Streaming services could soon have another way to find the subscription used to create an illegal stream.
Big Blue Marble plans to preview AI-assisted tools that examine suspicious account activity and hidden video watermarks.
The evidence could help investigators trace a copied feed to its original subscriber account or viewing session.
The tools will be demonstrated at IBC2026
Big Blue Marble announced the anti-piracy demonstration on August 6, 2026.
The company will show the tools at stand 5.A63 during IBC2026. The broadcasting and media technology event runs from September 11 to 14 at the RAI Amsterdam.
The AI brings several piracy signals together
Big Blue Marble says its AI fraud detection examines behavioral information from three areas:
- Digital rights management, which controls access to protected video
- Concurrent access protection, which monitors how many sessions use an account
- Forensic watermarking, which adds hidden identifying information to a video stream
Each system provides a different clue. For example, concurrent access data could show unusual account activity, while a recovered watermark could reveal which subscription or session supplied a copied feed.
The AI is designed to compare these clues and look for patterns linked to credential sharing, piracy and unauthorized redistribution. It then flags suspicious behaviour for investigation.
A hidden watermark could identify the source subscription
The watermarking process starts after investigators obtain a recording from a suspected pirate stream. The system examines that recording for identifying information added to the original video.
A forensic watermark is different from the visible logo displayed in the corner of a television channel. It is designed to remain difficult for viewers to notice while connecting each copy of a stream to a particular subscriber or viewing session.
If investigators recover that information, they could identify the legitimate account from which the copied video originated. This could help a streaming platform block the source or examine its activity more closely.
Detection, tracing and takedowns are separate steps
Big Blue Marble’s explanation of monitoring, watermarking and takedowns describes them as separate protection layers.
Monitoring searches websites, social platforms and illegal streaming services for unauthorized video. Watermarking helps investigators find the account or session that supplied it. A takedown request then seeks to remove or disable the pirate feed.
The new system is intended to connect those stages so investigators spend less time comparing evidence from separate tools.
Speed matters most during live sports, concerts and pay-per-view events. Removing an illegal feed after the programme ends provides far less protection than finding and disrupting it while viewers are still watching.
What this could mean for streaming subscribers
Legitimate subscribers do not need to install anything or change their account settings. The tools would operate behind the streaming service if a provider chose to adopt them.
An adopting service could use more than the number of active streams when investigating account misuse. It could compare session behaviour, access controls and watermark evidence before deciding what action to take.
The announcement does not introduce new household-sharing limits. It also does not explain how the system would separate piracy from legitimate situations such as family members streaming from different locations.
For people watching illegal restreams, the possible effect is shorter availability. A feed could be traced to its source subscription and removed faster.
This remains a preview rather than a consumer rollout
The tools add a different layer to existing anti-piracy efforts.
StreamDiag has previously covered action at the device level, including Amazon disabling selected sideloaded streaming apps, and later legal consequences such as the £3.75 million order against the Flawless IPTV operators.
Big Blue Marble’s system focuses on the earlier investigation stage: finding suspicious activity, tracing the source subscription and organizing evidence before enforcement begins.
Until Big Blue Marble identifies a launch date or streaming partner, the tools should be treated as technology being previewed.