{"id":12145,"date":"2025-11-12T17:29:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T22:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jolt.richmond.edu\/?p=12145"},"modified":"2025-11-12T17:29:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T22:29:26","slug":"international-crackdown-on-the-illegal-streaming-of-sporting-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/2025\/11\/12\/international-crackdown-on-the-illegal-streaming-of-sporting-events\/","title":{"rendered":"International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By: Jack Brestel<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What Happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Streameast, the world\u2019s largest illegal sports streaming platform, was shut down September 3, 2025 by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global antipiracy group.[1]<\/a> The website had 80 domains and received over 1.6 billion visits in the last year.[2]<\/a> Streameast provided access to NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, boxing, MMA, motorsports, and various professional soccer matches.[3]<\/a> ACE is a coalition of over 50 global media and entertainment organizations, including Amazon, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Paramount, that operate alongside law enforcement, including Europol and the U.S. Department of Justice, to reduce online piracy of copyrighted material.[4]<\/a> In this case, two men in Egypt were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringement with authorities seizing laptops and smartphones believed to have helped operate the piracy websites as well as links to a shell company in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly conspired to launder over 6 million dollars.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Does It Matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand Finance, a global brand valuation consulting agency, ran a survey on fan behavior, discovering that over forty percent of 14,000 respondents considered using unofficial live stream websites rather than paying the full price to watch a sporting event.[6]<\/a> With the rise of cord-cutting, consumers must now subscribe to multiple streaming services to watch the games they love; for the 2025-26 NFL season, fans must subscribe to ten different platforms to watch every game, costing at least $765.[7]<\/a> With a large number of consumers pirating live events, legitimate broadcasters are missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.[8]<\/a> Media deals are bargained on the basis of exclusivity, but rampant piracy has lowered the value of these deals, costing players, owners, and leagues revenue.[9]<\/a> The total value of sports media rights across the world passed $60 billion in 2024, but has been slowed by illegal sports streaming happening on an \u201cindustrial scale,\u201d putting users at an increased risk of cyber-crimes.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

What Federal Laws Protect Live Sports Broadcasters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The secondary transmissions of copyrighted works by satellite carriers or cable systems, when unauthorized, are actionable as acts of infringement.[11]<\/a> Furthermore, it is illegal to intercept and use satellite cable programming.[12]<\/a> Any person whose electronic communications are intentionally intercepted without authorization may recover under The Electronic Communications Privacy Act. However, broadcasters must also protect themselves from those not directly intercepting satellite programming. A website where a user simultaneously shared their screen while legally streaming a pay-per-view boxing match with other website users was found in multiple instances not in violation of copyright law because the website had no relationship with the original cable or satellite broadcast.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n

Due to the rise of streaming services, the question of whether \u00a7 605 applies when the pirated program is transmitted over internet streaming has become more prevalent.[14]<\/a> The 9th Circuit held that \u00a7 605 does not explicitly provide an \u201cInternet defense\u201d that automatically protects an entity, instead only protecting specific types of media, including cable and satellite programming.[15]<\/a> Expect to see further litigation regarding the piracy of online streaming services, as they are not considered traditional satellite or cable networks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Link to image source:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/pixabay.com\/vectors\/copyright-thief-stolen-intellectual-6809961\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Ted Johnson, Antipiracy Coalition Says Streameast, Live Sports Network, Shut Down<\/em>, Deadline (Sept. 3, 2025), https:\/\/deadline.com\/2025\/09\/streameast-sports-network-shutdown-1236505080\/.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Associated Press, World\u2019s \u2018Largest Illegal Live Sports\u2019 Piracy Network Shut Down, Antipiracy Group Says<\/em>, CNN, (Sept. 4, 2025), https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/04\/sport\/soccer-streameast-piracy-network-shuts-down-intl.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Johnson, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Adam Leventhal, Streameast, World\u2019s Largest Illegal Sports Streaming Platform, Shut Down in Sting<\/em>, NY Times (Sept. 4, 2025), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6591670\/2025\/09\/03\/streameast-worlds-largest-illegal-sports-streaming-platform-shut-down-in-sting\/.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, NFL Games to Air on 10 Different Platforms\u2014Here\u2019s What It\u2019ll Cost to Watch Every One<\/em>, Forbes (Aug. 28, 2025), https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/maryroeloffs\/2025\/08\/28\/nfl-games-to-air-on-10-different-platforms-heres-what-itll-cost-to-watch-every-one\/.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> See <\/em>Matt Slater, DAZN, Sky Bosses Warn That Rampant Piracy Threatens Broadcast Industry with Financial Crisis<\/em>, NY Times (Feb. 26, 2025), https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6161947\/2025\/02\/26\/sports-streaming-piracy-premier-league\/.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> See id<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Graham Fraser, Football and Other Premium TV Being Pirated at \u201cIndustrial Scale\u201d<\/em>, BBC (May 30, 2025), https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cp3n7dx2174o.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> See <\/em>17 U.S.C.S. \u00a7 503, Part 1 of 3 (LexisNexis, LEXIS through Pub. L. No. 119-34, approved Aug. 19, 2025).<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> See <\/em>47 U.S.C.S. \u00a7 605 (LexisNexis, LEXIS through Pub. L. No. 119-34, approved Aug. 19, 2025).<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> See Ark Promotions, Inc. v. Justin.tv, Inc.<\/em>, 904 F. Supp. 2d 541, 546 (W.D.N.C. Aug. 28, 2012); Zuffa, LLC v. Justin.tv<\/em>, 838 F. Supp. 2d 1102, 1107 (D. Nev. Mar. 8, 2012).<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> See G & G Closed Circuit Events, LLC v. Zihao LIU<\/em>, 45 F.4th 1113, 1114 (9th Cir. 2022).<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Id. <\/em>at 1117.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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