Clampdown on TV 'Dodgy Boxes'

mikehammer..

The football is free no buffering if you know where to look

I'm not a big fan but do tune in for the odd one

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123035817#Comment_123035817

I was the one who mentioned it, it just means they need extra controls in place. Not a game changer.

Its easily fixable with the right hardware/software.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036000#Comment_123036000

I'll gladly pay £40 a year so I can watch whatever I want on my living room TV rather than going looking for it. Sports channels from the UK and around the world, live TV channels, on-demand TV & movies all laid out on my TV like a legit subscription. It doesn't bother me paying for it one bit.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123035817#Comment_123035817

Cardsharing was blocked slowly channel by channel.

Huh? There is a whole heap of packages still open, never cheaper and never more stable.

irishgeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036490#Comment_123036490

Card sharing was the way to get channels on the cheap before IPTV came along.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123035770#Comment_123035770

It is interesting all right.

I am new to "paid" illegal IPTV streaming even though I have been using free streams for almost 20 years.

I went with a service recommended by a friend who has had the service from this supplier for a number of years.

All was great until Sunday when the whole thing went dark during Liverpool v Utd, and again last night it went dark during Liverpool v Tottenham.

On Sunday it came back a few hours after the game, last night at around HT I noticed that some channels were working (US ones) and I was able to find the Liverpool game on a foreign channel.

But up until midnight last night all the Sky channels were dark as were the likes of RTE, BBC and some other UK ones.

Both my friend and I send messages to the supplier on Sunday enquiring about the problem, but neither of us received any reply, so much for this much vaunted customer service.

Overall I am very happy with the service but if it's going to go dark every time a big event is on then it's obviously not worth renewing.

People say to use a VPN, but I tried a few VPNs on Sunday and yesterday and none worked. I tried them on 7 days trials as I was not willing to shell out for something that may not be a solution.

A poster mentioned here that for the problems

Its easily fixable with the right hardware/software.

But to to most end users they just want a solution that works, they don't want to be investing in more hardware or software, and many are not that up to speed or interested in the latest tech, many find it difficult to understand.

What annoys me most about the illegal IPTV evangelical crowd are the ones who don't understand the cost of broadcasting and the way TV rights work.

The ones who blame Sky for not allowing them a service just watch their teams games or show 3pm kick-offs, the ones who also think that Sky should be able to offer a service of everything for €10 a month and wonder why the illegal IPTV can do it and Sky cannot.

If problems persist I can see us going back to Now TV on a good deal from the Bargain Alerts thread.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123035817#Comment_123035817

…tis all a game, official providers will probably always be chasing their tails in regards illegal viewing, as it has always existed, its probably not possible to completely prevent this, as the only way would be to completely lock-down platforms, making them unwatchable for all, including legal paying viewers, so this will just go on and on and on and on….

…as others have stated, card sharing wasnt blocked in its entirety, just on platforms that invested so, such as sky

…illegal viewing is so lucrative for illegal servers, this wont be stopping anytime soon as they employ some very well informed folks to keep it so…

…again, if providers wanted to stop this, just reduce their prices to match or near match illegals, it would end this, similar to what streaming services done to other entertainment forms, i.e. illegal downloading of movies, music etc, but they wont….

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036558#Comment_123036558

I am acutely aware of what CS is.

It is by no means blocked.

irishgeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036603#Comment_123036603

Sky UK services

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036644#Comment_123036644

You need to get back on the Google.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036662#Comment_123036662

is it still being used by servers to provide channels in this neck of the woods?

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036570#Comment_123036570

…again, if providers wanted to stop this, just reduce their prices to match or near match illegals, it would end this, similar to what streaming services done to other entertainment forms, i.e. illegal downloading of movies, music etc, but they wont….

This is exactly what I am saying about people who don't understand the cost of broadcasting.

The above takes no account of the cost of supplying the service for the legal rights holder.

Legal rights holders can't match illegals on price because they have the overheads, firstly the cost of the rights and secondly the cost of broadcasting them (employees, physical infrastructure, transport, etc etc).

It's much cheaper to steal and rebroadcast the event than pay for the rights to broadcast it, install cameras and other infrastructure, employ people to run that infrastructure, get that infrastructure to and from various locations, employ people to produce the content and make it ready for broadcast etc etc

And even though illegal IPTV streaming also includes on demand content like shows and movies one of the main reason people get it , i.e sport, make it a bad comparison to the illegal music industry.

Illegal music was beaten when the record companies went online and agreed to pay the artists a pittance for every download, and the industry went away from relying on heavily on "record" sales to other revenue streams like more live events, merchandise sales etc.

Sport doesn't work "on-demand" like other entertainment so you can't compare the two.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036672#Comment_123036672

Most of the European footprint is still open. Sky Italy still dark as far as I am aware.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036675#Comment_123036675

i appreciate your analysis, and you re right, the costs of setting up and running broadcasts are eye watering, but heres the thing, viewers simply dont care, and again, its truly the only way to stop this. im astonished at the speed and sheer volume of illegal viewers now, im constantly meeting people that now have it, people that would never have done this in the past, the momentum is now there, broadcasters are in trouble, its simply not possible to prevent this now, it wont surprise me if some major providers go bust in all of this, they must be losing major revenue now.

the music industry is in serious trouble, more and more long term professionals are now expressing their opinions in the media over this, mentioning, they simply cannot make money anymore, many of my favorite artists, some of which are 30/40 years at a professional capacity, saying they no longer can make a living from it, so…..

Boggles

Bit of a flashback there.

Sky tried a pay per view per match system, probably 20 years ago.

From memory the box came preloaded with 50 quid credit or something.

The box needed to be connected to phone line to avail of the service, but it didn't actually dial to charge you until the 50 quid limit was reached.

Some genius who I assume is working for NASA now figured this out and put up instructions on how to connect a RJ11 receptacle to a 9 volt battery mimicking a live line.

As long as you never connected the box to an actual line, you got 5 free matches or whatever they were charging.

The moral of the story there is always some clever bollíx out there that will pirate.

It's like the war on drugs, futile.

Butson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036675#Comment_123036675

When you actually think of it, IPTV is probably expensive. They have zero rights to pay, broadcasting live events is hugely expensive, takes a lot of people, marketing of services, tax, etc.

IPTV is basically stealing it, and sharing it.

These guys are coining it.

mikehammer..

Our of curiosity what are the profits being made by the likes of sky/tnt on live sports broadcasting

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036801#Comment_123036801

It's hardly expensive, most paying around €50 a year for their subs. Some of us lucky ones got in early and have "Lifetime" subscriptions, paid €110 nearly 5 years ago and not a penny more since.

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036702#Comment_123036702

There are more people watching illegally - yes that is true for sure. I suspect that the majority (not all) of these users would never actually subscribe to a Sky/TNT package anyways.

So, I don't think the broadcasters are going bust anytime soon. They will continue with their tactics to frustate the casual illegal IPTV users. The die hards will continue to try circumvent with VPNs, multiple providers and other tactics. The effort required and costs will increase. Many people don't have the patience for that.

In my case, €20 per month for Sky Sports in UHD via Now TV is an acceptable price. It's a guaranteed stable stream that can be shared with family (three simulatnoues streams). Yes, a bit of work is involved getting voucher codes etc. Nobody should be paying full price for sport - there are always discounts.

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036971#Comment_123036971

The issue that people have paying even for the discounted prices for SkySports is the lack of matches available weekly. Throughout the world people pay for the likes of Optus Sports and have the choice of every single match available to them. Over here and in the UK, it's you can watch whatever matches they decide to show.

I want to watch all Manchester United matches, a lot are no longer selected for tv or even if they were it could be on TNT, so another subscription is required. The 3pm blackout means there could be 4/5 matches being played in the premier league and we can't watch the majority of them due to a draconian law.

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036993#Comment_123036993

I get it. We live in a world of fragmented global TV rights with vastly different options and pricing available based on local markets. It seems unfair and it can be a pain in the neck, but it isn't going to change any time soon.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036993#Comment_123036993

3pm Blackout doesn't apply to Ireland.

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037076#Comment_123037076

I know that it won't hence the popularity of IPTV subscriptions, as they give the viewer the choice that they're looking for. Even paying for both Sky and TNT I'd miss out on a lot of matches so they won't be getting my business unless their offering improves at a reasonable price.

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037175#Comment_123037175

Technically it doesn't, we get one match available on Premier Sports, no choice of fixtures and Sky/TNT do not broadcast any of them here despite their ability to provide this to Irish users.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037186#Comment_123037186

I'm only replying to the claims you make.

The 3pm blackout means there could be 4/5 matches being played in the premier league and we can't watch any of them due to a draconian law.

Looking at the fixtures for the rest of the month the vast majority are not on the traditional Saturday 3pm time.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036889#Comment_123036889

I don't know if there is a break down on what branches of the business are making what but Sky overall are losing money, I posted a link a few days ago to it.

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037220#Comment_123037220

Edited my post to say "we can't watch the majority of them". Very pedantic.

Gameweek 22 3 fixtures at 15:00

Gameweek 23 5 fixtures at 15:00

Gameweek 24 4 fixtures at 15:00

Gameweek 25 5 fixtures at 15:00

Gamweek 26 5 fixtures at 15:00

Not doing anymore as it's tedious and you get my point, over 5 gameweeks there are 22 matches at 15:00 and paying an extortionate subscription for SKY/TNT/Premier Sports you can watch a total of 5 matches.

That is not a worthwhile offering and it's caused by the 3pm blackout.

Not to mention the matches on Sunday at 14:00 on at the same time and you can only watch the one Sky have chosen.

FazyLucker

Good discussion above but is the argument that Sky could lowered their price to the level of the illegal providers but chose not to a bit like the argument that if the FAI sold tickets for Irish football matches at half the price Lansdowne Road would be full?

Sky want the dedicated fan, who wants their team and to sit down and be guaranteed their service will not drop and who is happy to pony up 30-40 quid a month for that guarantee. The illegal TV providers want the casual fan, who likes lots of sports for the big events, and doesn't want to subscribe to Sky only to be told "oh the Leinster match, that's on TNT and that's another €10 a month" or whatever.

My friend said his stream worked perfectly throughout the United Liverpool match, and if it didn't he'd have shrugged his shoulders and saw it on Match of the Day. No big deal.

But saying that, I still don't see how the move to illegal streamers can be halted without a massive reduction in price by the main TV companies, or at very least them coming to a "subscribe to one of us, get the rest" model. At the moment, there's lots of people paying for Sky who feel like a sucker as everybody around them gets the same product and more on the cheap.

The illegal streamers are just as clever as the techies employed by Sky, they are one step ahead all the time and the TV companies are just trying to play catch up all the time.

But will the TV companies be so bullish about the next football TV deal if they see themselves haemorrhaging subscribers and their predictions are that they can do little about it only play catch-up all the time?

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037249#Comment_123037249

over 5 gameweeks there are 22 matches at 15:00 and paying an extortionate subscription for SKY/TNT/Premier Sports you can watch a total of 5 matches.

Huh?

TNT sports are showing all week 21 matches - 14th to the 16th all 10 games.

Rocket_GD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037270#Comment_123037270

You can clearly see I started at Gameweek 22 as evening matches like that which Amazon used to broadcast are rare about twice a season.

From Gamweek 22 - 26 just the 15:00 kick off there are 22 matches, only 5 being shown on tv in Ireland. Also Sunday there is usually two matches at 14:00 with only one being shown. They're offering is no worth their prices hence the popularity of IPTV. You're being pedantic for the sake of being contrary.