Scot Gardiner lifted the lid on the scourge of illegal streams which robbed Caley Thistle and their rivals of vital income last season.
The Inverness chief executive explained that fans having the option of staying at home to watch Championship matches on club TV stopped fans from clicking through the Caledonian Stadium turnstiles.
But people not even paying the usual £12-15 to watch the matches online by finding free sources worsened the situation.
Covid-19 took Scottish football behind closed doors, which led to clubs being allowed to screen live matches to paying supporters at home.
The deal agreed between the SPFL and broadcasters Sky Sports brought in vital revenue when fans were not able to attend live fixtures due to the pandemic.
SPFL chief Neil Doncaster told the Press and Journal in April this option was unlikely to continue into season 2022/23.
This week, a man was charged with illegally streaming SPFL games at his Glasgow home, an arrest welcomed by Doncaster as Police Scotland and the authorities combine to smash the rising problem of intellectual property crime.
‘Virtually no away fans’ at Inverness
Gardiner is clear that fans illegally linking into games had a direct impact on the Caley Jags’ balance books.
He said: “It is extremely difficult to run a full-time football club, with a full-time elite academy, on the crowds we have and that’s no criticism of the fans we have here.
“We have virtually no away fans travelling here and that was compounded by the fact people could watch the match from home.
“The amount of pirate channels meant even more people stayed home, so even less fans would travel here. Having spoken to numerous chairmen in the Championship last season, these pirate channels were killing us all.
“Pirate channels are effectively illegal streams, which means people didn’t have to pay their £15 or so to watch the matches.
“There were only a handful of times where we got what we should have had through pay-per-view.
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“We, along with other clubs, made representation about the issue (to the SPFL), who said there was nothing they could do.
“It means fans didn’t have to leave their homes in Greenock, Ayr or wherever at the crack of dawn, pay for a bus, have drinks and lunch and get back home at dark o’clock.
“It was a bigger issue for us in the Championship, because of the away support. That doesn’t impact as much in the Premiership as we can see across the Kessock Bridge with the healthy (away) support which travels to Ross County.”
Doncaster eager to stamp out issue
SPFL chief Doncaster, speaking about the arrest this week, insists they will continue to act to cut out those acting illegally to get their football fix.
He said: “We welcome the action taken by Police Scotland, and are hugely supportive of their efforts to tackle illegal streaming.
“We’ve just seen the conclusion of another thrilling season, and as we look ahead to the 2022/23 campaign it’s important that we do everything we can to protect customers who invest in legitimate subscriptions and support the major investment which Sky, our broadcast partners, are putting into the game.”
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