Chinese Illegal K-Drama Streaming Websites Shut Down By SBS

On May 29th, SBS reported the successful shutdown of three illegal streaming websites, including FantaTV (previously known as BLACKVOD).

Last August, SBS collaborated with Chinese authorities to take action against FantaTV, a website that illegally distributed Korean content without authorization, in order to combat copyright infringement. This resulted in the closure of three websites, Fanta TV, ItaewonTV, and ColaTV, in succession in May of this year after their servers were seized. As of now, all three websites are inaccessible and their servers have been completely shut down.

FantaTV, a Chinese-based illegal streaming website, earned advertising revenue by offering unauthorized access to Korean broadcast material. Within a day of its airing, the site would consistently upload Korean content. Like NunuTV, which caused controversy in Korea in April of the previous year, FantaTV evades enforcement measures by frequently altering its IPs and URLs.

SBS emphasized that their efforts to shut down illegal Korean streaming sites with servers in China serve as an example for future crackdowns. They expressed hope that this move will set a positive precedent and lead to the elimination of other overseas streaming sites. However, they acknowledged that there are still numerous similar illegal websites in China and called for ongoing support and collaboration from the government.

In response to the illegal distribution of K-content initiated by NunuTV in 2023, the government has established the “K-Content Illegal Distribution Eradication Council”to combat this issue. Despite these efforts, certain illegal streaming websites with servers located overseas have been able to evade punishment by frequently changing their URL addresses. As a result, it is imperative that the government increases their efforts in penalizing illegal distributors and safeguarding the integrity of K-content.