In a joint operation between an anti-piracy alliance and police in Egypt, Streameast, one of the world’s largest destinations for illegal sports streaming, has been shut down.
Streameast, one of the world’s largest destinations for illegal sports streaming, has been shut down after a joint operation between an anti-piracy alliance and police in Egypt.
The site, which received more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year, had provided pirated live feeds of major sporting events including Premier League football, Formula One races and Major League Baseball games.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), which represents some of the world’s biggest rights holders, said the action marked a landmark moment in the fight against online piracy.
ACE chairman Charles Rivkin was quoted by the BBC saying: “This is a resounding victory in its fight to detect, deter, and dismantle criminal perpetrators of digital piracy.
“With this landmark action, we have put more points on the board for sports leagues, entertainment companies, and fans worldwide.”
According to ACE, the majority of traffic to Streameast’s network of domains came from the UK, US, Canada, Philippines and Germany.
The takedown follows a report earlier this year describing illegal sports streaming as operating at an “industrial scale”.
Sports broadcasting is a multibillion-dollar industry, with global media rights valued at more than $60 billion (£44 billion) in 2023.
Rising subscription costs – compounded by the fragmentation of coverage across multiple platforms – have driven many fans towards illegal sources.
The Athletic reported two men were arrested in El-Sheikh Zaid, near Cairo, on suspicion of copyright infringement.
Police seized laptops, smartphones, cash and credit cards allegedly linked to the operation.
Authorities also uncovered ties to a shell company in the United Arab Emirates which had allegedly laundered £4.9 million in advertising revenue since 2010, alongside £150,000 in cryptocurrency.
Ed McCarthy, chief operating officer of streaming platform DAZN Group, said: “This criminal operation was siphoning value from sports at every level and putting fans across the world at risk.”
Visitors attempting to access Streameast domains will now be redirected to an ACE page that lists official streaming channels.
Ben Woods, an analyst at Midia Research, told the BBC the shutdown highlighted the challenges broadcasters face.
He said: “The high costs people face to watch sports legally are among a cocktail of forces continuing to fuel illegal streams.
“Cracking down on pirates directly is just one part of the solution. Only by exploring ways to make live sport more accessible will this issue become less of a problem for major sports leagues.”
One of the world’s largest destinations for illegal sports streaming shut down
