Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Premier League, IPTV, Sky Sports, Italy, Football
Ryan Smart
Thousands of IPTV users have been fined in a fresh warning to Premier League fans using the service.
The use of IPTV, full name Internet Protocol Television, has risen in recent years as the cost of subscription services, such as Sky Sports and TNT Sports, continues to increase.
Authorities across Europe have taken strong action over the past 12 months in an attempt to crack down on the rise of IPTV and other piracy services.
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In April, sports streaming service DAZN partnered with the relevant authorities to 'block 100 streaming websites and five IPTV platforms' in Belgium due to copyright infringement.
And in November 2024, a man from Liverpool was handed a custodial sentence of three years and four months after pleading guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.
A Premier League statement explained how the man 'uploaded illegal services on to Firestick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments', and that he had ignored multiple warnings to stop.
Now, football fans have been handed a fresh warning.
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TorrentFreak report that Italian authorities have recently fined 2,282 users of illegal IPTV devices across the country.
Earlier this year, a 'collaboration protocol' was established between the Italian Prosecutor's Office, Guardia di Finanza, and the country's regulator and competition authority, Agcom, which would allow information on IPTV users to be shared between agencies.
TorrentFreak add that the memorandum of understanding between those parties has allowed authorities to approach suspected offenders, with fines of up to £5,000 permissable.
It is claimed that the high number of users being fined relates to an IPTV crackdown in Lecce in December.
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Such a system is not yet used in the United Kingdom, though has been backed by leading Italian football figures in their battle against piracy.
The Premier League is currently partnering with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), with the partnership helping the league to enforce its copyright with a number of fines and even prison sentences for guilty parties, depending on the offence.