Infinite Path

The boom of the internet in recent times has been advantageous for numerous reasons. A new level of convenience has entered the lives of those with reliable access to the net. Saturday afternoons no longer have to be spent traipsing up and down the supermarket aisle; online food shopping renders leaving the home to acquire groceries unnecessary. We no longer need to spend hours in the local library tracking down an important piece of research; a quick search on Google can tell us all we need to know.

The internet has also made people develop an impatience with regards to not having access to various forms of content. If we miss an episode of ‘Neighbours’, we can catch up for free whenever we have a spare half hour to spend online. Similarly, football fans not content with being unable to watch matches that kick off at 3pm on a Saturday as per Premier League policy, are no longer happy to moan about it and tune in to the radio; they are now flocking to websites which illegally stream live football games.

However, one such website, MyP2P.eu, is facing closure at the hands of the Premier League. The website uses peer to peer technology to allow users to share content online and, in recent weeks alone, this has included one-day international matches involving the England cricket team, Formula One races, and American football games. Although the quality of these games is usually very poor in comparison to the content broadcast on our TV screens, the vast majority of sport fans prefer something to nothing and are willing to put up with less than perfect commentary, for example.

The Premier League is wising up to the potential danger of allowing websites such as these to continue functioning. It makes around £1 billion a year purely from selling the rights to screening its matches. Overseas demand for TV rights is also starting to explode as more and more countries across the world satiate their appetite for English football.

It would seem that now is a sensible time to act for sports bodies such as the Premier League since pirating is expected to increase in frequency as broadband, particularly super fast broadband, take-up in the UK grows. On the other hand, however, the balance between trying to change online behaviour through subtle persuasion and force is a tricky one. If the Premier League come across as too heavy-handed they’ll come under as much criticism as the individuals responsible for sharing the content illegally in the first place.