Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), Canada’s largest South Asian broadcaster, has welcomed a recent Ontario court ruling that sentenced two individuals to five years in prison for contempt of court in a long-running digital piracy case.
The decision, involving the illegal streaming service Smoothstreams, is being hailed as a significant moment in Canada’s fight against IPTV and digital piracy.
The case centers on Antonio Macciacchera of Woodbridge and his son Marshall Macciacchera of Barrie, who were found to have operated a bootleg streaming platform that distributed copyrighted content from major studios including Disney, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., Columbia, and Canadian broadcasters such as Bell and Rogers.
“This ruling sends a strong and much-needed message: piracy has consequences,” said Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, President & CEO of ATN. “For too long, digital piracy has undermined broadcasters, content creators, and the entire Canadian media ecosystem.”
ATN, which has invested heavily in premium programming for multicultural audiences, emphasized that piracy affects a wide swath of the industry—from independent creators and specialty channels to major streaming services and licensed broadcasters.
ATN’s legal counsel Shanti Shah noted that the sentence was issued for contempt of court, offering the defendants a window to purge the contempt and avoid the full five-year term. He also criticized the lack of criminal code provisions addressing digital theft, comparing the situation to historical cases where indirect charges were used to secure convictions.
“The courts have done what they can,” Shah said, “but Parliament has yet to recognize digital theft as a criminal offence. Meanwhile, victims are left to shoulder the burden alone.”
ATN is urging Canadian lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to treat digital piracy with the same seriousness as physical theft, citing its ties to organized crime and the loss of billions in tax revenue.
