Premier League in all-out battle against illegal streaming

Business Times

09-05-2025

THE English Premier League (EPL) is by far the most-watched sports league in the world, with up to 380 football matches broadcast to over 212 territories and more than 600 million homes, with a TV audience of some 4.7 billion people.
In Singapore, StarHub has an exclusive six-year broadcast rights partnership with the Premier League that began with the 2022/23 season. Singtel customers can subscribe to watch the Premier League games via a cross-carriage arrangement with StarHub.
Naturally, the immense popularity of the EPL has resulted in people turning to illegal streaming devices (ISDs) that allow them to catch the matches for free. The Premier League, which opened an office in Singapore in 2019, has been hard at work to clamp down on the sellers of these ISDs.
Last October, a seller at Sim Lim Square and his companies were the first to be prosecuted under Section 150 of the Copyright Act that was amended in 2021, targeting copyright infringement by commercial dealers of ISDs. The seller was handed a 10-month jail sentence. His two shops were fined a total of S$300,000.
In March this year, another seller pleaded guilty to 17 charges related to copyright infringement. He is now awaiting sentencing.
Kevin Plumb, the Premier League's general counsel, spoke to BT Weekend about the immense challenge of dealing with the problem of piracy and why it is the fans who have to bear the costs in some way.
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Why did the Premier League choose Singapore for an office?
We did so with a clear purpose – to tackle piracy in the region and to get closer to our broadcasters and fans. And it has been successful on all fronts.
Over the last six years, we have grown our in-house team and expanded the work we are able to do. We can do a lot from London but not as much as we can do by being on the ground.
The Singapore office is a hub for the entire region. It has allowed us to not only get closer to Singapore, but also Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Having an anti-piracy team based here means we are able to understand local trends and then tailor our anti-piracy strategies accordingly. It also enables us to work more closely and effectively with local law enforcement to take action across South-east Asia.
The Premier League's General Counsel Kevin Plumb says: 'The pirates aren't making this content available for free. They are making their money somehow.' PHOTO: PREMIER LEAGUE
What's the progress been like so far?
We have made great strides working with law enforcement, authorities, broadcasters and other stakeholders across the region.
There is now established site-blocking, new copyright legislation, imprisonment for serious pirates, and a much-greater awareness of the dangers to fans. There is still work to do, and the problem can evolve rather than being removed, but put simply, the situation is now unrecognisable.
We have successfully lobbied for improved legislation and have taken action that has led to precedent cases. For example, we have had precedent-setting actions in Hong Kong and Singapore, taken down some of the most popular ISDs in Thailand, and implemented more advanced forms of blocking in Vietnam.
In Singapore, we've seen a reduction in sales of ISDs. The issue of illegal streaming boxes being sold at Sim Lim Square had been an example of a more general concern of piracy from our broadcasters in the region and was one of the reasons for us coming to Singapore.
When we opened our office in 2019, there was open selling of ISDs at Sim Lim Square and now, if you go to that mall or anywhere else in Singapore, that's not the case.
We have worked closely with local law enforcement to take significant action against ISD sellers, including raids in Sim Lim Square in 2022, which saw 17 people arrested and 2,500 ISDs seized.
Since 2019, we have blocked nearly 16,000 sites and apps across South-east Asia and continue to place emphasis on this, seeking blocking orders from relevant authorities in each country.
If the illegal route is removed, some say people won't pay to watch the matches legally anyway. What's your take?
There are multiple factors that drive people to consume piracy, and cost might be one of them.
Our message to those fans is that you are putting yourself at risk. You might not be paying a subscription but you are paying in different ways – this might be by providing access to your sensitive personal data, or by exposing your family to clicking on malware or risky ads. The pirates aren't making this content available for free. They are making their money somehow – it is the fans who are paying the price, one way or the other.
How realistic is it to expect that piracy can be completely eradicated?
Piracy is an ever-evolving landscape. Because technology moves so fast, the pirates don't stop and we don't underestimate how good they are at exploiting fans and consumers to make money. It was easier for them when they could sell devices in shops. But, due to the actions that have been taken, they might move their operations online.
Or they might move their work to a different territory, so the challenge to us is to have as many territories covered in the same way. We continue to strive to improve legislative frameworks for blocking or for criminal prosecutions. You can't underestimate the pirates, but we are committed to supporting our broadcasters to match them.
In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in piracy via social media platforms. However, this trend is being reversed through our work such as direct engagement with platforms and investing significantly in our own resources. During the 2023/24 season, over 300,000 live streams were removed or blocked from upload on social media platforms, and 350,000 infringing links were removed from Google and Bing.