Like all broadcasters, Sky Sports has long had an adversarial relationship with pirates, in which many pirates have been detected, arrested and penalized over the years with fines and even imprisonment.
With the advent of streaming, piracy of live sports programming continues to increase. In the UK, the pain of piracy to the sports industry is partially self-inflicted, due to an industry-wide blackout of live coverage for football matches (with few exceptions) that begin at 3pm UK time on Saturdays.
The policy came into being in the 1960s, when TV came into peoples’ homes through rabbit ears; in an attempt to drive people to attend live matches. The practice is followed by the Premier League, English Football League, Soottish Professional Football League and Scottish Premiership.
Programming finds a way
Because of streaming, programming is made available openly in other countries but can still be blocked at home. But it makes it back into UK households anyway, through pirate services and “dodgy” Amazon Fire Sticks. As a result, the industry continues to lose significant revenue.
But this reality has finally begun to turn the right heads. For example, more matches are being shown on TV outside the Saturday 3pm time window, including Sunday afternoon kickoffs, evening games on weekdays and Saturday kickoffs at 5:15pm, according to the BBC.
Sky Sports promo goes partway
Meanwhile, Sky Sports has launched a new streaming feature that delivers English Premier League matches free of charge through the Sky Sports app. “You do not need to be a Sky Sports subscriber” to get it.
Too good to be true? The free offer is for after-the-game highlights, not live action! For the rest, subscribers must pay, although Sky NOW is offering price discounts for new subscribers for a 12 month commitment rather than 24.
Further reading
Sky Sports blame ‘dodgy’ Fire Sticks for move toward ending 3pm blackout – with piracy ccosting broadcasters BILLIONS per year. Article. August 13, 2025. UK Times.
Why does football have Saturday 3pm TV blackout in the UK? Article. August 15, 2025. by Tasnim Chowdhury. BBC Sport
Download the Sky Sports app: Free Premier League highlights, F1 race control and more at your fingertips. Press release. August 15, 2025. Sky Sports
UK: North Yorkshire seller of modified Amazon Fire Sticks jailed for two years. Article. January 6, 2025. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
More than 8 UK adults could be watching illegal sports streaming: Premier League. Article. August 30, 2023. by Steven Hawley. Piracy Monitor
Why it matters
Is Sky Sports’ latest ‘free football’ promo an admission of defeat by Sky Sports or is it an effort by Sky to attract new customers that will pay for full Sky service menu? Most likely it’s the latter, since the free offer applies to after-the-match highlights. Sky is betting that their overall offerings are sufficiently compelling to convert some to paid subscribers.
But in the long run, a change to the UK football leagues’ 3pm Saturday blackout policy is already underway and further evolution of those policies is inevitable.
