Feds bust NY man for PPV piracy
Via the day job, our esteemed editor brings us more news of the Obama administration’s ongoing war against online piracy.
According to court documents, Ali made more than $6,000 in profits from February 2010 to January 2011 by using the two sites to allegedly stream copyrighted World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Ultimate Fighting Championship and (UFC) and boxing events.
Fans looking to avoid that price often search online for illegal webcasts of the events, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue for providers and fighters. Authorities claim visitors to Ali’s two sites paid subscription fees of between $6 and $25 to download or view the illegal webcasts.
Doug Jacobs, president of PPV distributor Integrated Sports Media, estimated some high-profile events such as major UFC or boxing championship fights lose as much as 30 percent of their PPV revenue due to digital piracy.
I suppose it’s only natural if you’re born with the name Mohamed Ali to look to make a buck in the fight game but there has to have been a more honorable way to go about it. We understand not everyone can afford the big fights and sometimes watching webcasts of fights that are otherwise unavailable can be the only choice.
But willfully seeking a discount online on live PPVs when the fighters are putting their lives on the line will earn you no sympathy in these quarters. If you can’t afford the fight just wait a week and watch it on HBO or online. In the meantime you can read what happened here, which is almost as good.