Audiovisual piracy cost 1 bn last yr

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 9 - Audiovisual piracy cost the Italian economy over one billion euros last year, according to a new study by IPSOS for the Italian Federation for Safeguarding Audiovisual Content FAPAV.
    Some 1.1 billion euros went up in smoke, it said.
    This amounted to a negative impact on GDP to the tune of almost 500 million euros.
    The drop in State income was a further 200 million euros.
    And some 5,900 jobs were lost.
    During the two-month COVID lockdown, the report said, the number of pirates rose from 37% to 40% of the audiovisual audience.
    Illegal acts rose from 69 million in March-April 2019 to 243 million in the two months of this year, the report said.
    Illegal streaming of films and TV series "surged" during the lockdown, it said. (ANSA).