The English championship (Premier League) wishes to fight against illegal streaming to protect its audiences.
To Consolidate its Leadership
The Premier League is considered as the most spectacular and competitive championship (cf: Leicester was champion last year). In the world and in particular in Asia, the Premier League counts millions of fans. It’s followed by more than 1 million TV viewers each weekend in the United Kingdom. It’s decreasing by 39 % compared with 2011-2012 season record (year of title for Manchester City).
Who is to blame? The persons in charge of the championship and the broadcasters of matches think illegal streaming websites are guilty.
A Shortfall
For The Guardian, a peak of about 1 million Internet users would have been reached a Premier League match this season. Shortfall for the Premier League but also for official diffusers BT and Sky who paid about 6,92 billion euros in TV rights for 3 seasons (2016-2019).
This shortfall doesn’t concern only diffusers, but also all Premier League clubs which win every season a percentage of these TV rights. In comparison with 2014, Premier League last club touched as much as the Paris Saint Germain.
In 2017, TV Rights Distribution:
To preserve its attractiveness, Premier League launched an offensive against these illegal broadcasters. “The Premier League is currently engaged in is largest anti-piracy campaign ever to protect its copyright,” a Premier League spokesman told the Guardian. “Like other sports and creative industries, our model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect our intellectual property. It is because of this that clubs can invest in and develop talented players, build world-class stadiums, support the English football pyramid and schools and communities across the country – all things that fans enjoy and wider society benefits from”.
English championship collaborates with British police and Internet service providers to fight against illegal streaming. Since March, they have more than 10 arrests. In cause, the illegal sale of pirated decoders allowing broadcasting matches. According to ESPN, an individual who tried to resell these decoders must be forced to pay more than 250 000 pounds.
A triangular collaboration (Premier League / Police / Internet service providers), if it turns out to be effective, this could be inspiring other championships but also other sectors like cinematographic industry.
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