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Sky TV abroad? Legal?

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BlunderBus01 | 09:54 Wed 31st Mar 2010 | Law
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Is it legal to purchase Sky Satellite TV in another European country?

I ask because I've noticed that, if, for example, I want to watch something on BBC iPlayer or ITV Media Player, it is not allowed.

Look forward to your replies! Many thanks!
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No. People who do access it abroad are either using dodgy third party providers or giving Sky a UK residential address to get the card.
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Okay thanks. I dont want to sound like a dummy (I inevitably will, but...)... if someone uses a residential address and pays sky monthly, why is it illegal? sky get their money. Would they really take steps against someone watching sky from abroad?

Sorry if I sound stupid!
Because Sky does not have the rights to broadcast their UK service in other countries.
what hc said, people put dishes up, but they come stuck when there is a problem with it and there's no-one to fix it.
As hc said, my parents live in France and use our address here in England, there was a local electrician who put the dish up.

loads of English over there have sky.


Dave.
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What would the punishment be if it was found that you were using a British address to watch Sky in another European country?
BB...No idea if it is legal or not, but ALL expats have Sky TV.

I am sure that Mr Murdoch would not do anything silly to change this.
Sky have a hell of a lot more broadcasting rights worldwide than you think.
It's legal to watch it .. but it breaks Sky's terms. Therefore, if they find out you have a box there, thay will/may cut you off by disabling the box to subscription channels.
If you maintain a home address and Sky account, and do not connect the modem up, you will be ok, so long as you continue to pay a subscription.
There's no legal issue in buying it anywhere, just a Sky issue using it.
There is a situation whereby copyright could be infringed. This would require you to purchase the broadcast in another country (a signatory to the Berne Convention), then relay the cheaper service back here in the UK to consumers. It's a very technical area of European copyright law, and very boring, but it is illegal. Here, you're not paying the full royalties due, so receiving a broadcast infringes UK law.
It's a bit different to purchasing Sky here and bouncing it abroad, which would fall under the ambit of Berne and the host country's laws.
The reason you can't watch BBC iPlayer abroad is another matter of licencing. In the UK, we all (should) pay the licence fee, so we are able to watch the broadcasts here. However, any broadcast outside of the UK is technically a new broadcast, and as such requires another payment. Again, this gets very technical and new broadcasts have included community ariels in tower blocks, hotel TV/radios and smaller broadcast towers in radio stations. Complicated, but that's the reason!
Watch TV Abroad is a website that supports software and provides full video instructions on how to watch BBC iPlayer, Channel4OD, Skyplayer, Hulu.com, ABC.com, ITV Player. I'd encourage you to check out the website. Its legal and safe. Its best to use a paid service for speed and quality. Check out the website www.Watch-TV-Abroad.com .Alternatively, have a look at this Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w79w0CmGAI8 Media URL: http://watch-tv-abroad.com
Description: Watch TV Abroad

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