Hi please find attached a copy of the canarian weekly regarding Sky.Sorry have typed it in as clearer.
A LONG-RUNNING battle between TV
broadcasters took anunexpected twist inTenerife this week.
Many bars have been show¬ing Sky Sports programmes for years, but a Spanish net- work is trying to put a stop to that. Canal + this week success fully served court papers on four satellite providers based in the south of Tenerife in an effort to curb subscriptions to the UK broadcaster.
Last Tuesday, four police- men from the UDEV, The Specialist Crime Department of the Madrid Police, seized Sky cards and embargoed satellite-receiving equipment in a well-organized raid.
The businesses were served with court orders, which could lead to substantial fines. Canal + recently secured a court order in Madrid claiming copyright infringement, which is designed to protect their La Liga football rights. At the moment, they are the only broadcaster with exclusive rights to certain La Liga matches, as well as Champions League, FA Cup and international football rights.
It is understood that Canal + subscription sales on La Liga matches have failed to meet their expected targets, despite a massive advertising campaign. It is also under stood the broadcaster believes that bars and businesses have been purchasing the cheaper, but illegal cover¬age on Sky cards. A source who asked not to be named told Canarian Weekly: "The policemen had been in Tenerife for a few days before they made their move."They simply went into one of the shops and asked if they could obtain a Sky card. When they were told they could, they made their move.
"They presented documentation and confiscated a couple of cards. They taped up anything which had a sky logo on it. But they couldn’t take away any receivers because they couldn’t prove the shop owners were doing anything illegal.
Our source also offered a strong theory :”Its really all about Spanish football. Canal + make their money from pay-per view matches, which can cost up to 15 euros. They think the Brits have been buying sky cards because they are cheaper and thus depriving Canal + of revenue. But we all know Spanish football is not why people want Sky! My advice to bars would be not to show the Spanish stuff.”
The raids led to a plethora of rumours ,which have swept the community like wildfire. At the time of writing ,Canarian Weekly had found NO evidence of any bars having there satellite equipment or Sky cards confiscated.There is also no truth to the rumours, that bars have been fined €6000 for showing Sky Sports,and no bars have been threatened with closure,or ordered to shut down.
One resort on the Golf Del Sur did have its community satellite system confiscated but we understand that was because of a Separate matter .The action in Tenerife is not unique. There have been similar raids on the British ex-pat community in mainland Spain.
A year ago, a company in Costa Blanca was forced to close after being hit with a host of court orders, fines and denuncias after it provided Sky Sports to half a million people.At the time a Sky spokesmen said”We authorize the reception of Sky Tv in the UK and Ireland only.Our terms and conditions expressly prohibit reception elsewhere in Europe.
“While we´re not naïve enough to think overseas viewing can be stopped in every case,if we have evidence that a viewing card is being used outside the UK or Ireland,we will switch it OFF.”
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