five men this week found guilty Illegally streaming the Premier League and being jailed for a total of more than 30 years. The UK-based fraudulent firm had more than 50,000 customers and made £7m over five years.
The Premier League, which brought the case as an unusual case of private prosecution, takes these issues seriously. Piracy is a major threat to the lucrative pay-TV model that pumps billions of pounds into European football every year. English football’s top tier earns more money from broadcasters than any other league, helping smaller clubs bring in elite players and managers.
But the case is also a reminder that criminal businesses see plenty of opportunity to take advantage of a fragmented TV market that drives up costs for consumers while providing limited access to core products.
A Premier League fan in the UK who wants to watch all the live televised games of the season will now have to pay for three subscriptions instead of one. This year, Sky Sport, BT Sport and Amazon Prime will cost more than £800 a year. In a cost of living crisis, watching live football on TV is a luxury.
Even so, only 200 of the 380 games in the Premier League season are shown domestically – the result of a so-called 3pm blackout designed to keep people watching the lower leagues instead of sitting on couches for top-flight action .
The debate over how Premier League rights are sold in the UK has been going on for more than 20 years. The existing setup is the result of a European Commission ruling that forced the alliance to split its rights into bundles and auction them off individually, depriving Sky of an effective monopoly at the time.
The hope is to increase competition for the benefit of customers, but the opposite is true. Costs for broadcasters have skyrocketed, leading to higher subscription fees.
International fans get much more money. In Hong Kong, for example, £50 a month will get you every Premier League game, as well as Spanish, French, Italian leagues – and all European club games.
As an industry, football is closely tied to television revenue. Clubs need the large sums they have become accustomed to receiving from traditional broadcasters to cover transfer fees and player wages. Pay TV relies on live sports to justify high monthly bills.
But this business model appears to be on borrowed time. A recent YouGov poll shows that while 75% of sports fans over 55 watch games live on TV, that number drops to 36% for 24-35 year olds and even lower for younger viewers .
While the overall value of football media rights has appeared to be relatively stable of late after years of strong growth, Enders Analysis warns that the real picture has been overshadowed by inflation. “The total value of football rights in Europe is falling significantly,” it said in a recent report. Club owners across the continent have sounded the alarm.
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Competitors in football and other sports began exploring alternatives. Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A have both floated the prospect of launching their own streaming services to deliver games directly to consumers, and Spain’s La Liga has already done something for UK audiences. Indian fans of Formula 1 can watch live races directly through the F1 app for about $30 a year.
Later this year, the Premier League will face a test when it tenders for domestic broadcast rights for the first time in six years. Ligue 1 and Serie A will also hold televised auctions.
Hopes that Silicon Valley’s streaming platforms will come to the rescue with high bids seem out of touch with the reality of the honed tech industry. Pay TV companies are in austerity mode.
Football industry leaders need to think big if they are to stop the pirates.