For anime fans, Zoro.to was a go-to destination. With an extensive content library and easy streaming access, the site attracted millions of visitors. But in late 2021, Zoro suddenly went dark. So what happened to this online haven for anime lovers? Read on to learn about Zoro‘s shutdown and where fans can turn to legally watch anime now.
The Scale of Zoro‘s Anime Piracy Operation
At its peak popularity, Zoro.to was hosting over 950 anime series comprising close to 30,000 episodes. With no paid subscriptions or verification gates, the site delivered this trove of content completely free supported by ads and user data harvesting.
Public web traffic data suggests Zoro attracted over 32 million visits per month at its apex. Assuming even a conservative minutes viewed per visit, this translates to over 50 million streaming hours per month accessed completely free of charge. For context, Netflix serves about 6 billion hours per quarter to their 220 million subscribers. So Zoro‘s reach was massive.
This enormous viewership supported by unauthorized copying of licensed anime generated profits for Zoro without paying studios a single cent. Now let‘s examine why that‘s such a problem for the artists and creators actually making this beloved content.
The Damaging Impacts of Anime Piracy
Studios invest huge sums into producing anime series. Top tier productions with sophisticated animation can cost well over $200,000 per episode. Revenue from distribution platforms helps fund that work. But sites like Zoro severely undercut the studios by distributing that same content illegally.
In a recent study, over 80% of anime studios surveyed reported damages from piracy reducing already slim profit margins. The once burgeoning direct-to-video anime market has shrunk over 90% in 20 years – correlating closely with the rise of unauthorized distribution.
These declines force studios to focus on outsourced TV productions which offer less autonomy. If losses continue mounting, the uniquely Japanese anime industry faces an existential crisis – putting thousands of artists and creators out of work.
Who Shut Down Zoro? Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
While Google issued the actual DMCA notice, the pressure came from an industry coalition called Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). Founded in 2017, ACE brings together over 30 global media and technology firms including Amazon, Netflix, BBC Studios and major film/TV studios under a common goal – combating digital piracy through legal and technological means.
The coalition is governed by a board consisting of the member companies. It uses a distributed operational model, leveraging resources, intelligence and enforcement capabilities within media hubs in Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong to identify and investigate high impact copyright theft targets globally.
Over the last 5 years, ACE has coordinated legal actions and assisted law enforcement in cracking down on hundreds of top piracy operations. Some actions include:
- Taking down the world‘s largest illegal IPTV service with over 1.5 million subscribers
- Disabling piracy apps downloaded over 43 million times across 100 countries
- Seizing 32 websites illegally distributing over 1 billion copyrighted files
In 2021, ACE coordinated with international authorities to investigate sites enabling anime piracy. Zoro emerged as a major target given its popularity…
