Foxtel is a large television network in Australia. There are, as their name suggests, part of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox empire. They have a sports wing that shows boxing. Their main money spinner, though? Their pay-per-view boxing. But at $60 Aussie Dollars (around $45 US Dollars) per fight – it’s obscenely expensive.
So, a lot of people stream it. And now? With Facebook Live? You can find it on the social networking site. That doesn’t make it legal, though. As one Aussie guy found out when he streamed a recent bout on there and they called him to tell him to stop. But instead of shutting down his broadcast, Darren Sharpe merely turned the volume down, put the Foxtel operator on loudspeaker and trolled them… HARD!
“I think I’ve got the right to do it, I paid for it,” Mr Sharpe told Foxtel in the video.
“It’s harmful to the future of boxing and live sport,” a Foxtel spokesman later said. Foxtel then released a statement saying that the Facebook broadcast was in fact ‘stealing’ and that legal action would be taken against those involved…
It looks as if Facebook are on the media giants’ side too. “We check every Facebook Live video stream against files in the Rights Manager reference library, and if a match surfaces, we’ll interrupt that live video,” a Facebook spokesman said.
The fight was between Anthony Mundine and Danny Green and it was AWFUL. Not worth even five bucks…
Watch exactly what went down:
