ITV extends anti-piracy monitoring deal with Friend MTS

By Elena Vasquez

ITV has renewed its anti-piracy partnership with video cybersecurity provider Friend MTS for two years, the vendor said on November 4, 2026, extending an arrangement first announced in 2024. The UK commercial broadcaster will continue using Friend MTS’s 24×7 Global Monitoring service on its main linear channels across broadcast and streaming, with the renewed agreement adding coverage of major events carried on ITV4.

What does the renewed agreement cover?

The added ITV4 scope sits alongside Friend MTS’s existing enforcement duties across the internet. The company will identify unauthorized streams for immediate takedown and facilitate removal of links from primary search engines.

• Continuous monitoring of ITV’s main linear channels across broadcast and streaming platforms.
• Identification of illegal streams across the internet for immediate takedown.
• Facilitated removal of links from primary search engines.

The contract therefore joins continuous detection with two enforcement steps: seeking removal of an illegal stream and facilitating removal of search links that direct viewers toward it. The announcement does not define “primary search engines” or say whether Friend MTS or ITV submits each takedown request.

How does the monitoring work?

Friend MTS says its global monitoring platform combines proprietary fingerprinting technology with AI-driven automated detection systems. A 24×7 operations team supports those systems, according to the vendor, which presents the offering as a managed service rather than software-only detection.

The company describes the outcome as effective monitoring and enforcement against content fraud. It says this helps ITV maximize reach, protect audiences from the consumer harms of pirate sites and meet contractual obligations to rights holders. These are Friend MTS’s own performance claims, and the announcement provides no independent or comparative figures to test them.

The renewal nevertheless establishes a concrete commercial commitment: another two years of service, plus broader event monitoring on ITV4. It does not disclose the contract value, the volume of content under watch or the resources assigned to the expanded scope.

Why did ITV and Friend MTS renew?

Akhila Khanna, ITV’s Distribution Director, said: “Our partnership with Friend MTS has played an important role in our ongoing work to make piracy unsustainable and protect the value of our content for viewers, advertisers and rights holders. Extending this agreement is a natural next step as we continue to optimise broadcast and supercharge streaming.”

Khanna’s explanation connects piracy enforcement with rights-holder contracts and the commercial value of ITV’s content. It also places broadcast optimization alongside streaming in the broadcaster’s stated priorities, without identifying a new service, technical standard or measurable performance target.

Shane McCarthy, Friend MTS’s chief executive, said: “ITV creates some of the UK’s most-watched content — protecting it is serious business. Over two years, we’ve worked side by side with their team to secure premium content across broadcast and streaming, and to make sure every advertiser impression lands where it should.”

He added: “We’re proud to be the partner helping them stay ahead of the piracy threat.” The statement emphasizes secure delivery and protected advertiser impressions, but it supplies no count of blocked streams, removed links, advertising exposure prevented or content value recovered. Its “most-watched” characterization also comes without an audience figure or programme ranking.

What does the renewal leave unresolved?

The clearest commercial fact is a two-year service commitment with wider ITV4 coverage. Disclosure on the underlying performance remains limited. The announcement does not state:

• The contract value, annual fees or any separate investment by ITV.
• The number of streams detected, takedowns completed or search links removed.
• Average response times, the geographic distribution of violations or service-level targets.
• A baseline for the additional ITV4 scope or any promised reduction in piracy.

Nor does the announcement identify a new regulatory requirement, court ruling or technical standard behind the renewal. On the evidence provided, this is an extension of an existing supplier relationship and its operating remit, rather than a disclosed change in legal obligations or platform architecture.

Over the next two years, broader ITV4 monitoring will test whether the expanded service produces faster removals and fewer persistent illegal streams. The renewed term gives ITV and Friend MTS a clear rollout period, although neither has committed to publishing operational results.