Premier League steps up anti-piracy campaign in Malaysia

The Premier League has launched the second phase of its 2021/22 anti-piracy media campaign in Malaysia, highlighting the poor viewing experience and dangers that fans face when watching matches via illegal streams.

The second phase of the Boot Out Piracy campaign features new videos from Premier League stars, including Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Leicester City's James Maddison.

Past campaigns brought together some of the league's top players to raise awareness of the dangers of piracy, including Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-Min.

Kevin Plumb, General Counsel for the Premier League, said: "We are launching the second phase of this season’s Boot Out Piracy campaign at a time of the year when there is a huge number of fixtures for fans around the world to enjoy, to continue raising awareness of the dangers of watching Premier League matches through illegal streams.

"Fans can experience a number of serious issues if they choose to watch pirated content, including having their data stolen and exposing themselves to cyber-attacks. They will also have to endure a sub-standard viewing experience which is likely to be disrupted by pop-up ads and frequent buffering.

"The only way to avoid all those dangers is to watch Premier League football through our official broadcast partners. We will continue working with them and local authorities in Malaysia and throughout Asia to protect fans from accessing pirate sites."

Raising awareness among fans of the risks and downsides posed by illegal streams is just one part of the Premier League's comprehensive anti-piracy work in the region.

Since the establishment of its Asia-Pacific office in Singapore almost three years ago, the Premier League has initiated blocking action against illegal websites in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, and has worked closely with local authorities and broadcast partners to bring criminal action against website operators and suppliers of illicit streaming devices across the region.

Nicholas John, Head of Sports of Astro, said: "Like the Premier League, Astro takes a serious view of piracy, and will not hesitate to take legal action against those found to be distributing unauthorised content on illicit streaming devices.

"As the official broadcaster of the Premier League in Malaysia, we are committed to work alongside the authorities and our partners like the Premier League on anti-piracy campaigns to protect Malaysian sports fans against cybersecurity attacks.

"We are seeing positive signs that Premier League fans in Malaysia are beginning to understand the severe risks attached to illegal streaming and we are committed to helping the community enjoy the best viewing experience of the Premier League in HD and 4K UHD on Astro."