Premier League warn they will prosecute anyone involved in illegal streaming of live matches
Anyone involved in the illegal streaming of live Premier League matches has been warned they face prosecution after five people were arrested in dawn raids on Wednesday.
The arrests took place amid dwindling audiences across Sky Sports and BT Sport and a rise in the number of armchair fans finding ways to watch games without paying for the privilege.
Wednesday’s action focused on traders accused of selling modified set-top boxes and saw their homes raided in Manchester, Bolton, Bootle, Cheadle and Rhyl.
It was co-ordinated on behalf of the Premier League and their TV partners – Sky, BT and Virgin Media – by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), which believes the five people involved made around £250,000 selling the illegal Kodi devices online.
Kieron Sharp, director of FACT, said the arrests sent a warning to anyone involved in illegal streaming, adding: “Set-top boxes loaded with apps and add-ons allowing access to copyright infringing material are very much illegal and anyone involved in selling these boxes should not be surprised to receive a knock on the door.”
Kodi software is designed to play content legally available on the internet but can be modified to provide access to live Premier League football, for which Sky Sports pay almost £11 million-a-game under the current UK television deal.
One Premier League match this season was said to have netted a record streaming audience of more than one million.
At the same time, Sky Sports’ Premier League ratings were recently revealed to be down 13 per cent year on year and 25 per cent down since 2010.
The five people arrested, who FACT believe made around £250,000 selling the modified boxes online, were released on bail following questioning.
Stopping the illegal sale of so-called “fully loaded Kodi boxes” has been described as a “top priority” by FACT.
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