Pirated films flood Kerala via WhatsApp under the name of popular YouTube channel 'Matinee Now'

Adoor: The distribution of pirated movie copies through WhatsApp channels is becoming increasingly prevalent in Kerala. Soon after a film is released on OTT platforms, copies begin circulating on WhatsApp, Telegram, pirated websites, and counterfeit movie apps. Despite the efforts of OTT companies to shut down these channels, they frequently reappear under different names within days.

One such persistent channel, under the name of popular YouTube channel 'Matinee Now', has been distributing pirated film versions for the past ten months without facing any actions. This channel operates similarly to WhatsApp features, sharing links to new movie files of varying quality. It emerged following the introduction of WhatsApp's channel feature.

The channel posts links to files for each new film in various resolutions. Clicking these links redirects users to download the files. Anyone familiar with WhatsApp can easily use this method to obtain the films. Users can download these files by clicking links that lead to platforms such as Google Drive.

Currently, the channel has over 1,800 followers, and its audience continues to grow daily. As the channel remains accessible to everyone, even non-subscribers can download movies via shared links.

The YouTube channel 'Matinee Now', has expressed concerns about the misuse of their name but has not seen any resolution. Despite previous complaints regarding the misuse of their name, no action has been taken. Many movie-downloading channels on Telegram are now linking to this WhatsApp channel as well for movie downloads.