Six licensees have been found guilty of dishonest reception of a television transmission by showing Sky Sports to customers without a commercial agreement from Sky.
In the first of three cases, Janet Ferguson, Lisa Kaye and Arnold Martin of The Mayflower[1] in Bootle, Merseyside, were found guilty in their absence of six offences and were each fined £750 per offence and ordered to pay £170 Victim Surcharge and costs of £779.77, totalling £5,449.77 each (a grand total of £16,349.31).
In a second case brought by FACT, Carl Furlong and Peter Scully of the Park Hotel[2] in Liverpool, Merseyside, were found guilty in their absence of four offences and were ordered to pay a combined total of £14,810 in fines and costs.
Most recently, Eric Hoyle of the Summit Pub[3] in Heywood, was found guilty in his absence of three offences and was fined £2,000 per offence and ordered to pay £120 Victim Surcharge and costs of £2,116.80, totalling £8,236.80.
FACT brought the criminal prosecutions against the licensees for showing Sky Sports to customers without having valid commercial viewing agreements in place. Sky Sports is only available to licensed premises in the UK via a commercial viewing agreement from Sky Business. Licensees that show Sky broadcasts without a commercial viewing agreement risk similar action or even a criminal prosecution.
Stephen Gerrard, Prosecuting Manager, FACT said “These cases should send a clear warning to pub owners and licensees who show Sky broadcasts without a commercial subscription.
“If convicted, fines for this offence are unlimited and you may have to pay substantial legal costs, as well as putting yourself at risk of having your licence suspended or revoked.”
George Lawson, head of commercial piracy at Sky, said: “This is the latest in a long line of criminal cases FACT has successfully prosecuted resulting in big fines, demonstrating the seriousness of fraudulently screening TV programmes. The law is clear – the only legal way to show Sky Sports programming in licensed premises in the UK is through a valid commercial viewing agreement with Sky.”
“We remain committed to visiting thousands of pubs, as well as investigating suppliers, to protect our customers and ensure they are not left short-changed by illegal activity. If you choose to televise content illegally then you run the very real risk of being caught and having legal action taken against you – the risks are not worth running”.
This successful case was prosecuted by FACT. Working with FACT forms a key part of Sky’s commitment to protecting pubs and clubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions. Sky is committed to visiting every licensed premises reported by other publicans and/or organisations for illegally showing Sky and has made arrangements to visit hundreds of pubs each week in towns and cities across the UK this year.
Any licensee affected by these issues can report suspected illegal broadcasting in confidence at http://business.sky.com/fighting-fraud
[1] The Mayflower, 11-12 The Palatine, Strand Shopping Centre, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 4SW
[2] Park Hotel, 495 West Derby Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L6 4BW
[3] Summit Pub, 152 Bury New Road, Heywood, OL10 4RG
