‘Megadede,’ one of the largest pirate streaming platforms for the Spanish audience, has surprised its fans with an announcement about its definitive shut down within a week. The operators didn’t bother to give many explanations about their decision.
However, they did use the word “obliged” in the announcement, so this could mean that this is a case of legal pressure. The week that’s left is meant to help users download their lists - and that will be the end of the story for ‘Megadede.’
Megadede is only two years old, but it has quickly risen to fame thanks to a rich collection of media, a robust platform, and a clean interface. The website didn’t rely on search traffic but instead had a subscription-based system that unlocked access.
Its collection is believed to come directly from “Plusdede,” which was shut down in 2018 following legal action from the Spanish authorities. That was the continuation of the “Pordede,” which enjoyed success even earlier. So, naturally, we’re going to see Megadede being reincarnated under a new name and domain, but using the same database.
Each time that happens, these platforms’ audience hops to the new website that pops up, so someone could start their pirate operation on very solid grounds. Megadede knew this since day one, and so, on the “help and support” section of their site, they made it clear that selling the project to a good bidder is always a possibility. The platform could just change hands, but this is unlikely because the announcement talks about closure and not the continuation under different ownership.
https://twitter.com/DixMaxOficial/status/1306168971591376896
At the same time, other popular Spanish platforms like DixMax.com have stepped in, offering to help Megadede users by adding support for their playlists. So, this situation is definitely creating a good opportunity for other platforms to enjoy a spike on their userbase growth and revenues.
This, of course, is an invitation for legal trouble to DixMax, as the authorities are typically targeting the larger ponds. But again, it looks like all of these people are willing to take the risk as they can make much money in a couple of years before they call it a day. As long as the demand stays, there will always be someone to cover it, so shutting down pirate streaming platforms will continue to be a momentary disruption.