The Premier League speaks out on a 29 year old man who has been jailed for selling firesticks, letting people stream matches.
Jonathan Edge from Liverpool was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for selling modified Amazon Firesticks that allowed users to illegally stream Premier League football matches. This sentence was handed down at Liverpool Crown Court after Edge pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.
Edge’s defense argued that he was acting in a manner akin to “Robin Hood,” suggesting that he was helping people who could not afford official subscriptions to watch football. His lawyer, Julian Nutter, highlighted that the individuals buying these Firesticks were likely not those who could afford Sky subscriptions, indicating Edge’s actions were aimed at providing access to those on limited incomes.
However, the prosecution, supported by the Premier League, Merseyside Police, and FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), emphasised the illegality of his actions and the broader impact on legitimate subscribers and the broadcast industry. The Premier League’s General Counsel, Kevin Plumb, stated that this case underscores the severity with which illegal streaming is treated, reaffirming their commitment to pursue legal action against such activities regardless of their scale.
This case reflects part of a larger crackdown on piracy within the UK, where the sale and use of these modified devices to access premium content without paying for it are significant concerns for rights holders.
There are 380 Premier League games every season, 200 are shown on UK TV. To watch them (forget the other 180), you need 3 packages.
Sky Sports: £20/month with an existing sub, more without
TNT Sport: £30/m
Amazon: £8.99/m
= £58.99/m or £707.88/year
The market for FireSticks… https://t.co/lP0hLrT1oA
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) November 13, 2024
Man JAILED for selling ‘dodgy firesticks’ 📺🚨 pic.twitter.com/NaU9wkHOL6
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) November 13, 2024
So let me get this right, a father of two has been jailed for over 3 years for helping a load of poor people watch the football.
Whilst the BBC news anchor who purchased and downloaded 41 indecent images of children walks free on a suspended sentence?
Make that make sense! pic.twitter.com/ItaiX2yWB7
— Joey Barton (@Joey7Barton) November 13, 2024
PREMIER LEAGUE STATEMENT:
Jonathan Edge receives jail sentence from Liverpool Crown Court after prosecution undertaken by the Premier League
An individual who had been loading illicit streaming services on to so-called “Firesticks” has today been sentenced to three years and four months in prison. This includes a separate concurrent sentence of two years and three months for accessing and viewing the content he was supplying.
Jonathan Edge, 29, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act and was remanded in custody at the end of October. His sentence was handed down today at Liverpool Crown Court.
The prosecution was undertaken by the Premier League and was supported by a number of organisations, including FACT and Merseyside Police.
Relying on advertising through Facebook posts and word-of-mouth recommendations, Edge ran a service uploading illegal services on to Firestick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments at his home. His own use of the unauthorised service was treated as a distinct crime in itself. He ignored multiple warnings to stop this activity, which was referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor towards the sentence passed.
The judge also recognised that legitimate subscribers are victims of these fraudulent operations and therefore their impact goes beyond that experienced by the broadcast industry.
Kevin Plumb, Premier League General Counsel, said: “The significant sentence handed down to the individual involved once again serves to highlight the severity of his actions and we thank Merseyside Police for their support throughout the case.
“We will continue to pursue legal action against those supplying unauthorised access to Premier League football, regardless of the scale or mode of operation. Ignoring warnings to stop only served to make the consequences worse for the individual.
“The selling of broadcast rights supports the Premier League’s industry-leading financial contribution to the whole football pyramid and we’re pleased that the courts have once again recognised the importance of safeguarding these rights with the outcome of this case. No matter the scale, we will continue to protect these rights by carrying out investigations and prosecuting illegal operators at every level.”
Keiron Sharp, CEO of FACT, added: “FACT are committed to investigating and acting against IP crime. Offenders should be aware that regardless of their level of operation or advertising methods, including word-of-mouth or platforms like Facebook, creating an illegal business for the purposes of selling stolen content to others will be investigated by the police, resulting in sentences such as the one given today.
“We thank Merseyside Police for their collaboration in this case. Piracy is a crime and we will continue to work with law enforcement to protect our members’ content and ensure that offenders face the consequences of their criminal actions.”
Detective Sergeant Steve Frame from Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police is committed to working in collaboration to investigate intellectual property theft and we welcome today’s sentence handed to Edge.
“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong, and this outcome should serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken.”
The Premier League has one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated anti-piracy programmes in the world and proudly works with its broadcast partners and industry authorities to bring down illegal streams and investigate and prosecute those who supply illicit services and products.
Here’s how fans reacted as the Premier League speaks out on the man jailed for selling firesticks letting people stream matches…
@BinnsyMUFC: Sure il remortgage the house so i can pay for Sky Sports, BT Sports and Prime just to watch a few live games whilst the rest of the world can watch all the games. The PL should be in court for extortion and racketeering
@Luke_Seychell: The Premier League, made by the fans, but now only accommodating the rich and wealthy!
@CraigCharles23: A lot of people pay over the odds to watch the games on Sky, TNT Sports and Amazon but we get 4/5 of 10 games each weekend on those channels. There was 3 games at 2pm on Sunday and we had access to 1. But other countries pay less and get access to every game. Robbing the consumer
@RedsPerspective: 3pm blackouts are a joke. The rest of the world can watch these games on the Tele, but fans in the country where PL takes place can’t.
@grahamjordan_: Maybe you should make the Premier League more visible for viewing for it’s fans here in the UK and this wouldn’t happen. You could watch a game in 14 different countries abroad but it wasn’t being shown anywhere in England this weekend just gone.
@beltthfc:
” what you in for mate”
“Arson innit you?”
Watching Bournemouth v everton at 3pm mate”
@16dicj: Show the 3pm games and don’t make it so expensive then
@Koluma_: Corrupt referees are fine, but watching games that are literally impossible to see legally on tv in this country is jailtime. Sound
@manxpie86: Make it legal to watch all the games then! Absolutely mental the rest of the world see every game and yet even match going fans only get to see their team play 50%!
@jordanbanks67: Have you stopped to ask why, dickheads?
@danholling:
Remove the 15:00 black out.
Stop making it big 5 TV.
Fuck the YouTubers as pundits off.
Lower the price by £10
People wouldn’t resort to these.
@FPL_WadeWilson: Rip off Britain. Country has gone to the dogs and yet you expect us to pay £70+ a month for Sky, TNT etc and gain access to just 3-4 games over a weekend when the rest of the world apparently gets every game going for next to nothing. Make it make sense!
@The_Forty_Four:
This is the real crime @premierleague
When will something be done about these prices?
• Sky Sports: £40/month 💰
• TNT Sport: £25/month 💰
• Amazon Prime: £9/month 💰
That’s £891 a year to watch football on a screen! 😡😡😡
@rebekkarnold: The only criminals are Sky Sports and TNT for charging us £60 a month to stream Rio Ferdinand talking like a 15 year old, Steve McManaman talking nonsense, top six bias, awful officiating and the Jackal being advertised every 20 minutes.
@LeeDForster:
I wonder why?..
Price to watch PL (p.a):
UK: £623.84
USA: £355.93
Germany: £207.56
Italy: £164.22
Japan: £110.91
Fans in the UK are being treat with contempt by the @premierleague with KO times, and then ripped off by TV companies.
@WeAreTheFSA #StopExploitingLoyalty #NUFC
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