Sky uk card in the netherlands

[cugeltheclever]

I have a discussion on a dutch cable forum about the Sky uk card.

Someone claims he bought a Sky uk card in a sateliet shop and the card is linked to an englisch adres. The satteliteshop claims that this is as legal as it gets.
I claim that this is an illegal action but i'm not shure.

So my question is: Sky Uk in the Netherlands legal or illegal?
And if it's illegal wat are te possible consequences people risk who watch Sky Uk
in Holland?

If it's legal i'm planning to buy my Sky Card offically using the english adres of a friend of mine!

Many thanks in advance for your help and good luck tommorow against Germany!!!!

[indefatigable]

its illegal, well and truly.

Its illegally broadcasting shows in an area outside its licenced area.

If you do it and get caught, you'll have your services turne off by Sky, and thats probably all that will happen tbh. But they could try to prosecute you and sue you for doing it.

and that shop where they sell the cards, if they are caught, they will be severely punished.

[Isitme]

The Sky Uk smartcard is linked to an englisch adres

This, in itself, is fraud. There are thousands in Europe receiving UK Sky illegally, whether you want to do it is up to you. If Sky find out the card is not being used in UK they can void it, which is probably all the action they will take.

[dms05]

Sky users stretch across Europe even though Sky's T&C's restrict use to the UK/Eire. Some people outside of the UK/Eire have Sky 'freesat' cards that don't involve a monthly subscription, others have full Sky including Premium channels. Some people take UK purchased Sky equipment/card abroad, others buy all of this in the country they live in. It's very big business, both for those selling the packages and also Sky - if 200,000 people are paying £500/year then Sky make an extra £50 million profit.

So whilst selling Sky equipment and Viewing Cards is against Sky T&C they are very unlikely to stop the widespread and long standing practice. Is it illegal? Probably not because EU policy prohibits one country in the EU from interfering with transmissions from another EU member state but selling the Viewing Card outside the UK may be a civil offence.

In Spain the Guarda Civil (Paramilitary Police) have forced illegal rebroadcasters from operating but have never taken any action against retailers of Sky equipment/cards.

[simonmpoulton]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to receive the UK BBC channels outside of the UK - after all non-UK residents dont pay the TV license for it!"

[cugeltheclever]

Is it illegal? Probably not because EU policy prohibits one country in the EU from interfering with transmissions from another EU member state but selling the Viewing Card outside the UK may be a civil offence.

its illegal, well and truly.

Its illegally broadcasting shows in an area outside its licenced area.

If you do it and get caught, you'll have your services turne off by Sky, and thats probably all that will happen tbh. But they could try to prosecute you and sue you for doing it.

and that shop where they sell the cards, if they are caught, they will be severely punished.

I'm getting more and more confused...

So it's a grey zone? The worst that could happen is getting my services turned off.

[dms05]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to receive the UK BBC channels outside of the UK - after all non-UK residents dont pay the TV license for it!"

Completely wrong. Anyone with a suitable receiver can watch/listen to BBC broadcasts. You only pay for the BBC if you live in the UK. So anyone with a big enough dish can watch the BBC in Spain for free, however if you own a TV in the UK it is illegal not to pay for the BBC.

In the Holland you can watch the BBC for free, but Sky T&C's forbid you to operate a Sky Viewing Card in a Sky receiver. The difference is in the UK it is unlawful to watch any TV without a BBC license whereas in Holland you can watch Sky and buy Sky equipment and only infringe Sky's T&C's.

[cugeltheclever]

in Holland you can watch Sky and buy Sky equipment and only infringe Sky's T&C's.

Opinions on this subject are on both sides of the fence...

legal, illegal and of course the grey zone, the twilight zone! But were are the facts?

[Smithy99]

The facts are quite simple, if you ring Sky to activate your card and tell them you are outside the UK they won't do it as it is a breach of their T&C's.

They pay to show certain content in the UK, if you are watching it outside the UK then you are breaching the international copyright laws and therefore doing so illegally.

The fact that you have to lie about the location should point you to this conclusion.

There will be no other penalties other than the removal of the ability to view using the card, if you are a supplier then they may go further.

[dms05]

They pay to show certain content in the UK, if you are watching it outside the UK then you are breaching the international copyright laws and therefore doing so illegally.

If Sky allow you to pay/watch outside the UK/Eire then Sky are breaching their own contractual terms with their content suppliers as Sky contracts to show content in the UK/Eire. In fact Sky are probably breaching copyright laws by allowing you to watch their programmes outside the UK/Eire which is why they only supply viewing cards to UK addresses.

However if you wish to find a way round Sky's T&C's you are unlikely to be stopped by Sky unless you tell them you are in breach. If Sky don't stop you who else will?