Wirral licensees ordered to pay over £14.5k for illegal Sky use

The three individuals were Dawn Houghton (Premises licence holder), Sharon Whitehead (Designated Premises Supervisor) and Michael Marley (tenant) of the Shillings Café Bar in Wirral.

On 17 September 2013, at Wirral Magistrates Court, they were convicted after trial of three offences of dishonest reception of a television transmission (a Sky televised football match) without a commercial viewing agreement.

Houghton, Whitehead and Marley were ordered to pay a combined total of £14,539.81 in fines and costs.

Stephen Gerrard, prosecuting manager at FACT, said: “Despite clear messages and warnings, we are still finding a small number of licensees who persist in using illegal systems to show Sky broadcasts.

"People found to be showing Sky in commercial premises without having entered into the correct commercial subscription agreement with Sky face criminal prosecution, costs and potential loss of licence.”

Alison Dolan, deputy managing director at Sky Business, said: “This case demonstrates the seriousness of this issue, as courts continue to deliver considerable penalties to licensees who show Sky content illegally.

"Sky’s on-going support for FACT in prosecuting licensees who break the law demonstrates our commitment to protecting the investment that thousands of hardworking licensees make in Sky Sports to build their businesses and entertain their customers.”

There have been more than 1,500 similar prosecutions to date and hundreds of further cases are in the pipeline.

Marley said he intends to appeal the decision.