The Premier League needs to change how its product is viewed after five men were jailed for illegally streaming their product.
The gang was yesterday jailed for a total of 30 years for offering illegal streaming to more than 50,000 people for a lower price.
The Premier League said five men were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and contempt of court after generating more than £7m in five years.
It was reported that Mark Gould, from London, was the mastermind behind the operation and was jailed for 11 years.
His co-defendants Steven Gordon, Peter Jolley, William Brown and Christopher Felvus offered illegal access to matches from hundreds of channels around the world, as well as tens of thousands of on-demand films and TV shows.
READ MORE: 'Monster' stabbed ex in head after fantasising about killing her
A sixth gang member, Zak Smith, failed to appear at court for sentencing and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, the Premier League said.
What they did was illegal and they should be sentenced - but future cases could surely be avoided if the Premier League accepts the outdated 3pm blackout that was introduced in the 1960s is no longer wanted by many fans.
The Saturday 3pm kick-off is no longer a traditional kick-off time like it was years ago.
You have 12.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.45pm, or whatever time the broadcasters seem to fancy at the start of the season.
And the only people who suffer from this are the fans.
Football fans have always felt marginalised from key decisions on scheduling - with rising ticket prices, and ridiculous kick-off times, or not being able to watch the match due to a TV blackout.
There is an appetite for all Premier League matches to be available on television to fans in the UK - like they are elsewhere in the world.
The Premier League wants to sell its product to the world but is missing a huge opportunity closer to home.
It is now time for the Premier League to offer a service to all fans across the world under one platform.
Netflix has reportedly over 232 million users globally, so the opportunity for the Premier League to produce a similar service is clear to see.
Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here
Contractual reasons will mean it is unlikely that this wouldn't be able to become a reality until the current TV deal expires in 2025.
The current deal, which started in 2022, is worth £1.63 billion a year to the Premier League.
It includes just 200 of the 380 games being shown live in the UK. The breakdown of these games sees Sky Sports show 128 games a season, 52 games are shown live on BT Sport and 20 matches are streamed on Amazon Prime.
For football fans who don't have the good fortune to go and watch their team in person, subscriptions for Sky Sports and BT cost over £600 combined.
The current international TV deal between 2022 and 2025 is reportedly worth over £10billion to the Premier League.
It's now time for the Premier League to provided an affordable streaming platform for every Premier League game - which would be for the benefit of the league and the fans, and give those seeking to exploit the situation for criminal gain less opportunity to do so.
They know it works, after planning to charge fans £14.95 for pay-per-view games during the Coronavirus pandemic.
There is a market for this that people have made a lot of money from illegally, and people should face sentences for crimes they commit. People would jump at the opportunity to purchase this service.
It would also potentially provide a boost for the pub trade, as more people would be tempted to go and enjoy a day in the pub watching the lunchtime kick-off, followed by a 3pm and then the evening game.
How much should the Premier League charge for this product? I don't know.
But imagine how many people would subscribe to the service for £25 per month.
Watch every game you want, watch classic Premier League games, press conferences, and match highlights.
There are so many benefits from the Premier League moving to a streaming service that will show off much more of their product to the world, while also preventing criminals from finding a loophole to exploit.
The audience is there waiting for the service to be made available, but the Premier League and its member clubs will need to make it affordable.
Mum told social worker 'you can take them' after they checked on kids
Dance school 'appalled' Hillsborough tribute snubbed by Britain's Got Talent
Anger over some taxi drivers 'cherry picking' and quoting huge prices
UK bank hits all customers with £570 warning
Frankie Bridge wows fans in 'beautiful' £45 New Look midi dress
