THE Premier League have won a vital legal case to stop illegal football streams being broadcast from Holland.
Bosses launched an action in the Dutch District Court to stop internet hosting provider Ecatel providing a platform for the banned feeds.
They secured a ruling ordering Ecatel, who provide virtual servers in Amsterdam among other places, to immediately stop providing services to the cowboy broadcasters.
League officials have mounted a global fight to stop the growing number of illegal streaming services from showing their matches.
Stopping the feeds, which allow viewers around the world to tune in to almost every top flight match, is crucial to protecting the Premier League as a business.
The majority of their wealth is based around the lucrative television rights packages they are able to sell, which were worth in excess of £2billion globally at the last auction.
HAPPY BUFFDAY Gigi Buffon’s incredible career as he prepares to celebrate his 40th birthday
Should fans around the world shun the subscription channels who pay huge rights fees for exclusive coverage of the Premier League in favour of free internet streams, the commercial value of the game would collapse.
The Premier League took action in The Hague after Ecatel repeatedly ignore warnings that they were breaking the law hosting and providing access to servers for illegal streams.
Most read in football
The court ruling stated the broadcasts are subject to copyright protection, and that Ecatel broke the law by providing servers to make the streams available.
It is the latest legal success the Premier League lawyers have gained, having obtained a High Court blocking order preventing illegal streams being broadcast in the UK.
They have taken similar action against Spanish ISPs, while also targeting Far East-based operations providing access to Premier League content.
Leave a comment