The licensee of a North East city bar has been been hit with a hefty fine for illegally screening Sky Sports.

​Kenneth Craigs the licensee of Cleo’s Bar in Sunderland, North East England, was found guilty in his absence yesterday (Tuesday, October 16) of two offences related to the dishonest broadcast of Sky televised programming.

In this case, Craigs televised Sky Sports football matches, with the intent to avoid payment of the applicable commercial subscription charge. Sky Sports is only available to licensed premises in the UK via a commercial viewing agreement from Sky Business.

Craigs, the designated premises supervisor of Cleo’s Bar was ordered to pay total fines and costs of £7,400.

The intellectual property protection body FACT brought the criminal prosecution at South Tyneside Magistrates Court against the licensee, for showing Sky Sports to customers without having valid commercial viewing agreements in place.

Business premises that show Sky broadcasts without a commercial viewing agreement risk similar action, or even civil legal action.

Kieron Sharp, FACT CEO said: "This verdict underscores FACT’s commitment to protecting the interests of our broadcast partners.

“By taking action against those who engage in fraudulent practices and unlawfully broadcast Sky content, FACT aim to create a strong deterrent for other licence holders who might consider similar actions”.

Sara Stewart, Head of Compliance (Commercial Anti-Piracy), Sky Business, added: “Now more than ever it’s important to protect the investment of our customers. Businesses that show Sky Sports illegally can leave our legitimate Sky subscribers feeling short-changed.

“We actively visit thousands of venues every season to monitor the games they are showing to help protect hardworking Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.

“Venues who continue to televise content in this way are breaking the law, and when caught can face the risk of prosecution.”

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Working with FACT is a key part of Sky’s commitment to protecting pubs and clubs that invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions.

Any licensee affected by these issues can report suspected illegal broadcasting confidentially at www.pubpiracy.com.

Craigs was found guilty of two chargers under s.287 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.