Nearly twelve million French internet users accessed pirated content in 2019, representing 22 percent of the country’s online audience (25% in 2018), based on a study commissioned by anti-piracy watchdog Hadopi. The annual economic impact of this illegal consumption amounted to an estimated EUR 1 billion and also inflicted collateral damage on employment, totalling 2,650 jobs. The projections show that the French treasury missed out on just over EUR 330 million when combining social contributions from these jobs and receipts from business taxes, as well as VAT (which alone accounted for EUR 164 million).

Among the items included in the EUR 1 billion estimate, the impact on subscriptions for pay-TV operators added up to EUR 260 million, of which EUR 80 million is linked to sports content. To put this in context, the size of this market segment was EUR 3.1 billion in 2019 across all content.

The study represents Hadopi's first attempt to quantify the economic damage of piracy in the country and was carried out as part of a wider assessment of the measures put in place to reduce the illegal consumption of copyrighted content. The watchdog used the findings to urge further government action against piracy, noting that stakeholders in the audiovisual and sports sectors are facing a critical situation amid the crippling consequences of the current health crisis.