Licensee's second domestic Sky prosecution
A Dudley licensee has been prosecuted for the second time in six months for showing Sky Sports in his pub using a domestic viewing card.
John Welding, of The Bulls Head, Brierly Hill, Dudley has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 in fines and costs.
We are committed to protecting the interests of our legitimate pub customers A Sky spokesman.
He pleaded guilty at Dudley Magistrates Court of dishonest reception of a television transmission i.e. showing live Sky televised football matches on licensed premises without the use of a commercial licence.
He pleaded guilty to a similar offence in the same court on 28th September 2006 and was fined £5,000 with costs of £330 awarded.
FACT - the Federation Against Copyright Theft - conducted the prosecution as part of Sky's ongoing commitment to crack down on licensees who continue to show Sky in their pubs without the correct viewing contract.
There have been more than 600 similar prosecutions to date, with 100 further cases with court dates scheduled or pending.
Jim Angell, FACT director of operations, said: "Working together with Sky we continue to pursue and prosecute those licensees who are fraudulently showing Sky programmes in their premises."
A spokesperson for Sky said: "We are committed to protecting the interests of our legitimate pub customers by undertaking a number of activities that ultimately can lead to prosecution of premises who choose to enjoy the benefits of Sky without the proper commercial contract.
"Our investigators visit licensed premises continually and we fully support FACT's efforts to prosecute licensees who break the law."
