Fans of illegal sports streaming were caught off guard this week when two prominent platforms, CrackStreams and MethStreams, unexpectedly went offline. Upon visiting these sites, users found a message from their anonymous owner announcing a break from live streaming. Instead of the usual streams, visitors were directed to a Discord group for updates. This group, which has been active since at least 2022, had more than 80,000 members as of Monday afternoon.
MethStreams’ High-Profile Moment
MethStreams wasn’t always under the radar. Last November, it gained significant attention when ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared a clip of an NFL game that had originated on the site. Although Schefter had sourced the video from another user, the incident shed light on the widespread reach of illegal streaming platforms.
Rising Efforts Against Piracy
The closure of these sites comes amid intensified efforts by media companies and organizations to clamp down on online piracy. Just two weeks ago, the owner of MethStreams informed members of their Discord group that one of their domain names had been locked. Around the same time, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), an anti-piracy group, announced it had shut down hundreds of illegal streaming websites, many of which were based in Vietnam. These sites had collectively received over 800 million visits in the past year.
ACE, backed by the Motion Picture Association, claimed that they had successfully dismantled one of the world’s largest piracy rings. This Vietnam-based operation was responsible for a staggering 812 million visits in 2024. As part of the effort, CrackStreams’ previous domain was seized, highlighting the scale of the crackdown.
The Financial Toll of Piracy
Sports piracy is a significant threat to the global sports industry, which invests billions of dollars in exclusive broadcasting rights. For example, the NFL’s media deals are valued at over $125 billion, and the NBA’s contracts are worth around $77 billion. Advertisers also pour billions into these deals, knowing that access to these broadcasts will help them reach a wide audience. However, illegal streams often bypass these U.S. deals, showing foreign broadcasts that are not intended for American viewers and cutting into both broadcasters’ and advertisers’ revenue.
A report from piracy-tracking company VFT found that 17 million viewers watched the 2024 Super Bowl via illegal streams, highlighting the scale of the problem and the financial damage it causes to sports leagues and event organizers.
Legal Roadblocks and the DMCA’s Slow Response
Piracy continues to be a difficult problem to tackle, largely due to outdated laws. The **Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)**, enacted in 1998, allows content creators to file takedown requests with online platforms. However, critics argue that the DMCA is ill-suited for modern-day live sports piracy, as it can take hours or even days for streams to be removed—far too slow for live events where the value of the content diminishes rapidly.
Sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and UFC have pushed for legal changes to allow for faster takedowns and better verification of user-generated content, recognizing the urgent need for quick action during live events.
ACE’s executive, Larissa Knapp, recently issued a stern warning to illegal streamers, especially those involved in live sports piracy. “Live sports broadcasts lose significant commercial value once the game ends,” she said. The message is clear: piracy operations are under intense scrutiny, and ACE is committed to shutting them down.
