A trader who made about £40,000 selling set-top TV boxes allowing viewers to watch Premier League matches and movies for free has avoided a jail term. Shop owner Brian Thompson, 55, advertised what are often called Kodi boxes on the front of his Middlesbrough outlet with a sign saying “Sick of paying monthly subscriptions? Free Sky, Virgin, Box Nation, Racing UK.”Teesside crown court heard how the losses to Sky were an estimated £200,000 in subscriptions they did not receive over the period Thompson was trading. Cameron Crowe, prosecuting, said streaming devices were not illegal if they were used to access free content. Photograph: Trading Standards/Press AssociationCrowe said a piece of software known as Kodi led the devices to be known as Kodi boxes.

Source: The Guardian October 20, 2017 17:03 UTC