Today’s viewers will do just about anything to enjoy the latest episode of their favorite television shows. In fact, they are even willing to break the law. According to a study from NetNames, titled “Digital Piracy: Sizing the Piracy Universe,” 327 million users illegally sought access to copyrighted content in January 2013.

Piracy is a rampant problem impacting both the movie and television industry. Besides threatening brand sanctity, content piracy also affects pay-TV providers’ bottom lines. While it’s difficult to put a dollar value on the monetary losses from content piracy overall, industry experts say it could be in the billions. Case in point, findings of a study by the Institute for Policy Innovation found that film piracy alone cost the U.S. economy $20.5 billion annually.

In an effort to thwart piracy, providers are setting up systems to identify and remove infringing content posted to video-sharing sites like YouTube. Some distributors are even taking legal action against individual file sharers, hoping that it will deter others from illegally downloading content. While these tactics are somewhat effective, it’s not enough to fight this widespread problem.

So what’s the solution?

TV Everywhere is an effective anti-piracy weapon as it gives pay-TV subscribers access to the most current, popular content available, so they no longer have to resort to finding unlicensed sources to address their needs. After all, many people would prefer to simply log in to a TV Everywhere app than to waste time and effort sifting through illegal video sites to find TV programs.

While TV Everywhere wasn’t necessary meant to address piracy—rather, its intent was to help deter subscribers from cutting the cord—it will likely prove to be a viable deterrent to content piracy; however, only time will tell whether it will truly make a difference.

Click here to learn more about how you can take advantage of TV Everywhere.