Eric Hoyle fined for illegally showing Sky Sports events in the Hark to Towler pub in Heywood

Eric Hoyle, of the Hark to Towler pub on Bury New Road, Heywood has been found guilty of dishonestly accessing programmes from Sky Sports and has been ordered to pay £3,800 in fines and costs.

Bury and Rochdale Magistrates Court heard last week that Mr Hoyle had received programmes form Sky Sports on 19 April and 7 May this year without paying the correct costs.

He was fined £800 for each offence under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 and ordered to pay £2,200 costs.

The case was heard in Mr Hoyle’s absence on Monday 22 September with information from FACT – the Federation Against Copyright Theft.

This fine come as part of a crackdown operation by FACT on pubs illegally showing football matches and other sporting events without paying the necessary charges.

Stephen Gerrard, Prosecuting Manager at FACT, said: “People found to be showing Sky in commercial premises without having entered into the correct commercial subscription agreement with Sky face criminal prosecution, costs and potential loss of their licence.

“It simply isn’t worth the risk when licensees, employees and associated companies can each face fines of up to £5,000 for every offence they commit, or each match that they show. This is starkly demonstrated by a conviction involving a pub in Doncaster last month, where total fines and costs amounted to more than £22,600.”

Alison Dolan, Deputy Managing Director at Sky Business, said: “It’s important to us to protect the investment that thousands of hardworking licensees make in Sky Sports to drive value for their businesses, which is why we work closely with FACT to identify and act on unauthorised use.”

Mr Hoyle could not be reached for comment.