Man who ran illegal football streaming service jailed

A man who sold Firestick devices he reconfigured to allow people to illegally stream Premier League football matches and ignored warnings to stop has been jailed.

Jonathan Edge, from Liverpool, uploaded the unauthorised services onto the Amazon products at home and then sold them for them cash after advertising on Facebook.

The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to three fraud offences after a private prosecution by the Premier League and was jailed for three years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court.

Kevin Plumb, representing the league, said efforts to protect broadcast rights would continue by cracking down on illegal operators “no matter the scale”.

Edge was also sentenced for accessing and viewing the illicit football streams he was selling on.

The court heard he ran the operation for cash-in-hand payments and continued despite warnings by the Premier League to stop.

“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong," Det Sgt Steve Frame, from Merseyside Police, said.

He said Edge's sentence should "serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken".

Mr Plumb said the selling of Premier League broadcast rights helped support "financial contributions to the whole football pyramid".

"We’re pleased that the courts have once again recognised the importance of safeguarding these rights," he added.

Keiron Sharp, of the intellectual property rights watchdog FACT, said those who create an illegal business to sell stolen content will be investigated, "regardless of their level of operation or advertising methods".

In a statement, the Premier League added: "Edge 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."