There's a crackdown on sports piracy - but is it already out of control?
The sports industry's lucrative business model is being undermined by dodgy TV sticks and illegal streaming links, writes Theo Leggett.
By BBC News
Sports piracy is widespread in the UK, with around half of sports fans admitting they use unofficial ways to watch paywalled content, according to research by consultancy Ampere Analysis.
The issue includes illegal streaming links, unauthorised subscriptions and modified streaming devices. Legitimate products such as Amazon Fire Sticks can be altered with software that provides access to paid television channels without permission.
Some viewers also use virtual private networks to appear as though they are watching from another country, where sports programming may be cheaper or free.
The crackdown has produced several criminal cases. In August, a man in Lancashire was jailed for six and a half years after running an illegal streaming service that police said had generated almost £1m in illicit profits.
A postman from Pembrokeshire was jailed for more than three years in June for selling illegal subscriptions and supplying pirate software to nearly 2,000 people.
Pubs have also faced fines running into thousands of pounds for showing matches illegally.
The scale of unauthorised viewing was highlighted during a recent major football match, when research commissioned by the Guardian estimated that 3.7 million UK IP addresses accessed illegal streams.
Broadcasters and sports organisations remove hundreds of thousands of illegal streams each year, but links continue to circulate through online discussion groups.
Unofficial services can offer cheaper access to premium sport, but viewers may face buffering, poor picture quality or the sudden disappearance of a platform. Those using illegal services can also expose personal and payment details to unknown operators.
In the UK, downloading or streaming pirated content can be a criminal offence.