This is “a strong signal sent against illegal sports broadcasting services”, according to the LFP and LFP Media. In a press release, the Professional Football League welcomed the sentencing of around twenty IPTV users to fines of between 300 and 400 euros. These legal sanctions were recently pronounced by the Arras public prosecutor’s office (Pas-de-Calais). In detail, two sellers and nineteen users were pinned, specifies The Voice of the North. The first two will be summoned before the criminal court next April. The customers have received a criminal charge and will have to pay the fine.
IPTV (“Internet Protocol Television”), or Internet television, works via a box that can be purchased from many stores or online. This service allows you to access channels, applications or streaming platforms on your connected TV. A completely legal practice. What is less obvious is the misuse that scammers make to offer users paid content normally reserved for subscribers.
A major economic issue
Among this content, we find series, films, but above all pay sports channels like Ligue 1 +. The fight against piracy has become a crucial issue for the world of football, while revenues for professional clubs have shrunk to a trickle in recent years. A fight all the more necessary as television rights have continued to plummet and the LFP has been forced to create its own platform, due to a lack of broadcasters this season.
In its press release, the body welcomes “the decisive action carried out by the services of the Arras Public Prosecutor’s Office” which, for once, targeted users and not IPTV providers as a priority. Users who “wrongly believe they are acting with impunity when they knowingly contribute to a mafia ecosystem seriously damaging the entire sports sector”.
Fines of 7,500 euros
“The fight against piracy is an absolute priority for the LFP group. Numerous criminal actions targeting IPTV subscription resellers have thus been initiated, and their clients can, as such, be heard and prosecuted,” warns the League. As a reminder, offenders face fines of up to 7,500 euros.
A bill aimed at strengthening measures to combat sports piracy was tabled on February 4. The LFP demands that it be quickly adopted. Indeed, Ligue 1 + will offer all the championship matches next season and should significantly increase the price of its subscription, currently 14.99 euros per month.
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