Global Losses to Piracy Top US$6.1 Billion
A major survey undertaken by the MPA and LEK, a strategy consulting firm, has found that the major U.S. motion picture studios lost $6.1 billion to piracy worldwide in 2005. Eighty percent of those losses resulted from piracy overseas, twenty percent from piracy in the U.S. Sixty two percent of the $6.1 billion loss result was from from piracy of hard goods such as DVDs, while thirty eight percent was from internet piracy. Piracy rates (calculated as legitimate revenue plus estimated revenue lost to piracy in each market) are highest in China (90 percent), Russia (79 percent) and Thailand (79 percent).
The worldwide motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators, lost $18.2 billion in 2005 as a result of piracy. The survey found the typical pirate is age 16-24 and male.
Read the full report "The Cost of Movie Piracy" (PDF).
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Global Reports
More global statistics and reports can be found on the U.S. MPAA website.