Amazon have warned of a the ‘hidden dangers’ of using ‘dodgy’ Fire Sticks to illegally stream live sport.
A report published last week by Enders Analysis claimed that ‘industrial scale theft of video services, especially live sport, is in the ascendance.’
Enders accused major technology companies of ‘ambivalence and inertia’ in tackling piracy of live sporting events.
The report claimed that the Amazon Fire Stick has been a ‘piracy enabler’, alleging the device has been used to access illegal streams.
One common way of accessing illegal streams is by using devices like the Amazon Fire Stick – an entirely legal piece of technology in its original form.
But the stick can be easily modified (or ‘jailbroken’) to allow users to access apps which show pirated sports content.
Amazon have issued a warning over the use of ‘dodgy’ Fire Sticks, which have been used to access live sport
It is believed that a live football game can draw ‘tens of thousands’ of viewers to illegal streams
Around 59 per cent of UK Fire Stick owners admit to using the device to watch illegal streams
The report stated that around 59 per cent in the UK who own Fire Sticks have used them for these illicit purposes in the past 12 months.
Amazon, who are also a broadcaster of live sport, claimed to the Sun that it has made changes to its Fire TV devices to make it more difficult to stream pirated content.
The company has also issued a warning to those using pirated content, highlighting the risk of using apps from unknown sources.
‘Pirated content violates our policies regarding intellectual property rights, and compromises the security and privacy of our customers,’ a spokesperson told the Sun.
‘We work with industry partners and relevant authorities to combat piracy and protect customers from the risks associated with pirated content.
‘Our Appstore prohibits apps that infringe upon the rights of third parties and we warn customers of the risks associated with installing or using apps from unknown sources.’
Following repeated alerts from the Premier League, there has been a major focus on tackling illegal streaming.
This has led to a string of arrests, including one man based in Halifax earlier this year, with Sonny Kanda jailed for two years after cheating legitimate providers out of more than £108,000 across an 18-month period between 2020 and 2022.
Sky and DAZN are said to be two of multiple other companies worried about the soaring rise in the rate of TV piracy.
So many people are watching these illegal streams that it is now comparable to stealing on an ‘industrial scale’, according to Enders.
The report went on to state that a single high-profile event, such as a live football match, can draw ‘tens of thousands’ of viewers away from legitimate streams and towards pirated content.
Research in 2023 by the Intellectual Property Office claimed that nearly four million people in the UK had illegally streamed live sport in the previous year.
Meanwhile, in France, Arcom, a regulatory body, released a study that said the sports sector had lost €240m (£200m) from audi-visual privacy.
Fans will argue that this phenomenon is due to the exponential rise in monthly subscription fees for streaming services.
In the 2023-24 season, it is estimated that fans had to pay around £870 each year in TV subscriptions if they wished to see all televised Premier League games.
There has been a clampdown on illegal streaming in recent months led by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT)
Assuming not every UK household is full of sports fanatics alone, their TV bill would be much higher.
Cinema, documentary, and children’s TV packages would add to this £870 fee, meaning some homes would see their bill run well over £1000.
Meanwhile, the argument of major broadcasting companies – like Sky, TNT or DAZN – is that they pay huge sums of money to broadcast live football and other sporting events.
People pay for a monthly subscription to access these services, so when viewers are redirected to free illegal sites, these big companies lose money.
