IPTV company and staff fined more than half a million pounds
As millions continue to decide paying for premium content isn't for them and instead stream it illicitly, a crack down is beginning in the fight against IPTV and piracy with one fine issued totalling more than £550,000.
The streaming industry has boomed over the last 15 years. Nowadays, you've got to pay fees to Netflix, Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Disney+, Amazon's Prime Video, and Apple TV+ to stay in the loop with everyone good being released by broadcasters.
Most of us can't afford all of them at once - here's a handy guide to cutting your costs - and instead might just choose one or two to keep us going.
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Some don't pay at all, and use something called IPTV [Internet Protocol television] to bypass fees and watch for free.
Often hosted on a jailbroken device such as an Amazon Fire Stick - this is where you bypass the operating system to download an IPTV app - people are wilfully breaking copyright laws when watching the latest TV shows, films, and live sporting events.
Efforts have been under way for some time to fight back against piracy, including by the world's biggest football competition: the Premier League.
People supplying devices used to illegally watch content are also being questioned by police, before promising officers they will put an end to their involvement.
A landmark court order has also been passed in Spain, allowing the country's top flight football league - La Liga - to track and trace those illegally watching its games.
And staying in Spain, another historic event has happened in the country's courts with a massive fine of more than £550,000 handed out to a company selling IPTV services.
A substantial €673,000 (£574,688) fine has been issued to company Engel Systems SL, according to reports in El Mundo.
Fines have also been issued to individuals working at the business, with seven people given bills of between €540 and €7,290.
The Provincial Court of Pontevedra issued the fines after the IPTV operation was busted wide open by authorities after operating between 2010 and 2016.
Engel sold IPTV devices through which content was streamed from the likes of Sky Sports and Movistar. According to reports, it would then shut down servers and force users to buy another device from them to continue watching, thus increasing profits for the firm.
It puts the future of IPTV in a precarious position, with people clearly not okay with paying fees and those supplying premium content ready to act against piracy.
While using IPTV itself is not illegal as long as the content you're watching isn't behind a paywall, more and more people are using it for content that is premium in nature.
More than one million new users of IPTV are expected across Europe in the next few years at the expense of digital TV subscriptions.
According to the research, Western Europe will lose nearly nine million pay TV subscribers between 2023 and 2029 to reach 93 million; down by 8%.
Topics: Crime, TV and Film, World News, Technology, Premier League
Tom Earnshaw