Rome, May 23, 2026 – The Europe Today: Italian authorities have dismantled a large-scale streaming piracy operation centred around an application known as “CINEMAGOAL,” in a crackdown that investigators say caused an estimated €300 million in losses to major broadcasters and streaming platforms.
The investigation was led by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and prosecutors in Bologna, targeting what officials described as a highly sophisticated piracy system unlike traditional illegal IPTV operations.
According to investigators, the operation relied on an application connected to foreign servers that illegally decrypted streaming content rather than using conventional pirate set-top boxes. Authorities said virtual machines operating continuously in Italy captured login credentials from legitimate subscriptions registered under fictitious identities and retransmitted them every three minutes.
The system allegedly avoided direct IP association, making it significantly more difficult for rights holders and streaming platforms to detect the illegal activity. Pirated subscriptions were reportedly sold for between €40 and €130 annually.
The illegal network is believed to have caused financial damage to major companies including Sky Italia, DAZN, Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify.
The operation extended beyond Italy, with authorities cooperating through Eurojust to seize foreign servers containing decryption data and source code. Coordinated enforcement actions were also carried out in France and Germany.
Investigators additionally uncovered the use of illegal streaming devices commonly known in Italy as “pezzotto.” Around 1,000 users identified during the investigation now face fines ranging from €154 to €5,000.
Chief Executive Officer of Sky Italia, Andrea Duilio, praised the operation and thanked Italian authorities for their efforts in combating increasingly sophisticated piracy technologies.
He warned that users engaging in illegal streaming not only support criminal organisations financially but also expose themselves to risks including personal data theft and fraud.
The latest crackdown forms part of Italy’s broader anti-piracy campaign, particularly focused on sports broadcasting rights. Previous operations, including “Taken Down” and “Switch Off,” targeted illegal IPTV platforms such as IPTVItalia, migliorIPTV and DarkTV, which investigators said affected millions of users worldwide.
Those earlier investigations involved the illegal distribution of content from companies including Mediaset, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount, alongside other major broadcasters and streaming providers.
Italy has also introduced the anti-piracy system known as “Piracy Shield,” designed to rapidly block suspected piracy sources. However, the mechanism has faced criticism following incidents in which legitimate online services were mistakenly blocked.
The latest enforcement action comes amid intensified anti-piracy efforts across Europe. On Thursday, French regulator Arcom announced new measures aimed at strengthening cooperation between rights holders, search engines, DNS providers and VPN operators to combat sports piracy more effectively.
