CANAL+ OBTAINS A COURT ORDER FROM THE PARIS JUDICIAL COURT MANDATING VPN BLOCKING OF ILLEGAL SPORTS STREAMING SITES

On May 15, 2025, CANAL+ secured a favorable ruling from the Paris Judicial Court ordering the blocking of 203 domain names associated with illegal sports streaming sites by five VPN providers, a legal first.

In accordance with the ruling, NORDVPN, CYBERGHOST, SURFSHARK, EXPRESSVPN, and PROTON are now required to block access to 203 domain names used to illegally stream UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and TOP 14 matches — three competitions for which CANAL+ holds exclusive broadcasting rights in France.

CANAL+ welcomes this decision, which sends a strong message regarding the responsibility of VPN providers — recognized for the first time as technical intermediaries — in the illegal broadcasting of sports content.

The group is proud to have initiated this major step forward in the fight against sports piracy in France and beyond, setting a legal precedent.

Following previous court orders obtained in 2022 targeting illegal streaming sites via Internet Service Providers, in 2024 via alternative DNS providers, and in 2025 via CDN and proxy services, this new ruling against VPNs is fully aligned with the group’s strategy to hold all types of technical intermediaries accountable in the battle against audiovisual piracy.

Protecting its content remains a top priority for CANAL+, which continues to implement all available legal measures across its territories to combat content piracy. As a reminder, in 2024 alone, CANAL+ obtained the blocking of over 1,300 domain names in France.

ABOUT CANAL+

Founded as a French subscription-TV channel 40 years ago, CANAL+ is now a global media and entertainment company. The group has 26.9 million subscribers worldwide, over 400 million monthly active users on its OTT and video streaming platforms, and a total of more than 9,000 employees. It generates revenues in 195 countries and operates directly in 52 countries, with leading positions in Pay-TV in 20 of them. CANAL+ operates across the entire audio-visual value chain, including production, broadcast, distribution and aggregation.

It is home to STUDIOCANAL, a leading film and television studio with worldwide production and distribution capabilities; Dailymotion, major international video platform powered by cutting-edge proprietary technology for video delivery, advertising, and monetization; Thema, a production and distribution company specialising in creating and distributing diverse content and channels; and telecommunication services, through GVA in Africa and CANAL+ Telecom in the French overseas jurisdictions and territories. It also operates the iconic performance venues L’Olympia and Théâtre de l’Œuvre in France and CanalOlympia in Africa.

CANAL+ has also significant equity stakes across Africa, Europe and Asia, namely in MultiChoice (the Pay-TV leader in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa), Viaplay (the Pay-TV leader in Scandinavia) and Viu (a leading OTT platform in Southern-Asia). canalplusgroup.com/en

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Karima Mhoumadi / karima.mhoumadi@canal-plus.com