Fairer approach required from Sky Ireland to accommodate ordinary people and small publicans
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Calls have been made for a 'fairer' approach from major broadcasters like Sky Ireland amid rising concerns over affordability, particularly for small publicans and struggling households.
Cork TD Michael Collins who is the leader of Independent Ireland said Sky's constant price hikes are making sport unaffordable for ordinary people and small pubs that are struggling to stay afloat. 'Sky has been raising its prices year after year and people are struggling. The cost of simply showing sport in a small pub is heading towards €1,000 per month and over €2,000 for larger venues. That's simply unsustainable for many rural and family-run pubs.'
'There has to be give and take,' said the Cork South West TD. 'Pubs rely on live sport – soccer, GAA, horse racing – to survive. These events bring people in the door, help communities to stay connected, and support local employment. The burden of broadcasting fees, on top of insurance, staffing, electricity and carbon taxes, is pushing too many to the brink.'
Deputy Collins added that the wider public is also struggling under the weight of rising fuel, heating, food, and housing costs. 'People have fewer and fewer small comforts. Watching a match with a neighbour or friends is one of the last ones left. We would hope that in the current climate of sky-high prices across the board, Sky and other providers might sit down and engage with both the licensed trade and ordinary viewers to find solutions.'
'If sport is priced out of reach for the very people who support it – the customers, the publicans, the communities – then everybody loses,' he added.
Separately Sky Ireland has warned 400,000 dodgy-box users of 'consequences' if caught streaming sport or films using the illegal devices.
The warning comes as the broadcaster, along with other industry bodies, appeared in the High Court after an injunction and search order was issued against a suspected operator of a dodgy-box streaming service in Wexford.
The alleged operation includes piracy of Sky, Premier Sports, GAA+, LOITV and Clubber, among others, accessed by thousands of Irish dodgy-box owners and multiple resellers.
Sky Ireland is also set to use private investigators to monitor WhatsApp chats to detect who is buying dodgy boxes. In a significant escalation, the broadcaster is now considering civil action against individual users for the first time.
However, the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) will meet the broadcaster to discuss whether such methods are legal according to GDPR privacy law.
About one in five Irish households use a dodgy box, according to a ¬recent Sunday Independent poll.
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The streaming services are commonly sold through WhatsApp groups and other online discussion forums, where details of local dealers are provided.
In Ireland, using a dodgy box to stream pirated content is an offence under the Copyright Act, punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to €127,000.
However, gardaí have consistently declined to pursue individual consumers of dodgy boxes, reserving action instead for commercial operators and distributors of the services.
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