Heads up: It should be of zero surprise to anyone that no-one from Spark will comment on this topic apart from to say that we'll absolutely respect any court orders made relating to this.

Cheers - N

ps. (And this note as well, but no comments about the substance of the argument or our position will be posted here)

With my spark hat off...

IMO, there is no way spark(or any other provider) should waste time and money on blocking sites.

It's easy to rehost, work around, use a vpn, dns unblocker etc.

Even sky themselves in their publishing makes it clear, there is a small subset that nomatter what will always pirate.

past that, if they put their time into building easy to use systems that worked universally, their returns would be far better than sinking in court fees.

Look at say Netflix, Lightbox etc they have done well to claw back a ton of piracy, simply by offering content in a very easy to use and friendly way.

As more web services become simple to use, the draw to using the potentionally dodgy services is far less.

oh and, going after piratebay, after SO SO many others have is a fruitless war.

I listened to their Legal lady on the drive home last night, will look for a replay of it.  She was absolutely out on a limb with some of her points that Sky wanted to protect people from malware and sites that could hold users to ransom with inflated costs to access the content, exactly Sky's business model for the last decade and more.....

Price is what influences my actions.

SKY will give a new customer the same package for about half what they charge an existing customer so I can see why people choose to 'risk' going with other methods. 

ie

 

Please note I cannot list the specific deals online due to Sky promotional limitations but for further interest please ring the Sky Promotions 0800 475 988 and leave a message for them -(they will generally respond back within 1/2 hour).

 

I got the $49 package which is Starter + Entertainment plus Sport plus MySky plus Free installation all bundled.Normally $94.81 p/month.
(or you could do Starter Plus Sport (or Movies) Plus MySky plus free installation for $39) Just saying RING RING RING LEAVE A MESSAGE AND TALK!!

Or lets look at FANPASS(Sky Sport 1-4) on it's official site:

$99 a month for a single month recurring

$55.99 a month recurring for 6 months term

or...bundle with Spark on a unlimited broadband plan for $30 a month(six month term/disconnection fee applies) and $30 price valid for 12 months)

hsvhel:

 

I listened to their Legal lady on the drive home last night, will look for a replay of it.  She was absolutely out on a limb with some of her points that Sky wanted to protect people from malware and sites that could hold users to ransom with inflated costs to access the content, exactly Sky's business model for the last decade and more.....

 

There are around 4 x the number of of using Netflex alone than their worst case scenario of the number of people pirating content. 

What does that really tell you?

sbiddle:

 

There are around 4 x the number of of using Netflex alone than their worst case scenario of the number of people pirating content. 

 

What does that really tell you?

 

That netflix is overpriced and this swarm mentality is going to destroy their business with piracy!

Will Spark be so forgiving when people watch the RWC19 on ITV for free or even via rugbyworldcup.com?

Will Spark set an unholy precedent by blocking its own subscribers from accessing ITV's site during the RWC?

Spark should block access to Sky. That'd be amusing. 

Part Sky et al miss is that just because it's being streamed/obtained elsewhere, doesn't mean they are missing out on sales.

Just because ones able to view a particular boxing fight, doesn't mean Sky have lost a $49 sale.  If one can't find a stream, one will read about the result on stuff later.

i have Sky Sports and i still have to use streams that are not legal just to watch all the sports i want to, specifically NBA , Sky only shows 6 games a week at the most and i like to watch a few more than that. So they are not losing any money from me but still want to come after me.

vexxxboy:

 

i have Sky Sports and i still have to use streams that are not legal just to watch all the sports i want to, specifically NBA , Sky only shows 6 games a week at the most and i like to watch a few more than that. So they are not losing any money from me but still want to come after me.

 

Does NBA League Pass not work?  I know that NFL's GamePass works but I've never bothered with the NBA or the NHL.  I assumed that you could buy a season pass or a team pass and watch it in NZ.  Was my assumption wrong?

ockel:

 

vexxxboy:

 

i have Sky Sports and i still have to use streams that are not legal just to watch all the sports i want to, specifically NBA , Sky only shows 6 games a week at the most and i like to watch a few more than that. So they are not losing any money from me but still want to come after me.

 

 

Does NBA League Pass not work?  I know that NFL's GamePass works but I've never bothered with the NBA or the NHL.  I assumed that you could buy a season pass or a team pass and watch it in NZ.  Was my assumption wrong?

 

it's around $200 a season and im not made of money , i could get it but my wife would not be impressed and if i did Sky would have to go.

vexxxboy:

 

ockel:

 

vexxxboy:

 

i have Sky Sports and i still have to use streams that are not legal just to watch all the sports i want to, specifically NBA , Sky only shows 6 games a week at the most and i like to watch a few more than that. So they are not losing any money from me but still want to come after me.

 

 

Does NBA League Pass not work?  I know that NFL's GamePass works but I've never bothered with the NBA or the NHL.  I assumed that you could buy a season pass or a team pass and watch it in NZ.  Was my assumption wrong?

 

 

it's around $200 a season and im not made of money , i could get it but my wife would not be impressed and if i did Sky would have to go.

 

A single team pass is $185 ($2.25/game max) but you can pick and choose 8 games per month (rolls over if you dont watch all 8 games in the 30 day period) over the season for $120 ($2/game).  Its cheaper than paying $10/game casual or buying on a month to month basis of course.

vexxxboy:

 

ockel:

 

vexxxboy:

 

i have Sky Sports and i still have to use streams that are not legal just to watch all the sports i want to, specifically NBA , Sky only shows 6 games a week at the most and i like to watch a few more than that. So they are not losing any money from me but still want to come after me.

 

 

Does NBA League Pass not work?  I know that NFL's GamePass works but I've never bothered with the NBA or the NHL.  I assumed that you could buy a season pass or a team pass and watch it in NZ.  Was my assumption wrong?

 

 

it's around $200 a season and im not made of money , i could get it but my wife would not be impressed and if i did Sky would have to go.

 

Sorry, and I get that, but an earlier poster quoted ""In general, we think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem."

It is a pricing problem. No one bothers to download TV and movies as we have cheap as chips services now. Sport is all about price. Thats not Sky's fault, it costs. If Sky dont have it, subscribe to those that do.

Ironically I may or may or may not have DLed MotoGP today. I forgot to record. So, for me, no guilt. Its illegal. I have already paid, so no issue.