The world’s biggest platform for live sports streaming, Streameast, has been shut down after a long practice of illegal streaming activities. The clampdown, orchestrated by the Egyptian police and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), is the latest victory against digital piracy.
The anti-piracy group explained that the development is a milestone in its fight to detect and fight against criminal actors in illegal streaming globally. The illegal streaming platform has become so popular that it recorded more than 1.6 billion in 2024. ACE revealed that traffic to Streameast’s various domains had originated primarily from the UK, US, Canada, the Philippines and Germany.
Streameast, based in Egypt and Dubai, has long been an internet streaming service which provided pirated sports videos. While other platforms charge substantial fees for access to live sports, Streameast delivers the same content completely free of charge. It runs pirated streams of sports such as Premier League football matches, Formula One races and Major League Baseball games.
Reacting to the achievement, ACE chairman Charles Rivkin said it was a landmark action that creates a level playing field for authorised platforms and channels to make their deserved returns. He added that the clampdown is a brand promotion for sports leagues, entertainment companies, and fans worldwide.
Streameast’s shutdown represents a response to recent claims that illegal sports streaming is taking a major stake in the broadcasting industry. With the total value of global media rights crossing $60 billion in 2024, digital piracy is gradually milking the returns. Reports explained that the number of streaming platforms has increased this year, dominated by unauthorised platforms.
Following the crackdown of the world’s largest illegal streaming platform, experts have welcomed the development. They explained that the criminal operation not only put the industry at risk but also placed fans across the world in an unfair position.
As of now, people trying to access the Streameast website are being directed to the ACE web page, suggesting channels they can watch legally
Also Read: Nigerian Copyright Commission suspends MovieBox.ng over piracy concerns.
Streameast: Illegal streaming platforms are banking on viewers’ affordability
Amid the Streameast incident, there are concerns about whether the development will reduce the number of illegal streaming platforms. While privacy is plainly flagged illegal, the affordability rate of viewers raises another conversation.
Reports also show that monthly subscriptions to a sports viewing platform cost a minimum of $20 to $100 per month. While the affordability rate varies globally, not a substantial percentage of the world’s population can afford that price. And for every one authorised streaming platform comes a triple figure.
An entertainment analyst, Ben Woods, reiterated that the associated high costs involved in watching sport legally fuel illegal streams. According to him, the younger generation of football fans has made it a habit of getting content free from social media.
“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,” he noted, as cited by BBC.
Meanwhile, the dominance of sports piracy has continued to place a huge burden on legal viewing platforms and companies. In July 2025, MultiChoice raised an alarm about the escalating issue of sports piracy, highlighting it as a crisis that jeopardises the entire global sports ecosystem.
According to the pay-TV company, about $28 billion in potential revenue is lost annually due to sports piracy. To address the challenge, MultiChoice and other broadcasters are introducing initiatives such as Partners Against Piracy (PAP). The collaboration seeks to unite media companies, governments, regulators, and law enforcement in fighting against piracy.
“Piracy does more than just siphon off revenue; it undermines an entire industry. It diminishes investment incentives, jeopardises business models for rights-holders and platforms, and forces leagues to reconsider their expansion into new markets,” MultiChoice said.
More of the company’s recent loss of subscribers and revenue in the African market has been attributed to the influx of illegal streaming platforms. MultiChoice has seen a huge decline in subscribers across major markets, including a 1.4 million subscriber loss in Nigeria within two years.