Sky have sent “threatening” legal letters to hundreds of dodgy box users, as part of the broadcaster’s bid crackdown on the phenomenon. 

There are an estimated 400,000 households with dodgy box users in Ireland - meaning for every five people you see on the street, one has a dodgy box at home. 

The practice has cost broadcasters hundreds of millions in lost revenue over the years but industry insiders have been at a loss as to how they could crack down on dodgy boxes. 

Earlier this year, Sky took a civil prosecution against Wexford resident David Dunbar, who operated an illegal streaming service that charged dodgy box users between €80 and €100 a year.

As part of proceedings, they obtained names, addresses and bank details of hundreds of his clients. 

Now, those users could face legal action unless they give up their dodgy boxes. 

“They've sent out legal letters now to those individual dodgy box users in those households and with this threatening letter, essentially it's a cease and desist,” Irish Independent journalist Adrian Weckler told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“Whether they can continue to tell whether you're using a dodgy box, that's much less clear - it's very unlikely. 

“This is, it's a bit of a straw in the wind in the sense that there are around 400,000 dodgy box households in Ireland and this letter is going out to 200 of them.” 

A person holding a TV remote. Picture by: Cottonbro Studios / Pexels.

Mr Weckler added that Sky hope users will be “freaked out” by the letters and simply stop using them. 

“They're trying to walk a bit of a tightrope because they could have gone for the full prosecution of those 200 individuals,” he said. 

“They arguably would have succeeded there and that would have meant taking them to court under a civil prosecution under the Copyright Act. 

“Unclear how much it would have gotten in damages but even the legal cost bills, had they recovered those, it could have been €5,000, €10,000, €15,000 or more.”

A recent survey found that only 57% of Irish people are paying for TV subscription services - down from 70% only a few years ago. 

While there are a number of other factors - such as the rise of Netflix - behind that trend, dodgy boxes are widely considered to be part of it. 

“If you look at the way the TV industry is going, if that kind of piracy is left unchecked from Sky's perspective, they have to do something now,” Mr Weckler argued. 

“Otherwise they won't have a business in five or 10 years.”

Main image: A man is holding a remote control. Picture by: Alamy.com.