A new report published by the Digital Citizens Alliance estimates that the top pirate sites have annual revenues of around $227,000,000 (165,400,000€) through advertising.
The major torrent sites have the highest profit margins, with revenues of around $6 million (€4,370,000) per year. The majority of the money comes from big brands, such as Amazon and McDonalds.
Of the total amount of $227 million, which concerns the revenue of all pirate sites, it is estimated that at least half flows into the coffers of the top 30 torrent websites.
The 30 largest sites studied, whose revenues come exclusively from ads, earn on average $4,400,000 (3,200,000€) annually. Even smaller websites can have revenues of $100,000 from ads».
The report also shows that a large portion of the revenue comes from premium brands, such as Amazon, American Express, Dell, Ford, Lego, McDonalds and Xfinity, which partially fund the pirate sites through the ads displayed on them.
