Overview
- The Sport Industry Report 2026 finds 58% of fans and 66% of sports professionals deem pirate streaming socially acceptable, based on surveys of 1,002 public respondents and 264 professionals.
- New figures indicate usage remains widespread or rising despite coordinated police and trading standards actions across 17 UK areas targeting modified Amazon Fire Sticks and illicit IPTV services.
- Authorities and anti-piracy groups warn of heavy penalties, with end users facing fines and up to 12 months in custody and sellers risking penalties up to £50,000.
- Amazon has tightened technical controls by introducing the Fire TV Stick 4K Select running Vega OS and restricting installs to the Amazon Appstore, with ACE-backed blocking of apps that enable piracy.
- The UK Intellectual Property Office estimated nearly four million people illegally streamed live sport in 2023, as surveys also highlight affordability concerns such as expectations that attending live events will become a luxury.