SKY has 200 licensing cases active against publicans and hoteliers, court hears

Evidence was also heard that SKY employs private investigators to ‘snoop’ on unauthorised showing of Premier League games.

By Gordon Deegan

UK broadcaster SKY has 200 active cases against publicans and hoteliers across Ireland showing Premier League games and other sports and shows on SKY without authorisation.

That is according to solicitor Rachel Solanki who today confirmed the total after representing SKY UK Ltd at Ennis Circuit Court where the firm reached a settlement with a rural Clare publican over the unauthorised showing of Premier League games at his premises.

Ms Solanki said that two cases against Clare publicans follow SKY taking cases to court in the past year in Cork, Galway, Donegal, Laois and Mayo.

In the main case at Ennis Circuit Court, evidence was heard that SKY employed private investigators to ‘snoop’ on unauthorised showing of Premier League games at Power’s Bar on Chapel Street in Tulla in east Clare on various dates across 12 months.

The private investigators entered the premises when punters there were cheering on Chelsea and Hull on January 22 last; Spurs and Arsenal on April 30 2017; Liverpool and Middlesborough on May 21 2017, Spurs and Liverpool on October 22 2017 and Crystal Palace and Newcastle on February 4 of this year.

In court, counsel for SKY, Elizabeth Jane (EJ) Walsh BL told Judge Gerald Keys that SKY’s lost revenues from Power’s pub in unpaid subscriptions across 2017 and 2018 totalled €35,364.

This was made up of €17,256 in lost royalties in 2017 and €18,108 in 2018.

Ms Walsh said that SKY had written to Power’s pub “on numerous occasions” calling on the pub to stop from infringing on SKY’s copyright and/or to purchase a licence to show games in a pub.

As a result of the settlement and costs, the rural publican, Anthony Power will have to pay out around €5,500 to €6,000 to SKY.

In the settlement, the pub has agreed to pay €2,000 in settlement of the estimated €35,364 in arrears. As part of the settlement, Mr Power has agreed to purchase the SKY pub package.

Judge Gerald Keys has also ordered the pub to pay half the costs of SKY of bringing the case to court. The cost of bringing the case to court are around €5,000 to €6,000 resulting in Powers pub being liable for between €2,500 to €3,000.

Solicitor for Powers pub asked that her client not pay all of the costs after telling Judge Keys that her client is a publican based in the east Clare countryside and when the investigator did call on one occasion, there were only six people present in the pub.

She said that the publican did have a SKY box installed by SKY and Mr Power didn’t realise that he was on the wrong package.

SKY stated that Mr Power in this case had only a domestic package and Ms Walsh said that Mr Power must have known that he had the wrong package as there was correspondence from SKY telling him that this was the case.

Last year, SKY terminated the 'domestic' SKY package it had with Mr Power.

Making the application for SKY’s full costs from the case, Ms Walsh said: “SKY don’t bring those applications unless it is very much last resort. In the terms of the settlement SKY has been quite fair in trying to progress matters.”

Judge Keys ruled that Mr Power pay 50% of the costs. Refusing the application for Mr Power to pay the entire costs, Judge Keys said: “SKY are doing very, very well for themselves in the business.”