Licensee fined for illegally screening football
A licensee has been fined nearly £2,000 following charges brought by the FA Premier League.
William Clark, manager of Ryans Bar, in Radlett, Hertfordshire, was fined last week for showing a Premiership game using a foreign satellite decoder during the official closed period of 2.45pm to 5.15pm on a Saturday.
The Premier League has now warned that it will use this case as a precedent and "vigorously pursue" any licensees that show illegal football satellite broadcasts.
Dan Johnson, spokesman for the Premier League, said: "We have a duty to the law-abiding publicans who buy their rights legitimately. We receive hundreds of complaints every year from publicans about how the pub up the road is getting away with showing illegal broadcasts and taking a huge chunk out of their business."
Max Course, licensee of the Cock at Roade, Northamptonshire, said publicans who break the law are doing the trade no favours.
He said: "I can see the temptation is there for licensees but those who break the law are damaging the cause of licensees like myself who have got rid of Sky. All it does is give Sky ammunition in their argument in favour of the price hikes."
In July Sky announced a price hike in its subscription fees of up to 22 per cent, while the cost of its season ticket rose by 100 per cent.
Mr Course told The Publican that he had taken Sky out of his pub and had received backing from locals for his decision after they discovered the extent of the price hikes.
Mr Clark was additionally fined for showing an illegal Sky broadcast. The judge at St Albans Magistrates Court also ordered him to pay costs.
Where publicans might be breaking the law
- Broadcasting matches using a foreign satellite decoder
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) said any licensee who uses a decoder to pick up foreign satellite broadcasts of Premiership matches is breaking the law. FACT announced in August it would be cracking down on companies that imported satellite decoders from the continent and sell them on to licensees.
Closed period
The law states that no football matches may be broadcast live between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday.
This law predates the formation of the Premier League in 1992 and was passed because the Football Association feared that screening live Saturday afternoon football would lead to a drop in attendance levels at football grounds. The maximum penalty for breaking this law is a £5,000 fine.
Illegal Sky broadcasts
To show Sky programming in your pub or club you need a Sky Business Pub & Club Agreement. A spokeswoman for Sky said: "We are committed to protecting the interests of our legitimate customers by prosecuting licensees who choose to enjoy the benefits of Sky without the proper commercial contract. Our investigators visit licensed premises regularly and we fully support FACT's efforts to prosecute licensees who break the law."
