately. "Streams can be ripped in a matter of seconds," Rikvin said.
Despite the scope of the challenge, he noted that 'F.movies,' a leading piracy site, has 80 million visits a month, more than Grubhub, Starbucks, and Major League Baseball. Some pirated services include subscriptions that range from $10 to $20 per month, offering live and catch-up TV, pre-release films, and live sports content, as well. And they often look at the art.
Back in 2017, MPA created the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, or a global coalition of our six MPA studios and the world's largest entertainment companies, including Apple TV+, Amazon Studios, AMC Networks, BBC, and Canal Plus. ACE is up to 40 members, and has just added a new live, sports tier. BeIN Sports, a Qatar-based sports broadcaster, has just signed on.
Other local partners in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East will follow.
The MPA's senior content protection officer is responsible for an elite group of over 100 top-of-the-line professionals, from high-tech surveillance and investigation to cybersecurity, working with Interpol and Europol, as well as a vast network of local police enforcement. And the MPA recently reached a deal with the Department of Homeland Security (the first of its kind) that integrates MPA investigative experts inside DHS itself.
"Now we're making a difference," Rivkin said.
