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It is a practice that raises questions. Since February 2022, the major holders of football broadcasting rights have deserted Russia. From then on, very popular competitions such as the Premier League and Serie A are no longer broadcast there. Nature, however, abhors a vacuum, and smart people have organized themselves.
Commenting on the Premier League from home
Concretely, pirate IPTV services, illegal streaming portals, or even the video platform of the social network VK are used. The customization is so advanced that some structures have their own match graphics and their employees comment on the matches live from home using software well known to videographers such as OBS Studio and $50 microphones, reports TorrentFreak.
The business is well established, and they have become somewhat professional. Thus, by relying on donations from Internet users, these new type of sports journalists can earn between 30 and 45 dollars per match, which represents an attractive sum in Russia if they accumulate several matches.
The Russian economic daily Vedomosti was interested in this phenomenon by giving the floor to Anton Kuzmichev, director of Sportcast, a group which illegally broadcasts various competitions since 2016: NBA, Premier League, NHL, Formula 1…
Straight in his boots, the latter affirms on the contrary that showing Premier League matches is perfectly legal in Russia currently. Why ? The British football championship no longer has an official broadcaster in the country. Since no one has a license, no company can sue. He specifies that as soon as the competition is broadcast by a legitimate rights holder, his organization will cease this practice.
Piracy is debated in Russia
This question of the right to hack has become a fundamental debate in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. In April 2023, a bill was tabled in parliament to allow the copying and distribution of works in the country without the agreement of rights holders.
This However, the measure was strongly contested by large companies such as Gazprom Media, Channel One and Rostelecom who had sent a letter to the head of the State Duma committee responsible for economic policy. They then underlined: that this proposal “violates the interests of specialized market players”and could even lead to the “cessation of their activities”.
They added: “There is also a risk of using this mechanism to legalize and popularize pirated resources, which will have a negative impact on domestic producers and holders of exclusive rights to content”.
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