ACE, Egyptian authorities, and partners including beIN score major victory against sports piracy

Doha, Qatar: The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world s leading antipiracy coalition, of which beIN MEDIA GROUP is a key member,...

Doha, Qatar: The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading antipiracy coalition, of which beIN MEDIA GROUP is a key member, has announced the shutdown of Streameast, one of the world’s largest piracy network. The successful operation was carried out in collaboration with Egyptian authorities.

"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."

Through its 80 associated domains, Streameast logged more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year, making it the largest illicit live sports streaming operation in the world. Users had access to unauthorized matches from Europe’s top soccer 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.

“We congratulate ACE on this landmark enforcement action. 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,” said Cameron Andrews, Legal Director, Anti-Piracy, beIN MEDIA GROUP.

In addition to soccer, Streameast provided access to sport-specific piracy sites for American sports including the National Football League (NFL) the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB). There were also unauthorized sites for pay-per-view boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), and motorsports (including Formula One and Moto GP).