Sky gets tough on law-breakers
Sky is preparing to unleash a new weapon on licensees using illegal decoders.
The broadcaster is currently testing new technology that will be used to expose venues televising live football without a proper commercial viewing contract.
The new initiative will support Sky's existing compliance campaign, which has seen over 500 successful criminal prosecutions by Federation Against Copright Theft (FACT) on behalf of Sky to date.
In addition to this Sky has been successful in more than 300 civil actions in the UK and Ireland in the last 14 months, with a further 100 cases being settled out of court.
"This is all about protecting the interests of our existing customers and protecting their investment in Sky Sports," said Bruce Cuthbert, head of operations at Sky Business, who has been leading the development of the device. Raymond Leinster, director general FACT has welcomed Sky's new initiative.
"We are very pleased with Sky's new initiative," said Mr Leinster. "It will assist our investigators by making it extremely obvious where Sky Sports is being shown illegally in licensed premises."
Further details of the new device will be announced to Sky's commercial customers shortly. However, the full nature and impact of the device will remain covert, in order to preserve its effectiveness going forward.
Jenny Simpson, Branford Arms, Norwich, said: "This is obviously a good thing. We pay an awful lot of money for this product and we often see a mass exodus from the pub at 3pm on Saturday with people going to watch football at pubs with decoders."
