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STREAMING SPORTS CHANNELS is becoming the method of choice for the small number of pubs that illegally show sporting events, as publicans may feel ”under pressure” to due to high cost of subscription services.
In May, a court in Ennis heard that Sky currently has over 200 active cases against pubs around the country over the unauthorised showing of its sports channels.
Broadcasting paid-for sports channels in pubs isn’t like purchasing a package for your home. As a commercial enterprise, pubs are charged far more for Sky with even the smallest pubs paying over €600 to show the sports from these channels a month.
The head of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), which represents 4,000 members, told TheJournal.ie that, while he doesn’t endorse the illegal showing of matches, the high cost of the sports packages may put individuals under pressure to turn to alternative, cheaper providers.
Alongside the cost of paying for these sports packages for pubs increasing in recent times, increases in the cost of insurance has also put pressure on pubs, Padraig Cribben said, adding that while it may be the “wrong“ thing to do, ilegal broadcasting is still done by some publicans.
Sky, meanwhile, says that some pubs illegally streaming its events is unfair to other pubs who pay to do so.
It actively pursues those who show their sports content without paying for it in Ireland and the UK, with its head of commercial piracy last year saying that the aim in tackling the illegal showing of matches was in aid of “protecting our legitimate Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity”.
George Lawson added: “Those licencees who choose to televise content illegally should be aware that they are at high risk of being caught and face substantial penalties.”
How is it done?
There are a number of ways that a pub can illegally show a football game that is being broadcast on Sky, BT Sport, Eir Sport etc.
The methods have ranged in popularity in recent years, with a common use of a residential Sky card to show games in pubs now used less and less.
So-called “dodgy boxes” can also be used to show matches from these broadcasters, but it’s understood these are also used less and less as they have can have a limited working life.
Streaming is an increasingly effective means to watch sport events, and this method is one that has commonly featured in recent court cases taken by broadcasters against publicans, a legal source said.
Often streams can be free, or can be purchased for a small subscription that is far less than what the licensed broadcasters charge.
Earlier this year, a European-wide investigation led to the dismantling of a large-scale illegal streaming business being run by a crime group in Cyprus.
Europol said these services were “allegedly offered through retailers throughout Europe and sold as a monthly illegal subscription for as little as €20″. The investigation also uncovered methods to relay subscription channels illegally .
So what does Sky do?
It’s on public record that when these cases make it to court, Sky cites private investigators it has sent in to check if a pub not subscribed to its service is showing its matches illegally.
It’s understood that investigators visit pubs around the country, to see if products are being streamed illegally.
It’s fairly straightforward in spotting ones which are illegally showing sports, and this was cited in one case that was brought to court in late 2016.
A solicitor acting on behalf of Sky told the court that live sporting events were transmitted in an encrypted format.
Clubs and pubs licensed by Sky, therefore, would receive a card for unencrypting the signal and broadcasting the events on their premises.
A private detective was sent to a pub on Dublin’s north inner city and, on two occasions, said he had witnessed the unlicensed broadcasting of English Premier League matches.
He said that, unlike televisions in Sky licensed premises, the TV in that particular pub did not show the “pint glass” icon at the bottom right of the screen which denotes that the broadcast was legal.
Once that’s been established, legal proceedings are usually pursued when no resolution can be found between subscription provider and the pub.
The pubs’ perspective
Padraig Cribben, VFI chief executive, told TheJournal.ie that for a pub to provide the full package, it can be an enormous drain on a pub’s revenue.
“In real terms, the cost of providing sports channels in a pub – that’s the full package of Sky, BT and racing channels – would be at the minimum of around €1,100, for the smallest pub,” he said.
That’s one of the reasons why some individuals may feel under pressure as to how they provide [the sports packages]. There are a number of alternative providers out there selling packages on the basis that they are legal, and they’re not.
The amount that pubs are charged for sports packages to show in their pubs depends on the nature of their licence.
There are six bands of pub licence based on an establishment’s turnover the previous year, and dictate how much they pay the government to secure a licence for another year.
Similarly, the amount a pub is charged for Sky and other sports packages is based on which licence band they fall in.
The lowest band is of turnover up to €190,000. Cribben said that 52% of pubs in the country fall within this category.
“The average turnover of these would be around €120,000 to €130,000,” he said. “If you have someone paying for the full sports package, that’s over €13,000. That’s 1/10th. And not just 10% of profit, that’s 10% of turnover.”
The price of a pint may be high in many places, but Cribben said that you’d need a lot of customers coming in each week to watch the sports to justify the cost.
He cited the current offering from Sky, which has less of a rugby offering than it used to, with a large number of soccer matches, with some GAA games too its main draws for Irish pubgoers.
“But you won’t get too many into a pub to watch La Liga (Spanish football),” he said. “It’s an extortionate amount to be paying.”
Ongoing issue
It’s understood that the number of cases ongoing from Sky against pubs around the country has stayed largely constant in recent years, with cases often settled out of court before they get that far.
When it gets to the Circuit Court, and private investigators testify to having witnessed an illegal broadcast, the publican faces difficulty in proving they haven’t breached Sky’s copyright.
But for pubs around the country that may still be struggling, the cost of broadcasting sports is a huge one.
Cribbin added: “The two single biggest drains on pubs are Sky and insurance. It’s a massive drain.”
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Get rid of that USC shite!
Absolutely! It was supposed to be “temporary!”
USC is 7% for the majority. Some pay nothing else. Tackle the marginal rates instead
Change street lights to LED.
Powerful sayings, don’t be getting ahead of yourself, do you think it’s just as simple as taking out the current lights and replacing them with leds? First off, we’ll have to set up a focus group so that everyone knows what we’re doing ‘going forward’. This focus group should comprise of retired/failed political cretins that have absolutely no background in engineering and probably couldn’t change the fuse in a plug. After several months of agreeing terms with an Led manufacturer in China, Enda decides it probably best instead to ude Denis o Brien’s led manufacturing plant, which he set up two weeks previous.
@Paul
Don’t forget the consultation with the Unions, and the claims that for Health and Safety reasons these new bulbs can’t be handled without proper preparation in the form of a % pay increase, a late start on a Monday and time to go to the Bank on Friday, a one off lump sum payment and finally, an allowance for new socks. Sure until that is all in place, it’ll be strikes and blackouts on the streets.
Dont we already have companies set up that could install the new lights. ESB and airtricity who already maintain the street lights!!!!
There’s a few crap ideas in that list , I have a few that would safe us about 150 million. No bonus for bankers. No pensions for politicians (pay for it yourselfs ya lazy sh.ts) retired or serving, no Irish water .
How would no bonuses for bankers save the Government money?
Maybe arrange for every Irish worker ‘donate’ a pint of blood every month at their place of work and sell it on the open market.
Here’s a good one – stop paying back the banking debt that wasn’t ours in the first place, instant saving of 9 billion a year.
Our banks were paid. That is now sovereign debt unfortunately. Lumped in with all our other sovereign debt.
You can ogra and f off with suggestions like that
Taxing drinking after midnight would be forever known as The Cinderella Tax. One of the more stupid ideas from FF.
If that’s the best Ogra FF have to offer, their parliamentary dinosaurs have little to fear from the FF young Turks, or should I say, cubs
A higher tax on alcohol will only serve to increase binge drinking- people will have an incentive to fill up on drink prior to midnight. To suggest anything else is not only stupid but goes against more or less every study carried out on licensing hours.
Well said. It would be a race against the clock – making sure you’re too pissed to want another drink after midnight. Just when you thought you’ve heard enough stupidity for one evening, FF come to the rescue.
If they put that levy on bottles & jam jars, I’ll be standing outside our local recycling place, 5 million to set up!! Ah well like father like son, as the saying goes….
Mee too. I remember being able to bring the empties down to the local shop. I earned my sweet money that way. Except for jam jars! My mother kept them to make jam!
Only problem then is that you have to be able to take them back, or to the recycle centre. I remember before they said we could put glass in the green bin, boxes of glass piling up and having to organise a lift to the recycle centre because all the local bottle banks disappeared.
It seems the ” young ff & fg ” are in line to wast tax payers money yet again, 5 million to set up people brining back bottles is ridiculous.
A gigantic tax on The Communication Clinic,inclusive of it’s husband and wife (PRONE to subterfuge) & their radio presenting son. Once spun for FF when Carr comm,now spinning for FG.
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/how-the-leading-pr-firm-came-asunder-26428144.html
We could bulldoze aras an uachtarain and build social housing and affordable housing for thousands. The president can afford to pay for his own place with his salary.
So comments on the terry prone/tuam story have now been locked-no further comments allowed. I wonder how this could be. Interesting who the CC’s director has advised?
“advised clients ranging from Cabinet Ministers, the CEO’s and Chairmen of some of Ireland’s largest PLC’s through to members of the Catholic Heirarchy and CEO’s of global charities.”Communications clinic
@ James ya w..k.r…u must be the son of a lazy low life politician.
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