Friday, July 23, 2010 | 1:33 p.m.
The UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, announced Friday it has served subpoenas on Justin.tv and Ustream.tv — the latest efforts in its anti-piracy campaign.
The two websites allow members to broadcast live, streaming video, such as UFC pay-per-view events, to an unlimited Internet audience.
According to a statement released by the UFC, more than 36,000 people viewed the UFC 108 event on Jan. 2 that was uploaded from one IP address. More than 78,000 viewed the UFC 110 event from the same IP address on Feb. 21.
In serving the subpoenas, the UFC is demanding that the sites disclose the identities of those pirating its content.
“I can’t wait to go after the thieves that are stealing our content,” said UFC president Dana White. “This is a fight we will not lose.”
The announcement is one of many steps Zuffa has taken this year in an effort to reduce illegal broadcasts of its content.
According to a testimony given by UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee last December, a study done by the company had turned up 271 illegal streams of the UFC 106 event on Nov. 21.
“There were likely more streams that we simply couldn’t find,” Fertitta said during the testimony.
Earlier this month, the UFC announced it had reached confidential settlements with more than 500 individuals and businesses in the matter.
The UFC earned an estimated $349 million in pay-per-views in 2009. The company has had nine pay-per-view cards in 2010. Each event costs $44.95.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
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