In collaboration with Egyptian authorities, antipiracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has confirmed the shutdown of the Streameast piracy network. Through its 80 associated domains, the network logged more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year, making it the largest illicit live sports streaming operation in the world.

“Today, ACE scored a resounding victory in its fight to detect, deter, and dismantle criminal perpetrators of digital piracy: by taking down the largest illegal live sports platform anywhere,” said Charles Rivkin, Chairman of ACE and Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “With this landmark action, we have put more points on the board for sports leagues, entertainment companies, and fans worldwide—and our global alliance will stay on the field as long as it takes to identify and target the biggest piracy rings across the globe.”

Streameast and its domains offered users unauthorised access to matches from Europe’s top football leagues, including England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1 and Portugal’s Primeira Liga. The piracy network also provided illicit access to UEFA club competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, among others) and international qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro and UEFA Nations League, and CONMEBOL Copa America. The United States’ Major League Soccer (MLS) and domestic cup competitions were also among the matches that were streamed illicitly.

“Dismantling Streameast is a major victory for everyone who invests in and relies on the live sports ecosystem,” said Ed McCarthy, COO of DAZN Group. “This criminal operation was siphoning value from sports at every level and putting fans across the world at risk. We commend the Egyptian authorities and ACE for their action in bringing down the world’s largest illegal sports streaming operation.”

In addition to football, Streameast provided access to sport-specific piracy sites for American sports including the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB. There were also unauthorised sites for pay-per-view boxing, MMA and motorsports (including Formula One and Moto GP).

“We congratulate ACE on this landmark enforcement action,” commented Cameron Andrews, Legal Director, Anti-Piracy for beIN Media Group.” Piracy is not a victimless crime – it undermines the entire sports economy, from rights holders and leagues to athletes and fans. The success of this operation proves that with strong international cooperation and robust enforcement, no illegal network is beyond reach. beIN Media Group is proud to stand with ACE in continuing to pursue and dismantle criminal piracy operations wherever they exist.”

Site traffic to the various domains originated primarily from the US, Canada, the UK, Philippines and Germany.

“This action swiftly dismantled what was once the largest illegal sports streaming operation in the world, and I applaud the Egyptian authorities for their partnership,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the MPA. “It’s further proof that no piracy network is beyond the reach of coordinated global enforcement.”

All sites will be redirecting to the ACE ‘Watch Legally’ page.

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Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Business, Content, OTT, OTT, Pay TV, Piracy, Policy, Regulation, Rights

Tags: ACE, Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, Motion Picture Association, mpa, Streameast