“Can you honestly blame people, austerity through the roof when there is no need and we’re being taxed to death. I don’t care who this offends, good on anyone who has one.”
It’s a comment made by an Examiner reader after we revealed a national clampdown on people selling a technology which allows viewers to watch films and live sport on the cheap.
Technology like Kodi boxes are not illegal – but if they’re loaded with illegal streaming apps, which allow a viewer to watch live football and the latest films then the seller is breaking the law.
It’s thought five suspects arrested in the north of England have made around £250,000 through the sales.
‘We’re just saving a few quid, what’s the big deal?’ The answer is – it depends on how important you view jobs.
A spokeswoman for the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) said it was difficult to put a monetary loss on it, but explained: “A consumer may think ‘football clubs make millions, films make millions so why shouldn’t we do this?’
“What people don’t probably realise is the impact it has on the thousands of jobs behind the scenes in the creative and sports industries; from the carpenters making the film and TV sets, the costume designers, special effect artists, the camera men and woman and grounds people at football clubs.
“If people continue to illegally stream and avoid making a contribution to the cost of creating the film and so on, then it will have an affect on people’s livelihoods and the future of TV, sport and film in general.”
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) has seen a boom in the last year.
Previously people avoided paying a TV licence fee or avoided paying Sky to watch a football match by finding an illegal source on their laptop.
IPTV now allows them to connect illegal streaming of copyrighted TV, films, sports, music and games to their TVs by scraping content from illegal file-sharing sites.
It’s a new way of piracy, but it is still piracy. It costs creative and sporting industries millions every year and the more piracy continues the less investment there is.
Premier League director of legal services, Kevin Plumb, agreed and said: “The Premier League’s model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect its intellectual property. It is because of this that clubs can invest in star players and managers, and world class stadiums – the very things fans enjoy about our competition.”
So if you want your football club to do well, and get the cash to invest, then stop watching matches via illegal streaming and pay for it – or buy a ticket for the John Smith’s Stadium.
