Sky Warns Illegal Streamers After Birmingham Creator Gets Caught
Sky has issued a warning to illegal streamers following the arrest of a Birmingham man for running a major piracy operation
Birmingham, UK, Sky, Illegal Streaming, IPTV, Gary McNally, West Midlands Police
Birmingham: Sky is sending a clear message to illegal streamers after they caught a guy named Gary McNally. He was running a big-time piracy operation right from his home.
This 56-year-old family man got sentenced to two years and nine months in jail. He was found guilty of running a sophisticated illegal streaming service called Each Online for four years.
Sky’s anti-piracy director, Matt Hibert, said this case shows the serious consequences of getting involved in illegal streaming. He thanked the West Midlands Police for their hard work in shutting down this operation.
McNally’s service offered access to Sky channels and other premium content. He got on Sky’s radar back in June 2020 when they discovered he was using legit NOW TV accounts to access their content illegally.
In September 2021, police raided two of his properties and seized a bunch of digital gear, including laptops and hard drives. He was all about providing access to English Premier League football and other sports.
At one point, he had over 2,000 subscribers tuning in for a pay-per-view boxing match. The court heard that his setup was pretty complicated and even had office-grade broadband costing him £420 a month.
McNally claimed he made around £40,000 from this scheme but said most of it went to someone else he wouldn’t name. He even said that this person pressured him into it.
The prosecutor pointed out that while many cases focus on distributing illegal streams, McNally was unique because he created the content. He pleaded guilty to two counts related to fraud.
His lawyer described him as a family man who had a good side and had been working and paying taxes. Two other people were also arrested, but one was released without charges.
West Midlands Police stated they will continue to disrupt criminal activities like this. Sky also warned that illegal streaming carries risks for consumers and supports a program called BeStreamWise to educate people about piracy.