Brett Hevers and Darren Sharpe are either copyright thieves who deserve to face up to five years' jail or "deadset f***ing legends".

It depends who you ask.

Between them on Friday night they racked up close to 300,000 viewers within a matter of minutes, streaming the blockbuster pay-per-view Mundine v Green boxing match on Facebook Live.

It was as simple as pointing their phones at the TV and pressing the live stream button on their Facebook accounts.

The intense publicity surrounding the fight, combined with the fact it was somewhat inaccessible (requiring a Foxtel subscription) and rather expensive ($59.95 per household, over and above subscription fees), ensured their Facebook feeds quickly went ballistic.

I must admit, I was one of those participating in what Foxtel management sees as theft.

I checked into Facebook and there it was at the top of my feed urging me to watch a live feed from a bloke named Brett Hevers. So I clicked.

To be honest, I was only mildly interested in the fight.

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What was truly gripping was the hilarious stream of comments and emojis rolling across the screen and the spectacle of something going truly viral, in real time.

At first, 100 people per second were joining the crime scene. Then 1,000 every few seconds.

As the viewership ticked over 100,000, some people even started posting ads in the comments feed.

Foxtel remotely turned off Brett's subscription, but within minutes another feed started up from another Robin Hood acolyte named Darren Sharpe.

He clocked up well over 150,000 viewers.

Incredibly, someone from Foxtel tracked him down, called his phone and threatened him with legal action (on speaker phone).

Eventually Darren capitulated and turned off his Facebook stream.

It felt like the corporate equivalent of a little Dutch boy putting his finger in the dyke.

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Before long, dozens of others stepped in, streaming the match on Periscope and YouTube as well.

Foxtel is promising to take legal action.

Foxtel chief executive Peter Tonagh said: "It's very clear to us that he knew that what he was doing was illegal. We advised him that what he was doing was illegal."

But claims that live streaming threaten the sustainability of the industry are wrong. The real threat to the viability of any industry is a company's inability to adapt to technology and keep up with the demands of its users.

Consumers these days insist on instant access.

If it's not easy to buy, and relatively cheap, technology allows them to go elsewhere.

Just a few years ago, there were shops that sold CDs. "Imagine that!", we'll tell our grandkids.

To buy a music single these days, you simply hold your phone to a speaker, say "Siri, what's this?" and up pops the song, the artist, the album and the option to download it instantly for $1.99.

How does the copyright work? TV sports rights are big business, and broadcasters pay a considerable sum for exclusivity

TV sports rights are big business, and broadcasters pay a considerable sum for exclusivity In Australia, most boxing bouts are available as "pay-per-view" only

In Australia, most boxing bouts are available as "pay-per-view" only Streaming your own videos of sports broadcasts contravenes Australian copyright law

Streaming your own videos of sports broadcasts contravenes Australian copyright law Whether people who watch the stream can be charged is a legal grey area

Despite predictions of the music industry's imminent demise at the hands of piracy, it's still going strong because it viewed a potential problem as a new market and adapted.

The fact that Australia ranks as the worst for piracy of hit TV shows like Game of Thrones isn't our convict roots showing through.

It's due to the fact the only legal way to watch the show is to sign a lengthy subscription with the rights holder, Foxtel.

Of course that's going to send people elsewhere to find it, legal or not.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was dead right when he talked about the need for us all to be agile.

It may not have won him any votes in North Queensland, but he was right to say "there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian".

Companies can either get on board, or be slowly ground down by "legends" like Brett, Darren and their 300,000 new best friends.