As Subscription Costs Rise, Viewers Are Turning to the High Seas Once Again as Piracy Is on the Rise

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With escalating subscription costs and an increasing complexity of streaming platforms, an increasing number of individuals are resorting to piracy to access movies and television series. There’s been a noticeable rise in the utilization of VPNs and unauthorized streaming sites, with Sweden experiencing a significant trend in this area.

Sweden holds a reputation as the birthplace of not only Spotify but also The Pirate Bay, suggesting that its inhabitants continue to enjoy the freedom of accessing content online.

Based on data from MUSO, a piracy monitoring firm in London, it’s clear that the majority of movie and television piracy is linked to unauthorized streaming services. In the year 2023, this unauthorized streaming accounted for a staggering 96% of all pirated content. After a dip in 2020 with approximately 130 billion visits to these sites, piracy has seen a resurgence, surging to a whopping 216 billion website visits by the year 2024.

2024 saw roughly a quarter of Swedes acknowledge their involvement in digital content theft, primarily individuals aged 15 to 24 years old. It appears that the practice of piracy has resurfaced, albeit disguised under a new banner.

In 2011, Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve (the corporation that owns Steam), stated, “Piracy isn’t about pricing; it’s about service.” Today, this assertion rings truer than ever. With content dispersed across multiple platforms, rising subscription costs, and streaming speeds influenced by your device or browser, it’s not astonishing that people are resorting to unlawful methods.

Digital studios have constructed barriers around their content, making viewers pay several subscription fees to watch the desired content. This setup unnaturally limits availability in a digital realm that was initially envisioned as effortlessly accessible.

It doesn’t make a big difference if viewers pirate due to anger or defiance, they’re all navigating the open waters. With the streaming industry splitting into separate regions, an increasing number of individuals are opting for piracy.

Whether it’s due to annoyance or independence, viewers pirating content are still traversing the vast oceans. As the streaming market breaks down into isolated areas, a growing number of people are resorting to piracy.

The main takeaway is straightforward: for studios to thrive, they ought to prioritize making their content user-friendly and simple. However, if the report is accurate, this transformation may not occur anytime soon due to the widespread deterioration of quality across most existing services.

The data on piracy provides a clear narrative: In 2020, visits to unauthorized sites amounted to 130 billion, which escalated to 216 billion by the year 2024. A significant portion, approximately 96%, of the illegally accessed content originates directly from streaming platforms, underscoring the fact that even legitimate streaming services may not deter viewers from resorting to illegal alternatives.

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2025-08-21 20:44