Fifteen retail outlets in nine counties were targeted in an enforcement operation to clamp down on people using so-called “dodgy boxes” to access illegal streaming services.

FACT (the Federation Against Copyright Theft), one of the main UK and Ireland-based organisations working with broadcasters and rights holders to protect their intellectual property (IP), said its agents, alongside representatives from Sky, delivered legal notices to retailers in Kerry, Louth, Laois, Mayo, Donegal, Kilkenny, Wexford, Meath, and Cavan last month.

The outlets, FACT said, had been “either selling subscriptions to illegal streaming services, supplying devices configured to access them or referring customers to resellers via phone numbers or advertising materials”.

FACT issued the outlets a deadline to stop these activities or face further action. 

Though the notices are not legally binding, they outline possible consequences if the retailers refuse to cease illegal activity. They said the vast majority of outlets have agreed to stop their activities.

FACT said this is the first time its enforcement teams have focused directly on retail outlets.

Speaking on Tuesday, Kieron Sharpe, chairman of FACT, said the operation shows that the organisation is “actively targeting every link in the illegal streaming supply chain.”

“When shop owners sell illegal streaming devices, subscriptions or act as referral points to providers, they are supporting criminal organisations and generating criminal profits.

“FACT will continue to work with partners to identify, disrupt and shut down this activity across Ireland,” he said.

JD Buckley, Sky Ireland CEO, said illegal streaming puts consumers “at real risk of online harms including fraud and identity theft while draining money away from the creative industries that invest in the shows and sports people love”.

“At Sky, we’re determined to protect our customers and ensure we continue producing world-class content. Working with FACT, we’re making it clear that anyone profiting from piracy, whether through shops or resellers, will be found and stopped,” he said.

Since March 2023, almost 70 illegal services across Ireland have been closed following action by FACT and its partners, along with the disruption of tens of thousands of unlawful streams.