Illegal Sky usage: interactive map and all you need to know

The Publican's Morning Advertiser has compiled a one-stop shop of all the content relating to Federation against Copyright Theft (FACT) action against illegal Sky football screenings, including an interactive map of fined pubs. Find out all you need to know here.

  • A list of all illegal Sky prosecutions
  • PMA roundtable discussion on football prosecutions with Sky, the Premier League and FACT 
  • The Karen Murphy case
  • ECJ Judgement on Murphy - the implications
  • Sky issues copyright warning to licensees
  • Publicans pay £180k in a year for illegal football screenings
  • Licensees argue for end to Saturday football screening ban

Interactive map

Below is a map of all the pubs in 2014 alone that have been fined, along with the overall cash total the licensee(s) have had to pay out as a result of legal action.

Sky has been cracking down on pubs and bars illegally broadcasting Sky Sports Premier League football games on an unauthorised feed, using copyright law to prosecute, and producing more than £180k in fines within the last year alone.

The largest fine to date saw a bar in Doncaster handed a £22,000 bill for fines and costs with the number due to continue as Sky looks to get tough on those screening matches illegally.

 

Karen Murphy

The copyright issue stems from the most famous case regarding illegal screening of Premier League football matches, and which came from Karen Murphy, a Portsmouth licensee who successfully appealed against prosecution from the Premier League for using a Greek satellite platform, Nova, to show matches.

The case raised a number of issues with some, such as law firm Mishcon de Reya, claiming it could have had a huge impact on digital content and Premier League budgets - and even what footballers could be paid:

 

FACT prosecutions and copyright

But following the decision to use copyright issues as the main method of prosecution - such as the Premier League logo and anthem - the tide has turned in favour of the broadcaster, as a large number of prosecutions by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) have been successfully undertaken.