The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) announced the shutdown of Rare Breed TV, a major illegal IPTV service provider, after reaching a financial settlement with its operators.
North Carolina-based Rare Breed TV was one of the world's largest digital piracy operations, claiming to offer subscribers access to over 28,000 channels and more than 100,000 movies and series.
"As part of the agreement, the operators will permanently shut down their illegal service and pay a significant financial settlement. Rare Breed IPTV was an unauthorized streaming platform that operated for years, offering thousands of live television channels and a video-on-demand library featuring more than 14,000 titles—all without the consent of the copyright holders," ACE said on Wednesday.
"With support from its member studios, ACE identified the individuals behind Rare Breed and contacted them in North Carolina. Following ACE's enforcement efforts, the operators agreed to cease their infringing activities, pay financial compensation, and fully cooperate with ACE going forward."
However, while ACE says the pirate service operators agreed to shut down their illegal IPTV platform, the Rare Breed TV website was still online when this story was published, offering subscriptions ranging from $15.99/ month to $79.99 for a full year.
An ACE spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today.
Rare Breed TV website (BleepingComputer)
ACE is a coalition of over 50 media and entertainment companies worldwide, including the world's largest film studios and television networks, focused on shutting down illegal streaming services.
It also collaborates with law enforcement organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Europol, and Interpol, to target large-scale illegal streaming networks.
The coalition's governing board includes companies such as Amazon, Apple TV+, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
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