Illegal Premier League football streaming gang jailed / Photo: OLI SCARFF - AFP
-
Alex Bodi and Prof. Dr Stefan Haupt agree to collaborate on a legendary art collection in Romania
-
Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure kill seven
-
Stocks dip, oil rises as traders eye chances of Iran deal
-
Eriksen to return to Denmark after parting ways with Wolfsburg
-
Israel squeezing UN Palestinian refugee agency ahead of polls: chief
-
Brad Pitt says working with dog co-star was 'really moving'
-
Dutch to resume Eurovision with new broadcaster
-
Golan will remain Syrian, vows President al-Sharaa at UN
-
Man Utd losses jump despite record revenues
-
Blueberry Strengthens MENA Presence with CMA Category 5 License and Dubai Office Launch
-
Ethiopia's Tigray rebels seize airports, clash with govt forces
-
Russia probes bear attacks, as official says town under 'siege'
-
China prodigy wins third Games gold as North Korea weightlifters roar
-
Robertson tells Spurs to 'forget' past woes
-
China's Yu, 13, wins third Asian Games gold but has 'some regrets'
-
Italy police find 3 million euros stashed in mobster's house
-
Oil falls, stocks steady as Trump hails 'good' Iran talks
-
Renard versus Queiroz in AFCON qualifying blockbuster
-
UK sets up unit to combat disinformation from Russia, AI
-
Former Mexico boss Aguirre returns to Spain with Valencia
-
ICC convicts C.Africa rebel leader
-
China swimmer, 13, seals Games hat-trick as North Korea win first gold
-
China's Yu, 13, wins third gold with latest Asian Games record
-
China's Xi heads to US for talks with Trump: state media
-
UK says will revisit Chagos deal after latest Trump criticism
-
Azerbaijan pardons Frenchman after EU lifts sanctions on oligarchs
-
In first, French presidential candidate gives birth during campaign
-
Hadjar extends Red Bull contract for 2027 F1 season
-
Cambodia no 'safe haven' for cyberscams, PM says
-
Black Sea drone attacks spell terror for Turkish sailors
-
North Korea weightlifter sets three world records for Asian Games gold
-
Canada judge to decide prison term for suicide poison seller
-
A Full Moon for Every Child: STARTRADER's STARCARES Brings Support to SOS Children's Village Ho Chi Minh City
-
Weinstein faces resentencing in New York for 2006 sex assault
-
Meta leans into AI, smart glasses amid privacy pushback
-
Outgoing UN chief makes climate push at New York summit
-
Battered Duerer masterpiece up for five-year revamp
-
AI risks, Iran war to take center stage at UN
-
Trump met with Venezuela's interim leader at UN
-
Badminton no.1 An tells dad to keep it down at Asian Games
-
Malaysia furore after Najib wins conditional house arrest
-
Runaway leader Antonelli eyeing third straight win
-
Italy hope for new dawn under Mancini
-
Schoolgirl Yu, 13, fastest again in bid for third Asian Games gold
-
Mongolian herders enlist new tech against harsher, drier climate
-
Oil prices fall after Trump hails 'good' talks with Iran
-
Tata turmoil shines light on India succession woes
-
AI political ads warp reality ahead of US midterms
-
World Cup 'not enough' as Spain begin next chapter
-
Kenneth Branagh embraces action hero role -- to get in shape
NYSE - LSE
Illegal Premier League football streaming gang jailed
Five men in the UK who illegally streamed English Premier League football matches to tens of thousands of people were jailed on Tuesday, the league announced.
Members of the gang received prison terms ranging from three to 11 years each after the Premier League brought what it said was "the world's largest-ever prosecution of an illegal streaming network".
The defendants, aged between 30 and 46, raked in more than £7 million ($8.7 million) selling subscriptions to three illegal platforms streaming to over 50,000 customers and resellers.
"The organisations offered illegal access to watch Premier League matches, hundreds of channels from around the world and tens of thousands of on-demand films and TV shows," the Premier League said in a statement.
The gang's "mastermind", Mark Gould, 36, was sentenced to 11 years in jail at Chesterfield Justice Centre, in central England.
The remaining four received sentences ranging from three to more than five years.
The private prosecution was supported by the trading standards team at Hammersmith and Fulham Council in London and the intellectual property protection organisation FACT (the Federation Against Copyright Theft).
"Today's sentencing is the result of a long and complex prosecution of a highly sophisticated operation," Premier League general counsel Kevin Plumb said.
"The sentences handed down, which are the longest sentences ever issued for piracy-related crimes, vindicate the efforts made to bring these individuals to justice and reflect the severity and extent of the crimes."
The gang, which relied on dozens of employees, profited by offering live access to Premier League games otherwise unavailable in the UK due to so-called "blackout" broadcasting rules.
It accessed feeds from broadcasters in the UK, Qatar, the United States, Australia and Canada and streamed them a few seconds later.
The operation developed mobile phone and online apps screening Premier League matches and other content.
England's Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with the UK broadcast rights alone worth about £5 billion for the 2022 to 2025 seasons.
P.Cavaco--PC
