A Sydney man has been slapped with an 18-month suspended jail sentence after helping thousands of people access Foxtel without paying the TV network a single cent.
Haidar Majid Salam Al Baghdadi, 33, was convicted of operating an illegal network that sold unauthorised access to subscription TV.
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Sydney's Downing Centre court found he had helped more than 8000 people bypass Foxtel's paywall. Judge Robert Toner sentenced him to an 18 month suspended sentence.
The convicted TV pirate was originally charged with unauthorised access to a subscription broadcaster in December 2013. At the time, federal police alleged Mr Al Baghdadi used decoders and smartcards to set up a card-sharing network from a business in Sydney's southwest.
The Australian Federal Police isn't commenting on Mr Al Baghdadi's case, but in a Facebook post said intellectual property theft isn't a victimless crime.
"[It] affects real people's wages," the AFP said. "Don't undermine the creative industry. Don't support piracy."
Foxtel's chief executive Peter Tonagh said he hoped the conviction sends a "strong signal" to others looking to gain access to subscription TV without paying.
"Foxtel takes intellectual property theft very seriously," he said. "It severely undermines the creative industry, including every business and individual that works so hard to deliver us the movies, sport, drama and entertainment we love."
Mr Tonagh said Foxtel will continue to work closely with the Australian Federal Police and private cypbersecurity companies to expose TV pirating.
The maximum penalty for helping others gain unauthorised access to subscription television is five years' imprisonment.