With Hong Kong’s Viu and Thailand’s True Visions joining ACE to protect the legal creative ecosystem, the global anti-piracy coalition renewed its push into the Asian markets.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal ecosystem for creative content, is expanding its global reach and impact with the addition of the first two Asia-based media and entertainment companies operating in key Asian markets, it said in a statement.

Hong Kong-based video streaming platform Viu and Thailand’s leading cable satellite TV provider True Visions are the latest members to join the growing coalition dedicated to combating piracy around the world. Star, which is now owned by Disney, is also a member of the organisation.

“The addition of Viu and True Visions is the beginning of an expansion to include local media companies from key markets around the world. By growing ACE’s footprint throughout the APAC region, we are building new relationships with local law enforcement authorities and other key partners in our ongoing effort to shut down piracy operations around the world,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman of ACE and the Motion Picture Association, in a statement.

“These new members further strengthen ACE’s global reach and collective approach to disrupting a piracy ecosystem that harms the creative economy worldwide,” he added.

Now in its fifth year, ACE has consistently grown its global membership base with the coalition now comprising 39 members, including Viu and True Visions, with more to join in the coming weeks.

“Online piracy poses a grave threat to Thailand’s economy, creative economy, and to our reputation abroad,” said Sompan Charumilinda, Executive Vice Chairman of True Visions in the statement.

“We want to support Thai people, as they compete in a globalized marketplace, by protecting their work with strong intellectual property rights stewardship. We are pleased to be the first member of ACE based in Thailand and look forward to helping drive important actions in this market that will improve the piracy landscape and pave the way for a brighter future,” he added.

“As one of the leading video-on-demand services offering premium Asian content, we recognize the need to address the piracy that is widespread in our markets. We are committed to ensuring that consumers move from illegal piracy sites to legal options like Viu by providing an unparalleled viewer experience and investing in the creative ecosystem. By being a part of ACE, we hope to make an even more positive impact on our consumers and the industry at large,” said Janice Lee, CEO of Viu.

“This is why Viu has decided to join ACE and work to stop the disruption of the world’s legal film, TV and streaming industry,” she added.

ACE is supported by a network of experts operating in high-tech investigations and law enforcement, in partnership with local governments and law enforcement agencies around the world and international organizations like Interpol and Europol, to take on the full supply chain of pirated content.

ACE’s antipiracy campaign in North America alone has reduced the number of identified illegal streaming subscription websites in North America from 1,400 in 2019 to slightly more than 200 today. Such successes are being replicated in other continents, the statement claimed.

Representing 80 percent of all piracy today, piracy of digitally streamed content puts innovation, creativity and investment at risk and threatens creators, innovators and consumers alike. According to the Global Innovation Policy Center, piracy amounts to between $29.2 billion and $71 billion annually in lost US domestic revenues.

Additionally, consumers are harmed when accessing illegal content  — one-third of pirate sites target consumers with malware that can lead to a range of problems, including identify theft and financial loss, according to a report by Digital Citizens Alliance.

ACE was founded in 2017 by the Motion Pictures Association (an organisation made up of major studios) and many of the world’s leading media and technology companies to combine efforts and resources to jointly combat the threat and prevalence of online piracy.

ACE’s governing board comprises MPA’s six members – Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. – as well as Amazon and Apple TV+.  Since its creation, ACE has successfully led or participated in thousands of global enforcement actions, averaging several dozens of actions a month against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators.