The Premier League and Football Association are threatening legal action against San Francisco-based video-streaming portal Justin.tv, News Of The World reports.
Football fans from around the world are logging in to the site to watch live top-flight Premier League matches for free.
British TV companies signed a £2.6 billion deal with the Premier League in August 2006 to screen football (both live and highlight packages) until 2010.
Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson stated: "We are in contact with this site and their lawyers and are seeking to prevent any further abuse of our rights.
"The streaming of live Premier League matches without permission is not only illegal, but also unfair on fans who have paid to go to matches or subscribed to Sky and Setanta.
"Their support means clubs can buy and develop the best players possible and invest in bigger, better and safer grounds."
Premier League rights are not cheap as Sky splashed out £1.3 billion and Setanta £392 million to secure exclusive live UK rights, while the BBC spent £172 million for its Match Of The Day highlights programmes.
Justin.tv, launched in March last year, quickly evolved and now boasts thousands of diverse lifestyle channels.
Over the last year, over 90,000 channels have been created, more than 24,000 events broadcast and more than 61,000 video clips uploaded from Justin.tv to YouTube.
Football fans from around the world are logging in to the site to watch live top-flight Premier League matches for free.
British TV companies signed a £2.6 billion deal with the Premier League in August 2006 to screen football (both live and highlight packages) until 2010.
Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson stated: "We are in contact with this site and their lawyers and are seeking to prevent any further abuse of our rights.
"The streaming of live Premier League matches without permission is not only illegal, but also unfair on fans who have paid to go to matches or subscribed to Sky and Setanta.
"Their support means clubs can buy and develop the best players possible and invest in bigger, better and safer grounds."
Premier League rights are not cheap as Sky splashed out £1.3 billion and Setanta £392 million to secure exclusive live UK rights, while the BBC spent £172 million for its Match Of The Day highlights programmes.
Justin.tv, launched in March last year, quickly evolved and now boasts thousands of diverse lifestyle channels.
Over the last year, over 90,000 channels have been created, more than 24,000 events broadcast and more than 61,000 video clips uploaded from Justin.tv to YouTube.
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