Leagues, networks began crackdown on illegal airings

Pubs that show major football matches without paying broadcasters are the target of a crackdown.

Sky TV, Setanta, the English Premier League and the Scottish Premier League launched a joint investigation into the matter, finding 180 pubs and restaurants in Scotland that have been showing matches while not anteing up the fee.

Some pubs have evaded copyright laws by using domestic set-top boxes, foreign satellite channels and the internet. One pub owner in Perth, Scotland, was caught using al-Jazeera to show football. The owner was fined.

Investigators estimate that around 40 percent of the venues that show live games are breaking the law. Sky and Setanta estimate their losses at GBP 3 million a year. The two networks shelled out GBP 1.7 billion for Premier League rights.

Those caught were warned to cease the practice immediately.

The matches are inducement for the bar crowd. The investigators estimated that a typical suburban Glasgow pub might rake in GBP 6,000 a night if a major match is shown, GBP 2,500 if the football is not as big.

A typical pub might pay GBP 13,000 a year for legal broadcast rights.

Representatives of the SPL and English Premier League met with the Scottish Licensed Trade Association earlier to find a solution.

Sky has taken matters into its own hands, and has had people visit a total of 450 pubs in Scotland. The network hopes to have 2,000 different places investigated by May. Offenders will be routinely checked. If that do not stop, they are subject to heavy fines.

"We have to protect participation in our national game, whether that be playing, coaching or watching," said SPL spokesman Greig Mailer. "And on a Saturday afternoon we have established a 'closed window', where live games are not broadcast in order to do this. We are working very closely with the English premiership to work out how best to tackle this problem."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.