“Billions of dollars” worth of streaming piracy are enabled by Amazon Fire Sticks

A recent report by Enders Analysis, a respected media and telecom research firm, has drawn attention to the growing role of Amazon Fire TV Sticks in facilitating large-scale streaming piracy. According to the report, this widely-used device is being exploited to enable what the researchers describe as “industrial-scale theft,” contributing to a surge in unauthorized access to subscription-based streaming content. This development is reportedly costing legitimate broadcasters and rights holders billions of dollars annually.

Although it primarily focuses on the European scene, the research, “Video piracy: Big tech is clearly unwilling to address the problem,” highlights how pervasive digital piracy is becoming globally, especially as streaming services continue to obtain the exclusive rights to well-known live events, like important athletic competitions. The research highlights how illegal streams for big-ticket broadcasts are now available simultaneously across various pirate platforms, with some drawing tens of thousands of concurrent viewers.

Enders Analysis doesn’t limit its criticism to Amazon. Other significant tech companies including Microsoft, Google, and Meta (previously Facebook) are also named in the report. It criticizes Meta for allegedly allowing ads that promote illicit streams, and faults Microsoft and Google for what it describes as the ongoing weakening of their digital rights management (DRM) tools—specifically PlayReady and Widevine. These DRM systems are designed to protect copyrighted content but are reportedly becoming less effective against modern piracy methods. When approached by Ars Technica, none of the companies had responded by the time of publication.

Industry insiders are sounding alarms as well. DAZN, one of Europe’s biggest sports streaming services, has warned that piracy is becoming a near-crisis for the sector. During the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in February, DAZN’s global rights chief Tom Burrows noted the threat piracy poses to the sustainability of live sports streaming. Sky Group’s COO Nick Herm estimated piracy costs their company hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Claire Enders, co-founder of Enders Analysis, emphasized that pirated sports content represents about half of all piracy in many markets.

The report also highlights the growing use of jailbroken Fire TV Sticks, which are modified to bypass security protocols and access pirated apps. These modifications pose significant cybersecurity risks to users, who often unwittingly provide sensitive information such as email addresses and credit card details to unknown, unverified sources. While cases of malware and phishing directly linked to streaming piracy remain relatively rare, the potential for harm is substantial and growing.