Sky has publicly criticised Amazon for its perceived failure to address the rampant sports broadcast piracy, particularly involving Premier League football. It is estimated that Amazon's Fire Sticks are indirectly responsible for approximately half of all illegal streaming of Premier League matches in the UK.
Nick Herm, Sky’s chief operating officer, voiced his concerns at the Financial Times Business of Football conference. He highlighted that this widespread piracy was costing the industry "hundreds of millions of dollars". Herm urged Amazon to collaborate with Sky in an effort to eradicate this form of piracy.
Nick Herm, Sky chief operating officer, said:
“If you speak to friends and colleagues, [or] you watch football, people will know that you can get jail-broken Fire Sticks, and you can access pirated services on Fire Sticks,”
“There are football fans who literally have shirts printed out that say Fire Sticks on them?.?.?.?With some of the tech giants, Amazon in particular, we do not get enough engagement to address some of those problems, where people are buying these devices in bulk,”
Jailbreaking is a practice that enables users to install apps outside of a device's original operating system - in this case, Amazon’s own OS. This method has been identified as one way through which illegal streaming on Fire Sticks occurs.
Role and responsibility of rights holders
Until recently, Amazon itself held rights to the Premier League and screened its final set matches over Christmas. Despite no longer holding these rights, it continues to offer Champions League matches within the UK market.
Sky and the Premier League have regularly collaborated with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), an anti-piracy organisation. Over the past year alone, FACT reported several investigations related specifically to Fire Stick piracy.
In January 2021, a man from Halifax who sold modified TV fire sticks was sentenced two years imprisonment as part of these ongoing efforts against digital piracy.
Amazon's response
In response to Sky's criticism and calls for action against broadcast piracy on their devices, an official statement from Amazon stated they were “committed to providing customers with a high-quality streaming experience while actively promoting a streaming landscape that respects intellectual property rights and encourages responsible consumption”.
The company did not provide specific details about how they plan on addressing or reducing instances of illegal sports broadcasting via their devices.
This issue highlights the ongoing struggle between sports broadcasters, rights holders and tech companies in managing and preventing digital piracy. It also underscores the need for collaborative efforts to protect intellectual property rights and ensure a fair streaming landscape for all parties involved.
