Transition Of Cinema Release To Streaming Platform Is A Big Door For Pirates To Enter

Watching movies via laptop (Azamat E./Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Piracy is still a major problem in the film industry. The COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly making the industry suffer heavy losses. In addition to stalled production, cinema chains have also had to close their businesses until conditions recover.

Meanwhile, Universal Pictures became the first production house to switch cinema releases to streaming. Trolls World Tour is a film released after the studio delayed the release of Fast & Furious 9.

The decision was controversial on the internet. Not a few people feel that the work of film activists is not appreciated, considering that the film was made to be seen in theaters.

However, beyond expectations, the Trolls World Tour actually turned a profit. In just three weeks, this film earned 100 million dollars. The system the studio does is rent on Fandango and there are no options to buy or download.

Seeing the success of the Trolls, distribution companies and production houses began developing a similar strategy. Warner Bros released the Scoob! through streaming services and get the same benefits.

The cinema network doesn't seem to accept this. A little flashback, when Disney decided to move Mulan to a streaming service, a cinema owner in France went viral because she shot a video destroying Mulan's cardboard.

La réaction d'un exploitant suite à la décision de Disney ... #Mulan pic.twitter.com/I2uWICofve

- Destination Ciné (@destinationcine) August 6, 2020

Piracy Is Much Increased

Despite the benefits of using the rental system, this has further opened the door for film pirates. Mulan, a Disney-released digitally released film, has been called the film with the most piracy during the pandemic.

According to research conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce's Global Policy, digital piracy costs US $ 29.2 billion for film and television production in the United States.

This piracy certainly has a major impact on the development of production houses. In addition to large losses, piracy has an effect on reducing production costs. Hannibal, one of NBC's television series was discontinued due to their low ratings while his series was the most illegally downloaded on the internet in 2013.

Launching TorrentFreak, Mulan's film data can be found illegally (outside the Disney + streaming service) even though Disney + costs 30 dollars to rent the film. After being released on September 4, 2020, Mulan has twice as many downloads as The Lion King which was released streaming after its release a year ago.

Total downloads of torrent data worldwide were 12 million within the first month of the pandemic, March to April. Then that figure grew to 16 million a month later, which means an increase of 33 percent. With so many films being released digitally and theaters closing, people are starting to look for ways to keep access to new films.

When films were traditionally released through theaters, pirates required more effort when pirating films, namely by carrying a tape recorder or camcorder. But when movies are released via streaming services, the pirates only need the latest technology to download the movies.

Illegal download sites are also a place to search for old films such as Contagion which are said to be similar to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. As a result, it became the most sought-after old release on illegal sites.

Movie Piracy Avoidance Strategies

Streaming services must tighten a strategy so that their content is protected from pirates and customers still choose to watch it legally.

Today, many streaming services put special codes in the content player. The code is obtained after the customer has successfully made a purchase. This special code is different for each user. It is used to detect viewers who are recording the content.

In addition, the public must be encouraged by the invitation to watch legally. A streaming service as big as Netflix alone creates special cellular packages in Indonesia with prices starting from IDR 50,000.

No need to pay additional fees, customers can watch various films produced at home and abroad.

One of the local streaming services, Bioskop Online also avoids piracy by blocking the viewing system via HDMI so that viewers can only watch through devices such as laptops or devices.

Digital piracy that has a negative impact must be taken seriously. Content providers, content owners and streaming service providers must unite against ingrained film piracy.