From 'The Publican'
Please don't shoot the messenger!
New satellite football warning for pubs
By John Harrington
31/01/2011 08:32
Albania-based Tring TV is the latest foreign broadcaster to warn UK licensees that anyone using its cards to screen Premier League football risks having them turned off.
In an open letter to licensees, Tring TV programming director Igli Hasani says the company has "become aware of a problem in the UK where pubs are using Tring TV decoder cards to view Barclays Premier League football".
The letter says Tring TV "does not have any rights to broadcast Premier League football outside of [Albania]."
"Subsequently our Tring TV cards are not allowed to be sold outside of the territory, and no person in the United Kingdom can make a payment to us or any supplier to view in the UK.
"If we receive information that such cards are being illegally used in the UK, we will immediately switch off such cards.
"Nobody in the UK has the authority to offer for sale, import or use Tring TV cards in the UK."
It follows similar warnings in the past 12 months from Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland.
The warning comes in a crucial week for the long-running legal saga over foreign satellite TV involving Hampshire licensee Karen Murphy.
On Thursday, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is due to give her view to judges at the ECJ, who are expected to hand down their verdict within the next three months.
The ECJ has been examining whether EU competition law permits the use of decoder cards from non-UK broadcasters can be used to screen Premier League games in UK pubs.
Please don't shoot the messenger!