Advanced Television

FACT

Premier League pirate faces jail term

A UK man who ran an operation offering illegal access to Premier League football has received a suspended eight-month prison sentence. Peter Dilworth, from Wirral, Merseyside, in the northwest of England, who operated a service offering illegal access to sports and entertainment content appeared in Liverpool Crown Court, having pleaded guilty to the charges brought […]

November 3, 2022By Colin Mann

UK pay-TV pirate hit with £250k fine

Michael Hornung, who in June 2022 was jailed in his absence to four and a half years in prison for selling set-top boxes giving illegal access to Sky TV, BT Sport, and Virgin Media, has been ordered to pay more than £250,000 (€288,000) under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester […]

September 14, 2022By Colin Mann

Research: Risks from illegal sports streaming sites

Research from cyber resilience specialist Opentext Security Solutions has revealed the extent to which consumers are being exposed to fraud, dangerous scams and explicit content on illegal sports streaming sites. Analysis of 50 popular sites uncovered that every single one contained malicious content, while over 40 per cent of them did not have the necessary […]

August 18, 2022By Colin Mann

UK landlord fined for illegally screening Sky Sports

Patrick Hennessy of the Boat Inn, Church Street, Wolverhampton has been found guilty of two offences of dishonest reception of a television transmission, in this case, Sky Sports televised football matches, with the intent to avoid payment of the applicable commercial subscription charge. Sky Sports is only available to licensed premises in the UK via […]

August 12, 2022

Illegal sports streaming services targeted

Investigators from intellectual property protection organisation FACT and police officers from West Midlands and Warwickshire Police have visited addresses across the West Midlands to serve Cease and Desist notices to individuals suspected of supplying illegal sports streaming services. The initiative is aimed at preventing the illegal supply of IPTV streams, with investigators visiting homes in […]

July 22, 2022By Colin Mann

Convicted streamer flees UK

Michael Hornung, who was convicted of selling set-top boxes giving illegal access to Sky TV, BT Sport and Virgin Media, has fled to Cyprus. Hornung is estimated to have made around £350,000 (€409,000) by selling some 2,700 devices over a three-year period across Greater Manchester in the northwest of England. UK intellectual property protection organisation […]

June 17, 2022By Colin Mann

Illicit streaming fraudsters jailed

Hampshire County Council Trading Standards has welcomed a successful outcome in the courts relating to the illegal streaming of copyright material. Following a detailed investigation led by the County Council’s Trading Standards officers working in collaboration with UK intellectual property protection organisation FACT and National Trading Standards, four individuals were sentenced on March 18th 2022, […]

March 24, 2022By Colin Mann

Brook v Khan fight anti-piracy warning

Ahead of the Kell Brook v Amir Khan catchweight fight this weekend, only available in the UK via Sky Sports Box Office, Kieron Sharp, CEO of intellectual property protection body FACT has highlighted the dangers of illegal streaming. “Ending one of Britain’s longest standing grudges, the Kell Brook v Amir Khan fight this weekend is […]

February 17, 2022By Colin Mann

Eubank Jr vs Williams anti-piracy warning

In advance of the Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Williams middleweight bout on February 5th, only available in the UK on Sky Sports Boxing, Kieron Sharp, CEO of intellectual property protection body FACT, has warned of the danger fans face if they choose to stream the event illegally. “With an exciting fight coming up this […]

February 4, 2022

NFL Playoffs illegal streaming warning

Fans of American Football who may be tempted to watch the coming weekend’s NFL Playoff games – exclusive to Sky Sports in the UK – through illegal means, rather than via the proper channels, are being warned of the risk that they are taking when watching illegal streams, and that they are exposing themselves and […]

January 14, 2022By Colin Mann