A man who built a £1 million illegal streaming empire has swapped his Jaguar F-Type and designer lifestyle for a prison cell, following a lengthy cat-and-mouse game with authorities.
Stephen Woodward, 36, from Thirsk, has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison after running three illegal IPTV operations that offered thousands of pirated channels and Premier League streams to subscribers.
The case, which concluded at York Crown Court on July 11, revealed how Woodward had amassed his fortune selling illegal access to copyrighted content through three websites: IPTV Hosting, Helix Hosting, and Black and White TV.
And what did he spend his ill-gotten gains on? Designer clothes, jewellery, luxury holidays and a Jaguar F-Type V8 coupe worth £91,000.
His brother, Christopher Woodward, 34, was also sentenced for his role in the operation, receiving a 15-month suspended prison sentence and 240 hours of unpaid work after pocketing £126,000 from the illegal enterprise.
The IPTV Operation: Big Promises, Bigger Profits
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is simply TV delivered over the internet – the same technology used by legitimate services like Netflix and Disney+.
But criminals like Woodward exploit this technology to illegally distribute premium content without paying the proper licensing fees.
IPTV Hosting, Woodward’s primary platform, boldly advertised itself as “the first IPTV provider with more than 4,500 channels.”
The service offered illegal access to premium content, including Premier League football, Sky Sports and BT Sports (now TNT Sports), targeting both end users and resellers.
This wasn’t just some bloke in his bedroom with a few dodgy streams. In messages uncovered during the investigation, Woodward boasted to his brother that he was making £100,000 a month through his illegal streaming business.
What’s particularly head-scratching is that Woodward continued his illegal activities even after his initial arrest.
While under investigation for IPTV Hosting, he launched two additional platforms – Black and White TV and Helix Hosting – providing illegal access to Premier League matches and over 6,500 channels from around the world.
A Trail of Cash and Cryptocurrency
Woodward’s financial operation was as sophisticated as his technical one. Investigators discovered he accepted payments through multiple channels, including credit cards, 13 separate PayPal accounts, and peer-to-peer payment services such as Circle.
To cover his tracks, Woodward would convert the money into cryptocurrency, then back to traditional currency before distributing it across 23 different bank accounts.
The money trail led police to uncover a treasure trove of assets. PIPCU (Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit) secured a restraint order against £1.1 million held in 15 bank accounts and 21 cryptocurrency wallets owned by Woodward.
An additional £144,121 in cash, seized during the investigation, was also frozen.
These funds, along with jewellery taken from Woodward’s address, will now be subject to confiscation proceedings – meaning his luxury lifestyle is well and truly over.
Desperate Measures and Dramatic Arrests
As the net closed in, Woodward’s behaviour became increasingly desperate.
In November 2020, he was arrested by British Transport Police at London’s Kings Cross station after a staff member at Thirsk station spotted him hiding a carrier bag behind a grit bin before boarding a train to London.
The vigilant employee checked the bag’s contents and, discovering it contained £20,000 in cash, alerted authorities.
When police later searched Woodward’s home, they found an envelope containing £1,770 in cash hidden in the loft, plus another £380 on his person.
But the drama didn’t end there. In October 2022, Border Force officers detained Woodward at Gatwick Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Vancouver.
Three bundles of cash totalling £10,870 were seized from his luggage.
The Initial Investigation: SIM Cards and False Identities
The case began in November 2019 when PIPCU officers arrested Woodward and searched his home, seizing a computer, hard drive, nine phones, and £4,760 in cash found in a desk drawer.
Most tellingly, they discovered around 100 envelopes, each containing a SIM card with a name written on it.
Woodward had been using these SIM cards to open PayPal and bank accounts using false identities purchased online – showing just how far he’d gone to hide his tracks.
During his second arrest in July 2020, Woodward brazenly told officers that “the cash is in the same place as last time,” referring to the desk drawer in his living room, from which police seized approximately £28,600.
Now, with a prison sentence of over three years, Woodward has plenty of time to reflect on how his multi-million pound operation crumbled – all while the authorities count, catalogue and confiscate the fruits of his illegal enterprise.
“Illegal streaming weakens the creative industries by diverting money away from legitimate businesses and into the hands of criminals like Stephen Woodward,” said Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt from PIPCU.
“Lost revenue as a result of illegal streaming means fewer jobs and less investment in future opportunities. It’s estimated that this criminal activity contributes to over 80,000 job losses each year alone.
“Stephen was brazen in running his illegal streaming websites. Despite being the subject of a criminal investigation, he had clearly not learned his lesson and yet again attempted to gain financially from his illegal activity.
“His sentencing and upcoming confiscation proceedings should send a message that there are significant consequences for criminals who enable illegal access to copyrighted content.”
Part of a Wider Crackdown
Woodward’s case joins a growing list of successful prosecutions against illegal IPTV operators in the UK over the past two years.
Just last month, Mark Brockley was apprehended at Barcelona Airport after a two-year international manhunt spanning three countries. Brockley, who made £300,000 from his aFINITY IPTV operation, was finally brought back to the UK to serve his five-year sentence.
Earlier this year, Birmingham resident Gary McNally received a 2-year 9-month sentence for his “Each Online” IPTV service, which operated on expensive business-grade broadband costing £420 monthly.
And last October, Shrewsbury’s Steven Mills was jailed for 2.5 years after amassing £1 million from over 30,000 subscribers through his Pikabox and Eyepeeteevee services.
How to Spot Illegal IPTV Services
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is the same technology used by legitimate services like Netflix, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer.
However, illegal operators have given IPTV a bad name by using this technology to provide unauthorised access to premium content.
If you’re being offered premium content at suspiciously low prices (like Sky Sports, Netflix and Disney+ all for under £20), that should set alarm bells ringing.
Be cautious of streaming devices advertised as “fully loaded” or “jailbroken” – these terms typically indicate the device (such as a Fire TV Stick) has been modified to access pirated content.
Watch out for services primarily marketed through social media or marketplace listings rather than through their own professional websites or legitimate retail channels.
If the provider requests payment through cryptocurrencies or non-traditional payment methods, they’re likely trying to avoid leaving a financial trail – exactly as Woodward did with his complex money-laundering scheme.
Remember, beyond the legal risks, these services often provide unreliable connections, poor quality streams, and may expose your devices to malware. They can also disappear overnight, taking your subscription payments with them.
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