Sky Television is exploring all legal options to go after the people who illegally streamed Joseph Parker's fight on social media, but Internet NZ says it might not be so easy.
Joseph Parker v Carlos Takam Photo: PhotoSport
Fight promoter Duco Event said it planned to chase the viewers too, with co-owner Dean Lonergan telling Morning Report the streamers had no moral or legal ground to stand on.
Sky TV charged $49.99 to view Saturday night's boxing fight, which saw Parker beat Carlos Takam.
Moze Galo, one of those who streamed the fight on Facebook, said the price was too high, and he descibed himself as a modern day Robin Hood for helping people to watch it for free.
But Sky TV spokesperson Kirsty Way said a high price was never an excuse for stealing.
"The point is, if you're not happy with the price of something, you can't just got out and steal it," she said.
Parker's fight was a high-profile match and Sky's focus would be on identifying those who illegally streamed it.
Mr Lonergan said all the people who illegally watched the fight were all on Facebook and would be easy to track down.
But Internet NZ deputy chief executive Andrew Cushen believed that would be very tricky to do.
"To track down the number of people who watched that stream, I think, would be very difficult and to also seek to prosecute the actual watchers themselves is likely to be another step again," he said.
No company had ever successfully brought a case against viewers of an illegal stream in New Zealand before, he said.