If you streamed the fight between boxing heavyweights Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam on Facebook last Saturday evening you’re a ‘lowlife shithead’ according to Dean Lonergan.
The Duco events promoter and former rugby league player is seriously unhappy that the fight was illegally streamed on the site. Porirua man Moze Galo filmed a TV showing of the fight on his phone and streamed it through the new Facebook Live service on his fan page A Day in the Life of #BeastMoze. Parker won the match but generally the post-match discussions have been centered around the stream.
The fight was available to Sky TV subscribers through pay-per-view, charging users an extra $49.99 on top of the standard subscription fee. This fee was higher than past pay-per-view fights, mainly due to Sky’s falling subscription numbers. Over 100,000 people watched the online stream on Facebook. Galo responded saying that he was a ‘modern day Robin Hood,’ giving the poor something only the rich could afford.
Lonergan and Parker have spoken out against the actions of ‘thievery.’ Lonergan wondered how the streamers could ‘call themselves Robin Hood when the person they are ultimately stealing from is Joseph Parker, a guy who is literally sweating blood?’ Parker ‘understood’ people streamed because ‘it was a little expensive’ but said ‘they’re stealing from me as well.’
Together with Sky TV, Lonergan has discussed suing the streamer or even if possible, the people that actually streamed the fight on their personal Facebook accounts. Lonergan has also tried to pass some of the blame onto Facebook, but they responded saying the issue is none of their concern. Even though it seems Facebook did not anticipate Live to be used in such a way, the company said they have ‘reporting tools in place’ to assist with spotting copyright infringement such as sports games.
Lonergan and Parker suggested a couple of alternatives the streamers can take next time there is a game instead of ‘stealing’ the fight. They recommended travelling to a local pub where the game is often shown on TV, or dividing the cost between a group of friends and watching it at home. Although as more sporting content becomes exclusive to pay-TV, consumers may try to find more streams online and promoters need to determine ways to counteract this.