'This is stealing': Foxtel threatens legal action after men stream Green-Mundine showdown

A Longreach man who received more than 500,000 views for his live stream of the Anthony Mundine v Danny Green fight said he only shared the video for mates in remote areas has since been banned from the service.

Multiple streams quickly went viral in the lead up to the main event Friday night.

The subscription TV broadcaster indicated those who live streamed coverage of last night's fight via Facebook live would face legal action.

The statement comes after videos from a number of men went viral overnight after they attempted to share the $60 pay-per view fight for free.

Foxtel said in a statement to Fairfax the viral swarm that descended on the home-made broadcasts was damaging to boxing and all live sport.

The statement said appropriate legal action would be taken.

"What occurred last night on Facebook is stealing and it's harmful to the future of boxing and live sport," the statement said.

The 25-year-old Longreach man told 7 News Online on Sunday he often shared UFC pay-per-view events for “a few mates who worked out of town” in remote areas of Queensland and WA, on the mines or who were professional roo shooters working out in the bush.

Kerrod Green said many of his friends didn’t have access to a TV while they were away for work but could watch the bouts from their mobile phone via live stream.

A message arrived in his inbox at 9.52pm Saturday from the MainEvent Foxtel account, warning the man he was “not permitted to make this program available online for streaming or download (including by social media sites)”.

“They got onto me before the main event even started… What a joke!” Mr Green said.

“What difference is it if you’re sitting at the pub watching? I paid to watch it in the comfort of my own home."

He said if Foxtel didn’t charge so much for “an Australian iconic fight,” it might be accessible to more people and fewer people would need to stream online for their mates.

“Pensioners can’t [afford to pay to] watch it,” he added.

By Saturday evening, the broadcaster had cut off the subscriber's service, Mr Green said.

"They have scanned my box, and my Foxtel is shut down," he told 7 News online.

The Queensland man said he watched free to air channels through the Foxtel connection, so the ban meant he could no longer watch those channels either.

Another man behind the viral live stream of the blockbuster bout said he didn’t believe he’s done anything wrong.

Brett Hevers told 7 News Online he tried to stream the event for “a couple of mates” who he said could not afford the $59.95 Pay Per View fee.

The 25-year-old tradie from NSW said he woke up slightly nervous on Saturday but did not feel he cost Foxtel any money.

“I’m not thinking I’ve done anything too bad,” Mr Hevers said.

“Those people weren’t going to [pay to] watch it anyway.”

Mr Hevers said he paid $59.95 on top of his normal subscription for the fight, which he said he enjoyed.

7 News Online has made multiple efforts to speak with Foxtel about the issue, however the provider is yet to respond directly.

The Foxtel website states: “Causing unauthorised access to subscription television broadcasts with the intent of obtaining a commercial advantage or profit is an offence in Australia under the Copyright Act 1968.”

“The making or selling of a device that enables unauthorised access to a subscription broadcast or making such advice available online in a way that prejudices rights holders are also an offences [sic] under the Copyright Act 1968.

“The maximum penalty for such offences is 5 years imprisonment, or substantial fines, or both."

Mr Hevers is one of a troupe of rogue broadcasters who may find themselves with bigger headaches than Danny Green and Anthony Mundine.

Darren Sharpe is another fight fan who thought his fellow Australians may not be too keen to pay the $59.95 Pay Per View fee for the long awaited grudge match, so he decided to broadcast it for free, via Facebook Live.

By the time Quade Cooper and Jack McInnes were up on the undercard, Sharpe had about 100,000 viewers.

It seems Foxtel wasn’t impressed by the move.

As one of the most anticipated undercard clashes of the night began, Sharpe received a phone call from a man claiming to be a representative of the official broadcaster.

Foxtel has yet to confirm whether this is the case.

“Keep watching the fight at home, there’s no dramas with that, just don’t stream it on Facebook,” said the man calling from a New South Wales phone number.

“A good fight’s about to start and guys want to watch it, you know?” Sharpe said.

“There’s people all over the world watching this – 80,000, 90,000 people right now, mate.”

Eventually, Sharpe relented, with some choice words about Foxtel before he cut the stream.

He told his "viewers" Foxtel were going to "sue the s**t" out of him, leaving him little choice but to abandon his viral stream.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr Sharpe said on Facebook the stream “got blown up very fast" and he "didn’t expect this to happen at all”.

He said he only shared the video for friend who couldn’t afford to pay to watch it, and thanked the community for their support.

7 News Online contacted the number which called Mr Sharpe, however it went to voicemail. The voicemail did not confirm whether the man on the phone was a Foxtel employee.

The night appeared to be a busy one for those tasked with protecting the broadcast rights of the big fight.

Swarms of illegal viewers flooded live streams across Facebook– as genuine subscribers used their smartphones to film the content.

As the main event drew near, streams were cut again and again but as quickly as they could be shut down, another resurfaced.

By the time Mundine v Green fight rolled around, the official rights holder appeared to have lost its patience.

Users claimed that instead of receiving warning phone calls, those found to be streaming the Adelaide Oval event had their pay TV services cut off.

It is impossible to know how many people viewed the fight illegally on Friday night, however, several streams racked more than 100,000 concurrent viewers.

By the end of the night, GoFundMe accounts had been set up for both Sharpe and Hevers in an attempt to cover any potential legal battles in the future.

Hevers shared one fundraising link, promising to send the money to charity if he did not need it for lawyers.

“If Foxtel decide to get their panties in a bunch it will cover all that nonsense, if they don't, there are people worse off then me so the money will be donated to the Cancer Council NSW,” he wrote on Saturday.

Darren Sharpe warned of fake fundraising links.

“Fyi to all beware of fake profiles an fake go fund me accounts please. I don't want to see people getting ripped off, (sic)” he wrote.

Further comment is being sought from Foxtel and Darren Sharpe.

Social media users have rallied around rogue broadcasters, putting pressure on Foxtel to make their paid events more affordable, to negate the need to broadcast free on social media.

“I vote on making main event programs more affordable to the consumer, considering they are already paying a considerable amount just to have a Foxtel subscription,” one man wrote on the Foxtel Facebook page Saturday afternoon.