End of the road for illegal streaming? Agata Koralewska, Online International Editor, discusses the future of illegal streaming

FOLLOWING the recent prosecution of a group responsible for illegal streaming of the Premier League football games on the internet, the unlawful methods of accessing content on the internet are now a subject of a heated debate. The increasing illegal consumption of media in the UK is worrying many TV providers, as a survey revealed that the percentage of illegal content users amongst respondents has increased to 32 per cent in 2022. Following the arrest and sentencing of the Flawless TV illegal streaming gang, is it possible that the attitude to the practice will shift? Will it in any way impact the popularity of illegal streaming and make it impossible to find by an average internet user?

as a UEFA rule to not transmit matches between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays, in order to encourage fans to see the game in person. Flawless TV broke that rule as they offered the ‘3pm kick-off’ transmisions of the Premier League, stealing them from broadcasts that happened abroad. It was stated in court that those streamings brought in 80 per cent of the subscribers, amongst which some bars and pubs that wanted to screen otherwise unavailable matches.

There are varied public attitudes regarding the issue. Some argue that the costs of subscription to the most popular services are not afford- able to many and sport should be not exclusionary. "The Premier League is on our doorstep and yet we have the least amount of access to that football," commented Daniel Bradley, a YouTuber, highlighting how the hungry-for-money streaming companies restrict an average football fan from supporting their favourite team. However, another question to consider is the possible consequences and impacts of being a regular user of dodgy streaming services. At first, it can be seen as not dangerous at all, as for a cheap price you get to enjoy a game of football and the mere activity doesn’t harm anyone directly. However, when subscribing to the service, companies such as Flawless TV can get access to your personal data that can be later on sold to other companies.

For only £10 a month, Flawless TV, a service led by a group of five men, broadcasted football matches from linked set-top boxes in a flat in Greenwich, in the south of London. Because of the competitive price they offered to the viewers, compared with the £80 a month to watch matches on BT Sport or Amazon Prime, the website quickly reached 50,000 subscribers. Between 2016 and 2021, the group managed to get a £7.2 million profit, with the leader of the gang Mark Gould (sentenced to 11 years in prison) making more than £1.7 million for himself. The organisation has also profited off streaming matches that happened during the ‘blackout’ that is set

Websites of this type can also have overlaps with other forms of crime. One of the men complicit in maintaining the Flawless TV services, called Felvus, has also been put under another investigation due to the possession of inapropriate photos of children. He tried unsuccessfully to flee the country. It has been brought to light that piracy can have an even darker side to it, leading to wider range of criminal offences. That is why the critics of supporting illegal streaming warn against putting money into such an activity, even if it means you have limited opportunities to watch football matches or TV shows.

It is difficult to determine if illegal streaming services are here to stay. There have been various examples of uncovering such fraud in the past, for example when Steven King and Paul Rolston were punished for illegal streaming through DreamBox company in 2019. Since then, the activity has not declined as many people do not know about the various implications of using such websites to watch football or other forms of media. However, bringing attention to cases such as Flawless TV can help the public make more informed decisions about streaming online and slightly reduce its popularity.