Closing the Anti-Piracy Loop: A Q&A With Friend MTS
Anti-piracy provider Friend MTS (aka FMTS) recently launched a Piracy Investigation Services solution at IBC 2025. These “covert intelligence services” “locate those responsible for illicit streaming services and equip content owners with the necessary information to take appropriate action,” according to a company email. The website announcement shares that the services are “backed by a team of experts that help customers understand the impact of piracy on their [own] services, make informed decisions about their anti-piracy strategies, and partner with law enforcement to combat criminal networks.”
FMTS notes that it has upgraded its monitoring services with an AI RAG model that can continuously learn to identify and adapt to evolving piracy tactics. “This AI-based approach delivers new levels of speed, accuracy, and intelligence for FMTS customers,” the announcement states.
To dig into exactly what Piracy Investigation Services does, I interviewed Dave Gilmore, VP of intelligence at FMTS.
Dave Gilmore, VP of intelligence, FMTS
Brandi Scardilli: FMTS introduced its new Piracy Investigation Services at IBC. How did the launch go?
Dave Gilmore: Fantastic! Around the world, rights holders and broadcasters are showing immense interest in our Piracy Investigation Services, particularly as they think through the impact of regional threats and the lack of data-backed processes needed for the identification and disruption of piracy. By using threat-landscaping insights based on real data, we are showcasing exactly why criminals masked as content pirates should be treated as any other criminal in the “real world”—with investigation and enforcement.
It is also sparking deeper conversations on more specific issues such as how money laundering is linked to piracy; the types of coordinated action that can be taken across government and industry; how best to work with operators and law enforcement agencies; and the continuing challenges around geo-localization of servers distributing illicit content. All these discussions reinforce the importance of a unified, intelligence-led approach to tackling piracy.
These conversations reinforce our belief in the need for greater responsibility and accountability from all parties in the content distribution chain—from platforms and infrastructure providers to enforcement bodies—to ensure that piracy is addressed and disrupted effectively and collaboratively.
The services bring together identification, threat intelligence, advanced analysis and enforcement for content owners to track piracy. When customers sign up with this new solution, what can they expect? Is there anything proactive a potential customer should do first?
When a customer signs up, they are immediately connected with an expert team of investigators from all backgrounds—content, technology and yes, law enforcement. (I, myself, am a former law enforcement official with my work history comprising roles at Europol’s IP Crime Experts Network and at Ireland’s Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.)
We will work with the customer to determine a set of expected outcomes and then begin gathering evidence to enable various forms of enforcement. It’s designed to support two types of clients: those who already know the specific pirate services taking revenue from them, and those who know they are impacted by piracy but lack the internal knowledge or resources to pinpoint which services pose the greatest threat. For these clients, our investigations can identify and prioritize the biggest risks. While having some understanding of the threat landscape is helpful, it’s by no means essential.
With more than two decades of experience collecting and analyzing piracy data, FMTS has built one of the most extensive and valuable data sets in the industry—and data remains our most powerful tool in the fight against piracy.
How does this new solution complement other anti-piracy tools a streaming media company may already have in place?
Our Piracy Investigation Services close the anti-piracy loop. We provide the evidence collection required to pursue effective enforcement, via legal or civil pathways. We always talk about content security as a chain that encompasses all aspects of delivery and distribution, including after content has been delivered to a screen. All links in that chain must be protected, from post-production distribution watermarking, through DRM-protected distribution, and on to blocking, subscriber ID watermarking, and investigations. By deploying a cybersecurity strategy that includes all these protective measures, an organization can make a measurable impact and mitigate the effect that piracy has on its revenue, subscriber churn, and brand reputation.
Can you explain how the AI RAG model identifies and responds to piracy threats in real time, and how is it more effective in that respect than preexisting solutions? With live sports, for example, is real-time response or deterrence actually possible, or is the technology designed more to pinpoint the sources of threats and facilitate targeting and prosecution after the fact?
Our Smart Monitoring leverages a sophisticated AI RAG model that continuously learns and adapts to pirates’ ever-evolving tactics. Unlike static monitoring solutions, it automatically builds target templates, identifies subtle changes in piracy targets, and dynamically adjusts scanning parameters and access methods for more precise detection. Delivering new levels of speed, accuracy, and intelligence for FMTS customers, it identifies threats 70% faster from the expanded our Piracy Source Register, which now features 50% more targets.
At FMTS, we tackle the piracy issue holistically. By integrating real-time monitoring with watermark detection into a single workflow, we can achieve a highly effective real-time response. This allows us to identify the sources contributing to piracy, disrupt their supply, and pinpoint pirate sources during an event. Post-event analysis of these sources helps identify behavioral patterns that can support prosecution efforts.
Please take me through a hypothetical of the three stages of Piracy Investigation Services. First, there’s piracy mapping to identify and locate piracy. What would I as a customer see—a visualization, a literal map, or something else? Second, there’s the analysis aspect that the announcement says “provides customers with an understanding of the underlying infrastructure of illegal services.” What does that look like? Third, there’s enforcement, which the announcement says can lead to judicial proceedings and partnering with law enforcement. This aspect seems to be going the extra mile in a unique way. Does FMTS facilitate meetings with lawyers and/or help with lawsuits? What guidance would I as a customer be getting?
OK, let’s start with assessment and monitoring. We start by assessing the type, scale, and jurisdiction where the piracy of customers’ content is taking place. This entails an in-depth landscape report that summarizes initial findings and recommends clear remediation strategies.
In the operational phase, we are continuously monitoring known piracy sources that have historically stolen customers’ content. Once we identify piracy in action, we verify video evidence using our Emmy-award-winning fingerprinting technology for accurate and scalable content identification. To identify the leak’s origin—whether it is the subscriber or device or distribution point—we then scan the content for FMTS’ unique forensic watermark. Once completed, we enter the phase of network forensics and exploitation identification. It is here where we capture network forensic data about the pirate’s infrastructure used to deliver these unauthorized streams. This information is incredibly helpful to identify exploits, vulnerabilities and other attack methods pirates could use to obtain a customer’s content. Along with this, we conduct in-depth, real-world investigations into those behind pirate operations—examining their businesses, networks, and associates—using traditional investigative techniques. It truly helps us understand their strategy and game plan—and enables us to recommend more precise ways to disrupt their criminal activity.
Once our operational stage concludes, a comprehensive report is generated that details the volume of piracy detected across all categories and includes the evidence gathered. This report is designed to inform and guide strategies for future enforcement.
Now, we enter the enforcement stage which involves using the evidence gathered during the prior stages to perform or support various enforcement actions—from cease-and-desist notices and knock-and-talk operations to legal proceedings. We also work with partners in law enforcement, including Interpol and Europol, to support large-scale investigations.
Given how many large-scale streams are delivered globally, and pirated beyond national borders, what more can you say about this international collaboration?
Our Piracy Investigation Services is a global service offering that is backed by our team with nearly 25 years’ experience in coordinating multi-jurisdictional investigations around the world. It offers the ability to conduct investigations in more than 70 languages and conduct on the ground investigations across all regions. Investigation output will be adapted to comply with legal considerations in specific countries.
Can you provide more details on the “recent wins” at MNC Media & Entertainment, Saran Media Group, and VOYO that the announcement mentions?
Our latest news with VOYO, MNC, and Saran highlights a common theme: safeguarding the streaming of premium sports and entertainment content is a top priority for operators, regardless of their size or territory. These announcements reflect a growing industry momentum across diverse markets.
VOYO recently won the broadcast rights in Romania for the English Premier League (EPL) and required a robust solution to combat piracy and protect the value of sports and media rights. They are using our unique watermarking technology to overlay unique identifiers onto each stream, enabling precise tracking and identification of the source behind unauthorized redistribution.
MNC Media & Entertainment, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated media group, will leverage our watermarking and monitoring solutions to protect high value live sports, including Indonesia national football team matches, and safeguard the significant ongoing investments VISION+ is making in premium sports and entertainment.
And Saran Media Group, one of the leading media companies specializing in sports and entertainment broadcasting across Turkey, the Turkic republics, and Eastern Europe, has chosen our anti-piracy services to protect top flight live sports including NFL, La Liga, NBA, Serie A, EuroLeague, UFC, and Wimbledon on its S Sport Plus OTT service. With our Global Monitoring service, Saran Media is benefiting from the industry’s fastest speed at detecting sources of piracy. This is particularly critical during live sports and events where every second counts.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about Piracy Investigation Services?
Piracy is a highly profitable, low-risk revenue stream for organized crime groups. Illicit IPTV services alone are generating millions annually with relatively low setup costs, yet history proves that penalties for these bad actors are often lighter than those who commit equally serious crimes.
You might be thinking, what is an equally serious crime? On a panel we hosted at IBC, Mark Lichtenhein, CEO of SROC (Sports Rights Owners Coalition), noted that piracy is the third largest organized crime from a revenue perspective—only following drug and human trafficking.
With the massive magnitude of this criminal activity, it simply must be stopped.
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