According to some of the UK’s biggest sporting bodies; The Premier League, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Lawn Tennis Association, illegal streams of major sporting events has increased.

In the last two years alone over 80,000 illegal streams have been shut down.

So, the question is, where do the viewers of these illegal streams stand? Well, we all know that it is a criminal offense to be the one streaming the event but legally speaking, you are not breaking the law if you watch an illegal stream though you could be find yourself sued in a civil court if the big companies decide to store your IP address. (Though it’s pretty unlikely that they would have much of a case as they have got to prove that it was you that viewed the illegal stream.)

Anyway, on the BBC website, some idiot named Niggs who says he is a fan of Liverpool FC tried to claim that because TV doesn’t show every Liverpool game in its entirety, he is justified in viewing the illegal streams.

“I’m a big Liverpool fan and ticket availability, and the cost of travelling, match days and all that, it’s too much. So sometimes, being a big fan, I want to watch as many matches as possible. It’s a grey area at the moment, because unlike downloading music, nothing is stored on your computer. Sky Sports doesn’t always show them, so you have to find alternative means to find them. Broadcasters could show more of the games people like, a dedicated service, perhaps for a small fee. But if I can get hold of every single Liverpool match, then I don’t mind paying.”

Um, ever heard of Match of the Day and Sky Sport’s Football First?

The Premier League in particular has taken a very aggressive stance against illegal streamers and has begun legal action against websites all over the world. In a statement issued to Newsbeat they said…

“It’s important to remember that with illegal streaming money flows straight out of sport.”

Personally I came very close to looking for an illegal stream of this past weekend’s UFC event in LA but when it came down to it I just stumped up the cash to ESPN and became a subscriber. I could have easily just watched it on Justin.tv but I didn’t feel right about it. I love the UFC and at the end of the day, if I don’t pay for it and still watch it then I’m stealing from an organization that I really care about.

What do you stand on this issue, is it okay to watch illegal streams of the major sporting events?

Photo courtesy of i.a.cnn.net

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