The battle against pirate sports broadcasts in Spain This marks a significant shift. The courts have granted Movistar Plus+ the power to shut down illegal broadcasts live, without having to wait for complex procedures each time a new website or IP address appears.
In a recent ruling, a commercial court in Barcelona allows Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (TAD)The subsidiary that operates Movistar Plus+, orders Internet operators to block, almost in real time, those pages and servers that are broadcasting without permission football matches, tennis tournaments, golf championships and other sporting events with protected rights.
A court order that strengthens the fight against live sports piracy
The resolution, dated the March 23. The ruling by the Commercial Section of the Barcelona Court of First Instance, located at number 9 square, provides clear judicial support for Movistar Plus+'s requests to combat real-time piracy. The court endorses the platform's ability to activate a system for continuously blocking illicit content that enters the network during matches.
In practice, this means that TAD is authorized to require Internet providers that disrupt access to domains, subdomains, and IP addresses that are retransmitting competitions such as the Champions LeagueLaLiga matches, tennis tournaments or golf championships without the approval of the rights holders.
Until now, much of the anti-piracy effort has focused on targeting specific links or already identified pages, an approach that falls short given the speed at which new mirror websites emerge and illegal streaming servicesWith this new scenario, the Justice system opens the door to a faster and broader reaction against unauthorized emissions.
One relevant aspect of the car is that it broadens the focus beyond the matches of LaLigawhich have traditionally been the focus of most anti-piracy efforts. The court authorization extends to any sporting event that is broadcast without the corresponding permission, which includes everything from major European events to lower-profile competitions that are still protected by intellectual property rights.
This more comprehensive approach reflects the current reality of the audiovisual market, where sports subscriptions increasingly cover a wider range of disciplines and tournaments. Platforms and rights holders are witnessing how pirated broadcasts are no longer limited to football, but are diversifying into other areas. other sports with large audiences, such as tennis or golf, which also generate a significant number of subscribers.
A dynamic measure linked to the duration of the rights
The ruling describes the mechanism as a "dynamic measurement"That is, an order that is not limited to a closed list of pages, but is continuously adapted to new sources of illegal content that appear during the period of validity of the affected audiovisual rights.
According to the ruling, the duration of this measure will be determined by the period of exploitation of the rights of sports content. In the case of European football competitions, the time frame extends to the 2026/2027 season, whose conclusion, according to official schedules, is planned for June 2027.
This temporal reference offers operators and platforms a certain legal stabilitysince it is clear how long these automatic blocking orders can be applied continuously against new pirate websites that emerge throughout the different seasons.
To make the measure operational, the system designed by the court establishes that Movistar Plus+ will send every week, coinciding with match days and live events, an updated list with the domains and IP addresses that have been detected as sources of illicit content.
On that basis, Internet operators will be required to carry out the block within a maximum of 30 minutes from the moment the communication is received. This very short reaction window is considered key for the order to have practical meaning: if the cut comes too late, the bulk of the match or event would have already been consumed illegally by users.
Near real-time cutoff of illegal emissions
The court authorization grants TAD the ability to act virtually in real time. As soon as a source emitting a paid sporting event without permission, it can be included immediately in the weekly lists sent to Internet access providers.
This system intends hinder the business model Pirate websites and illegal IPTV services, which base much of their appeal on the ability to watch key matches live without a subscription, are also affected. By reducing the exposure time of these signals for end users, monetization through advertising, access fees, or device sales becomes more difficult.
In practice, the measure places the Internet providers in a position of active co-responsibility in the fight against piracy, by obliging them to respond quickly to the blocking instructions they receive from Movistar Plus+, similar to the blockages to pirate IPTV that have been seen in other markets.
The court order can also serve as a reference for future claims from other rights holders in Spain or in Europe, who could request similar mechanisms to more effectively curb the illicit distribution of their live content.
Sources in the legal sector specializing in intellectual property see this ruling as a relevant precedent This reinforces the trend towards enabling dynamic blocking measures against pirated content, especially in cases where the value of the product is concentrated in live streaming rather than delayed consumption.
The criminal route: lawsuit against the CEO of Cloudflare
Alongside this civil and commercial route, LaLiga and Movistar Plus+ have promoted a criminal strategy to try to cut off technological support for illegal emissions. On March 4, it emerged that both entities filed a lawsuit against Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare Inc., for alleged crimes of audiovisual piracy.
According to judicial sources cited by Europa Press, this is the first time in Spain A US technology company has been summoned to court for potential intellectual property crimes. The case has brought to the forefront the responsibility of technology intermediaries that support websites or services distributing pirated content.
Cloudflare offers services for network and cybersecurity a multitude of websites and platforms, including some that, according to the plaintiffs, are using these tools to stabilize and conceal the origin of illegal sports broadcasts, and there are also initiatives to block illegal apps on devices that facilitate access to that content.
The lawsuit opens a legal front with potential repercussions beyond the specific case of sports piracy. The outcome of the proceedings could influence how the role of [unspecified entities] is interpreted in Spain. Internet and infrastructure service providers when their tools are used for illicit purposes, a debate that is also on the table in other European countries.
In this context, the combination of a dynamic lock order At the national level and through criminal actions against technological intermediaries, a more comprehensive strategy against audiovisual piracy is being developed, which is no longer limited to targeting small, isolated websites, but also aims at the actors who facilitate its operation.
All this legal activity surrounding Movistar Plus+ and LaLiga This reflects the growing pressure from the audiovisual sector to protect its investments in sports rights, in an increasingly competitive market with a growing presence of streaming platforms in Spain and the rest of Europe.
With the new authorization from the Barcelona court to cut off pirate live broadcasts, coupled with the lawsuit against the head of Cloudflare, the anti-piracy landscape in the sports field enters a more aggressive phase, combining rapid blocking, prolonged measures and actions against the technical support that allows these broadcasts to remain online.
