David Dunbar of Wexford, Ireland, had accumulated a heap of trouble stemming from his operation of “IPTV is Easy,” an illegal streaming service that distributed Sky television programming without license, in violation of copyright. Not only did he owe about €455,000 to Sky UK, which represented Mr. Dunbar’s illegal profits between 2018 and 2024; Dunbar also had been subjected to ‘credible threats’ and was at risk for losing his job.
After failing to follow an order by the Irish high court to preserve evidence related to the case and for twice attempting to bar Sky from inspecting it, Sky applied to the court in May, to have Mr. Dunbar sent to prison for contempt. The Court rendered its judgment on July 29.
After an independent investigation commissioned by Sky, that operator also doubted that Dunbar had been fully forthcoming about his income from his operation, which not only sold its illegal service directly to consumers but also generated revenue from 15 resellers. He supplied instructions to subscribers, on how to download, install and log in to his pirate app through Amazon Fire sticks. Illicit streaming devices are increasingly being referred to as ‘dodgy boxes’ in the British Isles and Ireland.
Dunbar had obtained the Sky programming illegally from a ‘piracy-as-a-service’ supplier called My Boom Media (MBM), after a recommendation from a reseller on Telegram. According to court documents, MBM had supplied “300+ resellers.”
Dunbar had also destroyed data on his computer, deleted communications with customers and resellers, sold his car and transferred funds from multiple financial accounts. Sky’s investigator had also looked into several online betting accounts, where Dunbar had profited from bets totaling more than 1.1 million euros.
Further reading
Judgment of Mr. Justice Mark Sanfey delivered on the 20th day of August. 2025. [2025] IEHC 465 [Record No. 20252704P]. Between Sky UK Limited, Plaintiff, and David Dunbar, Defendant. Court document. Irish High Court, Republic of Ireland
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