sciencetech-blog

comments

With broadcasters demanding hefty fees to watch Floyd Mayweather take on Manny Pacquiao next Saturday, many boxing fans could turn towards social media to illegally watch the richest fight in history for free.

The recent explosion of live video streaming apps such as Periscope and Meerkat have raised the realistic prospect that Sky and US broadcasters Showtime and HBO could miss out on millions as viewers stream the content between their devices without paying.

Launched by Twitter, Periscope allows users to broadcast a live stream to their social media followers. The video is then available to replay for up to 24 hours and can also be saved to the user's phone.  

Broadcasters could miss out on millions if viewers stream the mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Many Pacquiao for free using recent live streaming apps such as Periscope and Meerkat

Twitter's Periscope app allows users to broadcast live video and audio online but has copyright pitfalls

This opens up the possibility of live sports being streamed across social networks for free, despite broadcasters paying millions of pounds to obtain the rights.

In the US, viewers are being charged between $89.99 (£59) - $99.99 (£66) to watch the fight while in Britain Sky is offering the bout for £19.99.

In America, the NFL recently reminded journalists that 'any unauthorised use of any transmission, picture or other depiction or description of game action, game information, player interview or other arena activity is prohibited... without prior written approval.'

And away from sport, HBO, which will broadcast Mayweather vs Pacquiao in America alongside Showtime, issued take down notices last week after the season five premiere of hit show Game of Thrones was streamed.

'We are aware of Periscope and have sent takedown notices,' an HBO spokeswoman said in a statement.

'In general, we feel developers should have tools which proactively prevent mass copyright infringement from occurring on their apps and not be solely reliant upon notifications.'

The WBC title belt that will be presented to either Pacquiao or Mayweather at the MGM Grand next Saturday

Periscope has come under fire after the new series of HBO's Game of Thrones was shared online

WHAT IS PERISCOPE? 

Periscope allows users to stream live video from their phones to their Twitter accounts with the click of a button.

The live streams can be filmed on iPhones and iPads and watched through smartphones, desktops or laptops either through the app or on Twitter's site. 

Periscope saves the video streams once you are finished, so that they can be viewed for up to 24 hours - while rival Meerkat's live video disappears once you choose the broadcast to end.

Existing Twitter users can download the app via the App Store for free before being offered the option of subscribing to their followers' Periscope broadcasts.

Periscope 'lets you share and experience live video from your mobile phone' and is 'a perfect complement to Twitter, which is why we acquired the company in January,' Twitter's Kevin Weil said in a blog post.

'It may sound crazy, but we wanted to build the closest thing to teleportation,' claim the Periscope team.

'While there are many ways to discover events and places, we realized there is no better way to experience a place right now than through live video.'

However, its terms of service claims it does not support copyright infringement, but currently relies on reports from users alerting the company to the infringement.

'We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect Periscope users to do the same,' the TOS read.

'We will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable law and are properly provided to us.'

The company has a team dedicated to content review, has the right to remove any illegal content and shut down a person's account if they are found to be violating the TOS.

CLICK HERE to read Periscope's terms of service 

One possible precedent is the use of another app, Vine, which allows users to upload -second clips.

The Premier League was last year forced to remind people not to post copyrighted material after fans started recording goals and sharing them with their friends over social media - with many unaware that what they were doing was illegal.

The most popular Vine football accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers, despite Twitter stating: 'Vine users may not post content that violates the rights of a third party.'

Mayweather (left) trains with his uncle Roger during a media workout in Las Vegas

In an interview with the BBC, director communications Dan Johnson said: 'You can understand that fans see something, they can capture it, they can share it, but ultimately it is against the law.'

'It's a breach of copyright and we would discourage fans from doing it, we're developing technologies like gif crawlers, Vine crawlers, working with Twitter to look to curtail this kind of activity.'

He added: 'I know it sound as if we're killjoys but we have to protect our intellectual property.'

Pacquiao takes on the pads with trainer Freddie Roach in front of the watching media

Meanwhile, Meerkat, which allows users to turn their mobile phones into a portable webcam that lets them live stream whatever their handset is pointing towards, has had its access to some Twitter services cut.

Twitter was not impressed when the app imported all of the user's followers and details of who they were following and have limited Meerkat's access, although the company has since has found a way around this by adding a search feature that lets users find their  favourite  Twitter users. 

Founder founder Ben Rubin claims that while other live video services had been available before, they did not take off because of a lack of network capacity and enough people using smartphones for video. 

'This truly feels like a beginning of a new era,' Elman said.

CLICK HERE to read Meerkat's terms of service

Premier League goals and highlights are already being made illegally available as Vine posts

Nonetheless, Periscope and Meerkat may not immediately threaten to steal sports broadcasters profits, but they serve as a form of 'grass roots competition,' said John Vrooman, a Vanderbilt University sports economist, told CNBC.

'Streaming apps that allow simultaneous media consumption and production are not in themselves a clear and present danger to sports leagues,' he added.

The biggest problem is that watching streamed video from a mobile phone can be a frustrating experience with quality far removed from modern high-definition TV screens -not to mention pop up ads, potential viruses, picture freezes and buffering.

No-one at Twitter, which owns Periscope, or Sky was available for comment.