White Bullet’s collaboration with Poland’s Sygnal Association makes a significant dent in ad-funded piracy  

White Bullet CEO, Peter Szyszko

IP protection company White Bullet says its collaboration with the Sygnal Association in Poland, designed to prevent ad-funded piracy, is having a significant impact, with its latest Ad Funded Piracy Report showing marked reductions in ad-funded piracy in Poland.

The Sygnal Association protects the intellectual property rights of broadcasters, distributors, licensors, and recipients of TV programmes and other multimedia content. Established in 2001, it currently comprises 18 major media and telecommunications companies in Poland, and White Bullet is working alongside these Sygnal members to track advertising in Poland to monitor the effectiveness of the piracy website list maintained and provided by Sygnal to the Polish ad industry. 

White Bullet’s Q4 Ad Funded Piracy Report created for Sygnal outlines quarterly trends in ad impressions and revenue, on Polish IP-infringing websites listed by Sygnal. It also provides a Quarterly Advertising Snapshot on Sygnal’s list of high-risk websites and a trend analysis.

Tom Chytil, Business Intelligence Director at White Bullet, points out that the estimated ad revenue on Sygnal listed websites decreased by 21 per cent in Poland in Q4 2021 – but increased in the US and elsewhere in Europe by 25 per cent – a percentage point difference of almost 50 per cent. Furthermore, the number of Sygnal listed websites carrying advertising decreased by almost a third (31 per cent) between Q3 and Q4 2021 alone.

“The data also shows that there are clear advantages for brands using this list,” adds Chytil. “Clearly systems like these need to be expanded and used globally and ideally lists need to be dynamic to ensure they stay up to date. White Bullet also tracks redirections from pirate websites and helps advertisers go further. We can only beat online piracy by working together – and static lists are just one tool in a far wider armoury.” 

“We are delighted to support Sygnal as it continues to help defund online piracy,” adds Peter Szyszko, Founder and CEO of White Bullet. “The Association plays an extremely important role in Poland by providing a policy forum; helping legitimate players to use and protect their IP for economic, social and cultural development.”

The Sygnal Association’s Teresa Wierzbowska – President of the Management Board – adds: “Sygnal provides its members with an opportunity to co-operate and share experiences and we are always keen to collaborate with other professional organisations who are pursuing the same goals. It is clear from this latest report that White Bullet’s platform and expertise is helping us to be successful in our mission.”

White Bullet has already stopped millions of pounds of ad spend from funding piracy by collaborating with brands, advertisers, regulators and rights owners. Its Intellectual Property Infringement Platform (IPIP) – designed to make the job of detecting fraudulent content easier – helps to take the profit out of Intellectual property crime. By connecting rights owners and the advertising industry with real-time data about piracy risk, so all parties can take action, White Bullet’s solutions allow clients to understand the universe of piracy and to stop it from generating revenue.