Illegal Streaming of Paid OTT Content Domestically and Abroad, Season 2
Existing Methods Exploited Including Domain Changes
A website illegally providing domestic and international video content has reopened. It still displays advertisements for illegal gambling sites and cryptocurrencies. It is presumed to be operated to earn revenue from illegal advertisements.
The illegal service that streams content from online video services (OTT) requiring payment without authorization is regaining influence, causing great concern in the industry. There is also a possibility that the number of video views is being manipulated to quickly attract viewers and maximize advertising revenue.
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 14th, the illegal online video streaming service Nunutv Season 2 was recently launched. Although there are illegal streaming sites such as ‘OO TV’ and ‘OO Movie,’ this is the first time a site has used the exact name Nunutv.
Previously, Nunutv was notorious as an illegal streaming service and was shut down in April this year.
Nunutv Season 2 states on its homepage that it is a "free OTT established in Ethiopia" and "has no relation whatsoever to the original Nunutv." However, there is speculation that the original Nunutv operators have returned to revive the site.
Like the original Nunutv, Nunutv Season 2 illegally streams paid OTT content from both domestic and international sources. It provides unauthorized streaming of SBS’s 'Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim Season 3' and the variety show tvN’s 'Ppyongppyong Earth Arcade 2.'
It also streams OTT original content such as Netflix’s 'Hunting Dogs,' released on the 9th, without permission. Recently released movies like ‘Fast & Furious 10: Ride or Die’ are also provided illegally.
Nunutv Season 2 openly displays advertisements for illegal gambling sites. Ads are shown on the video viewing screen. According to Park Wan-joo, an independent member of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, the original Nunutv is estimated to have earned at least 33.3 billion KRW from illegal advertisements.
Estimated Illegal Advertising Revenue of Nunutv... 33.3 Billion KRW
The recently released Netflix drama Hunting Dogs is streaming on Nunu TV Season 2. [Photo by Nunu TV Season 2 homepage capture]
On the Nunutv video streaming screen, up to four banner ads promoting illegal gambling were simultaneously displayed at the top and bottom, based on the average banner click ad price of 400 KRW commonly used in the advertising industry. Currently, the Nunutv Season 2 website also displays ads, suggesting it will generate advertising revenue comparable to the original Nunutv.
From October 2021 until April 6 of this year, Nunutv had an average daily user count of 856,724 and a total user count of 83,487,300.
The operating method is also likely to follow the original Nunutv’s approach. They open Telegram channels and change domains when URLs are blocked.
There is also a possibility that video view counts are being manipulated to increase illegal profits.
In response to the reappearance of illegal OTT sites, the domestic OTT industry plans to take active measures. Previously, domestic OTT providers formed the ‘Video Copyright Protection Council’ to combat illegal sharing of video content and filed a criminal complaint against OO TV in March.
There is also a call for various measures to eradicate illegal sites. A bill has been proposed that would consider sharing links to illegal OTT sites as copyright infringement, requiring compensation of three times the damages.
In January 2021, Do Jong-hwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed the ‘Copyright Act Amendment Bill’ to include sharing links to illegal copies as copyright infringement. The bill allows damages to be increased up to three times the actual loss.
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